Automobili Turismo e Sport

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ATS
logo
Surname Automobili Turismo e Sport
Companies
Company headquarters Pontecchio Marconi
Team boss Carlo Chiti
statistics
First Grand Prix Belgium 1963
Last Grand Prix Mexico 1963
Race driven 5
Constructors' championship -
Drivers World Championship -
Race wins -
Pole positions -
Fastest laps -
Points -

Automobili Turismo e Sport SpA (ATS) was a small Italian manufacturer of sports and racing cars based in Pontecchio Marconi near Bologna , which was briefly involved in Formula 1 racing. The company was founded in 1962 and existed until 1964. With the German rim manufacturer ATS (Auto Technisches Spezialätze) , which was also active in Formula 1 from 1977 to 1984, there is only a coincidence of the name abbreviations being identical.

The company history

The trigger for the establishment of ATS was a so-called palace revolution at Ferrari: In the autumn of 1961 there was an intense, very personal dispute between Enzo Ferrari and his wife Laura Ferrari on the one hand and the then Ferrari sales manager Girolamo Gardini on the other, as a result of which Gardini von Ferrari was sacked. Five other Ferrari employees who had shown solidarity with Gardini were then also dismissed: Giotto Bizzarrini (Director of Prototype Development), Carlo Chiti (Ferrari's Head of Development), Fausto Galassi (the boss of the foundry), Enzo Selmi (Personnel Director) and Romolo Tavoni (Race director of Scuderia Ferrari ).

The six former Ferrari employees founded the ATS company in February 1962 with the aim of providing serious competition to Ferrari both on the road and on the racetrack. Giorgio Billi and Jaime Ortiz-Patino joined the project as financiers. Shortly after the company was founded, the young Venetian nobleman Conte Giovanni Volpi di Misurata , who had his own racing team under the name Scuderia Serenissima , also joined. In early 1962, Billi held 40% of the shares in ATS, Ortiz and Volpi each held 20%, and the remaining 20% ​​of the shares were owned by the six former Ferrari employees. As a result of some personal differences, Volpi dropped out after just a few months to develop his own racing cars with his company, Scuderia Serenissima; a little later Ortiz, Bizzarrini and Gardini - the trigger of the “palace revolution” - left the company, so that at the end of 1962 the company was almost entirely owned by Giorgio Billi and technically controlled by Carlo Chiti.

Billi bought a large site in Ponteccio Marconi near Bologna, on which the company headquarters and a spacious factory were to be built. This did not happen, however; in fact, ATS resided in a farm that stood on a corner of the area until the end.

In 1963 ATS appeared in Formula 1 with the Tipo 100; The ATS 2500 GT / GTS sports car derived from the racing car made its debut around the same time. Both projects were short-lived and ultimately failed due to insufficient funding.

In the summer of 1964, ATS was almost insolvent. At that time, Alfa Romeo made the offer, directed primarily to Carlo Chiti, to take over ATS and turn the company into a works racing team. Some sources report that this move failed because of Giorgio Billi, who feared losing his hold on the company. Chiti himself accepted Alfa Romeo's offer. He left ATS in the fall of 1964 and in November 1964 started work at Autodelta, a company that coordinated Alfa Romeo's racing activities for the next 20 years.

When Chitis was eliminated, ATS was no longer functional. The company closed its doors at the end of 1964.

ATS in Formula 1

Drove for ATS in 1963: Former Formula 1 world champion Phil Hill

ATS took part in the Formula 1 World Championship in 1963 . The approach to compete with Scuderia Ferrari with its own racing car failed early on. The car designed by Carlo Chiti never achieved the level of reliability and speeds required to be classified in the top ranks. The team registered for seven world championship races, but only appeared for five races. It only reached target arrivals once; in all other cases the drivers gave up because of technical defects in their cars. ATS’s Formula 1 involvement is often described today as a “disappointment”; other observers see the engagement as an example of hasty and unreflective actionism.

The ATS 100

Carlo Chiti designed the ATS 100 for the Formula 1 involvement of ATS. The car had an eight-cylinder engine developed by Chiti, which delivered less than 190 hp and was one of the weakest engines in the field. The car was not competitive in many ways and the preparation of the car for the races was only "amateurish".

They run

In 1963 ATS took part in five world championship races. The team skipped the first run of the year, the Monaco Grand Prix. The team made its debut at the subsequent Belgian Grand Prix in Spa-Francorchamps . The drivers were former Formula 1 world champion Phil Hill and Giancarlo Baghetti . Both drove for Scuderia Ferrari in 1962.

On the first use, the team made an unprepared impression. The racing cars were smeared with oil and poorly assembled. Hill proved to be the faster driver in qualifying. He qualified for 17th place on the grid, 12.6 seconds behind Graham Hill's ( BRM ) pole time . Baghetti's lag was 39.5 seconds; so he started last behind Tony Settember in the problematic Scirocco -BRM. Both ATS drivers retired early in the race due to transmission problems.

At the following race in the Netherlands , both drivers retired before they could cover even a quarter of the race distance. Hill's rear suspension broke while Baghetti's car had ignition problems.

ATS did not take part in the French and Great Britain Grand Prix; Chiti used the time to instead improve the car's competitiveness. In fact, he made little changes to the ATS 100.

ATS again entered Hill and Baghetti for the German Grand Prix . However, there was no race participation: The team's race transporter had an accident on the way there before the Nürburgring could be reached.

The team’s third race was the Italian Grand Prix . Hill qualified here 5.4 seconds behind the pole time of John Surtees in the Ferrari for 17th place on the grid, Baghetti started the race last. Both drivers reached the finish line in Monza. Hill finished eleventh, seven laps behind, while Baghetti crossed the finish line in fifteenth, 23 laps behind. The long backlog was due to numerous pit stops in which technical defects had to be repaired. These were the only finishings for an ATS car in Formula 1.

At the US Grand Prix in Watkins Glen, both drivers retired after oil pressure problems on the fifth lap. At the subsequent Mexican Grand Prix, the team suffered from a number of engine problems; the engines delivered only reduced power in the high-altitude air of Mexico. In the race, Baghetti retired after ten laps due to engine problems; Hill had to retire early after 40 of 65 laps due to a suspension failure.

After this race, ATS stopped its Formula 1 involvement. The team did not take part in the last race of the year in South Africa.

Recycling

An ATS 100 was taken over by the British racing mechanic Alf Francis. He revised the car and registered it for the 1964 Italian Grand Prix under the designation Derrington-Francis ATS100 for the Portuguese racing driver Mário Cabral . Cabral succeeded in qualifying, but was unable to finish the race due to a technical defect. The car was later destroyed by Dan Gurney in an accident during a test drive.

ATS 2500 GT and 2500 GTS: The road sports car

In keeping with the goal of beating Ferrari both on the racetrack and on the road, ATS also developed a street sports car, of which two versions were envisaged: a basic model called the 2500 GT and a more powerful vehicle called the 2500 GTS. Carlo Chiti initially planned to sell 500 to 600 cars a year; later the expectations were reduced to about 120 copies per year. This could not be realized either: As far as can be seen, no more than nine vehicles of the types 2500 GT and 2500 GTS were produced. A major reason for this, in addition to the company's thin financial base, was the fact that the disastrous results of Formula 1 involvement had destroyed the company's reputation.

ATS 2500 GT

ATS 2500 GT
ATS 2500 GT

The basic model was the ATS 2500 GT. Its technical concept was derived from the Formula 1 vehicle. The ATS 2500 GT was - after René Bonnet Djet of René Bonnet - the first road car with mid-engine .

The 2500 GT had a tubular frame made of steel; the body was also made of steel. The engine, which was installed lengthways behind the driver's cab, was a version of the Formula 1 engine that had been enlarged to 2.5 liters. It was a V-engine with a cylinder angle of 90 degrees and an overhead camshaft per cylinder bank, which was supplied with mixture by two Weber carburettors and was supposed to deliver 220 DIN HP. ATS stated the curb weight to be 810 kilograms. A manual, fully synchronized five-speed gearbox from ZF was provided for power transmission ; However, at least one vehicle - probably for financial reasons - was not equipped with a five-speed gearbox designed by Carlo Chiti. It consisted of an ATS housing and a Colotti gear set.

The 2500 GT / GTS was designed as a two-seater mid-engine coupé. There are different details regarding the design. Some sources attribute the design to Giovanni Michelotti , but mostly it is assumed that Franco Scaglione designed the vehicle. In any case, it is certain that the bodies were assembled at Allemano .

The ATS 2500 GT was presented at the Geneva Motor Show in March 1963 . It should cost 4,700,000 lire.

According to most sources, a total of four ATS 2500 GT vehicles were built. A fifth vehicle was made in 1965 by Alf Francis from some leftover parts and various third-party components; it does not bear the ATS brand emblem, but the logo of Scuderia Serenissima, for which Francis worked in 1965.

ATS 2500 GTS

ATS 2500 GTS

In the course of 1963, ATS developed the sport version 2500 GTS based on the coupé. The technical structure was essentially retained. The main changes were to the engine: unlike the 2500 GT, the GTS was equipped with four Weber carburettors. This and an increased compression resulted in increased performance, which was now given as 260 DIN PS. The GTS was then given an unchanged aluminum body, which was also made by Allemano. The dry weight of the car was given as 750 kilograms, the maximum speed should have been 255 km / h. These values ​​have never been independently confirmed. At the time, no journalist was allowed to drive a GT or GTS himself. When it was presented, the purchase price of the ATS 2500 GTS was given as Lire 5,300,000.

ATS repeatedly reported to sporting events with the GTS, but was not able to convince:

  • ATS reported the first two prototypes of the 2500 GTS to the 1000 km race on the Nürburgring , which took place in May 1963. The cars did not arrive there: The cars were destroyed on the way there when the racing transporter was involved in an accident.
  • Two more GTS were reported by the Scuderia Centro Sud for the Targa Florio taking place on April 26, 1964 ; The drivers were Giancarlo Baghetti and Piero Frescobaldi . Baghetti set the absolute fastest lap in the race, but ultimately retired - like Frescobaldi - with an engine failure.

The production figures of the GTS were not published. Most sources today assume that a total of five GTS vehicles were produced. This includes the first two prototypes that were destroyed on the way to the Nürburgring and not rebuilt. Three ATS 2500 GTS still exist today.

Remnants

After the end of the company, Alf Francis took over the remaining material from ATS, which later passed through various hands. Today there are still four engines and nine chassis. Allegedly, two chassis carry an almost finished body.

Revitalizing the brand

ATS GT at the Retro Classics 2018

In November 2012 car enthusiasts from Italy presented the name of the company again. With the ATS Sport 1000 and the ATS 2500 GT , they announced two new models. The relatively light Sport 1000 at around 400 kg was sold from the end of 2013 at prices from 25,000 euros. Various motorcycle engines were used, including those from the Suzuki Hayabusa . The company presented the production version of the 2500 GT at the Top Marques in Monaco in April 2015. Like the model from the 1960s, the new 2500 GT is a mid-engined sports car and is also reminiscent of this vehicle. In November 2013, ATS announced another vehicle, the Leggera . The 3.75 m long lightweight roadster is reminiscent of the Jaguar E-Type or an AC Cobra and was officially presented in July 2014. Another sports car was unveiled in London in September 2017 with the ATS GT . The 4.70 m long vehicle is powered by a 3.8-liter gasoline engine, which is believed to be supplied by McLaren .

literature

To Formula 1

  • Adriano Cimarosti: The Century of Racing . Stuttgart 1997, ISBN 3-613-01848-9
  • David Hodges: Racing Cars from A to Z after 1945 . 1st edition Stuttgart (Motorbuch Verlag) 1994, ISBN 3-613-01477-7
  • David Hodges: AZ of Grand Prix Cars 1906-2000 , 1st edition London 2001, ISBN 1-86126-339-2 (English)
  • Mike Lawrence: Grand Prix Cars 1945-65 . Motor Racing Publications (London) 1998. ISBN 1-899870-39-3
  • Pierre Ménard: La Grande Encyclopédie de la Formule 1 . 2nd edition, St. Sulpice, 2000, ISBN 2-940125-45-7 (French).
  • Georg Amtmann and Halwart Schrader: Italian sports cars . Stuttgart 1999, ISBN 3-613-01988-4 .

To the street sports car

  • Wolfgang Blaube : Six against Enzo . Presentation of the ATS 2500, in: Oldtimer Markt 11/2005, p. 140 ff.
  • Mike Walsh: Muting in Maranello , presentation of the ATS 2500 GT with driving report and restoration history of the car with the chassis number 2003, in: Classic & Sportscars 7/2007.

Web links

Commons : ATS  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ map. maps.google.de, accessed on December 24, 2016 .
  2. ↑ Cimarosti: century of racing, S. 186th
  3. ↑ a b Ménard: La grande Encyclopédie de la Formule 1. p. 594.
  4. ↑ Lawrence: Grand Prix Cars 1945-1964, p: 15.
  5. ↑ a b Lawrence: Grand Prix Cars 1945-1964, p. 15.
  6. ^ The ATS SPORT 1000: One more Italian sports car to dream about. November 8, 2012, accessed September 5, 2017 .
  7. ↑ ATS is back - ATS 2500 GT inspired by the classic. December 18, 2013, accessed September 5, 2017 .
  8. ↑ Italo sports car with 640 hp. April 17, 2015, accessed September 5, 2017 .
  9. ↑ ATS 300 Leggera Sports Car Revealed. November 6, 2013, accessed September 5, 2017 .
  10. ↑ Roadster the easy way. July 24, 2014, accessed on September 5, 2017 .
  11. ↑ Italian millionaire sports car. September 4, 2017. Retrieved September 5, 2017 .