ATS IS WHO WE ARE
Nothing is like and ATS.
An uncompromising philosophy for quality and Italian automotive Heritage. Only passion and attention to details, beauty and performance. Our obsessive approach, combined with our knowledge of handcrafted techniques and modern technologies, enables us to make unique cars. A compact exterior with space inside, power and efficiency, dynamic Handling with comfort.
THE ORIGINS
The sportscar manufacturer ATS (Automobili Turismo e Sport) was founded in 1962 by Engineer Carlo Chiti, with the collaboration of Romolo Tavoni and Giotto Bizzarrini, and it has gone down in the history as a talented car manufacturer, which contributed a change in the vision of the sport car not only in Italy but worldwide in a short time.
The three famous men, former technicians of the F1 Ferrari Race Team, that especially thanks to them collected victory after victory in the World Championship at the time, left Ferrari to create a new car company, after disagreeing in some issues with Enzo Ferrari. In 1963 ATS made the Type 100, and started with two seater cars at the Belgian Grand Prix, with the World Champion driver Phill Hill, and Giancarlo Baghetti, the best italian talent of the period.
In March of the same year the 2500 road coupe was presented at the Geneva International Motor Show, in the versions GT and GTS, and which was made to counter Ferrari, which only had front engine cars. Engineered by Carlo Chiti and Bizzarrini, it was designeed by the famous Franco Scaglione and assembled in Turin by Carrozzeria Allemano. The frame was made of steel tubes, and it was the first road coupe sports car in the world with the engine in the middle. The ATS enclosed under one name the best italian sports car minds at the time, and right those that later helped create and consolidate prestigious brands like Lamborghini, Autodelta, Iso, Bizzarrini, Alfa Romeo, up to the F1 teams of the 80's.
OUR RACING AND ROAD GENE
In 1963, after an incredibly short development period, ATS began the F1 season with two cars (ATS Tipo 100 F1s) in the Belgium Grand Prix, driven by the World Champion Phill Hil and Giancarlo Baghetti, the best italian talent of the period. They proved to be highly competitive. That aside, the ATS's engineering achievements were Amazing in such a short period of time - and the car and the ATS brand, thanks mainly to Chiti, became a motorsport icon for many years to come. Chiti and his team's efforts were not confined purely to the Grand Prix circuits either. In March of the same year, ATS presented two versions of the newly developed 2500GT coupe at the Geneva International Motor Show - engineered by Chiti and Bizzarrini, designed by Franco Scaglione and assembled by Allemano. The 2500GT was clothed in a very elegant steel body and utilised a 210bhp, 2.5-liter V8 engine derived from the F1 unit. The 2500GTS was a lighter, aluminum bodied version that weighed in at just 750kg.
With the same engine re-tuned to 245bhp, this vehicle set the template for the ATS ethos. However, what made these two stunning cars truly unique was their drive-train configuration - for the 2500GT/GTS were the world's first rear/mid-engined road going sports cars! An incredible achievement in such a short period of time.
The 2500GT/GTS were produced to counter the Ferraris of the day, all of those being front engined. The cars enjoyed huge critical acclaim and were truly ground breaking. Only 15 road going 2500GT/GTSs were ever built and they are now owned by collectors and spread around the world - a good reflection of their pivotal role in evolution of the modern sports car. However, as the world's first rear/mid-engined road going sports car, it led the way in establishing this drivetrain configuration as the template for all future super cars. Having brought togheter some of the greatest engineering talent of a generation, ATS created the car.
