The ATS 2500 GT is a sports car made by Italian company

Automobili Turismo e Sport ATS (Automobili Turismo e Sport) is an Italian automotive constructor. It once had a racing team that operated between 1963 and 1965, formed after the famous " Palace Revolution" at Ferrari. Production history The company was formed by Carlo C ...

Bologna Bologna ( , , ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in northern Italy. It is the List of cities in Italy, seventh most populous city in Italy, with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different nationalities. Its M ...

. It was the first Italian and one of the first GT or sports car in the world to have a mid-engine layout. The group behind the ATS project consisted mainly of Ferrari defectors: family troubles had created an uncomfortable working atmosphere for the personnel. ATS, intent on beating Ferrari on all fronts, also produced a Formula One car for 1963, "a ghastly mess, one of the most inept racing cars ever, and its appalling performances did not help the road car."A to Z of Sports Cars, p.38 Even noted driver

Phil Hill Philip Toll Hill Jr. (April 20, 1927 – August 28, 2008) was an American racing driver, who competed in Formula One from to . Hill won the Formula One World Drivers' Championship in with Ferrari, and won three Grands Prix across eight seas ...

was unable to provide ATS with any results on track.

History

The space frame 2500 GT was introduced in 1963 at the

Paris Motor Show The Paris Motor Show () is a biennial auto show in Paris. Held during October, it is one of the most important auto shows, often with many new production automobile and concept car debuts. The show presently takes place in Paris expo Porte de V ...

. Designed by Franco Scaglione and engineered by

Carlo Chiti Carlo Chiti (19 December 1924 – 7 July 1994) was an Italian racing car and engine designer best known for his long association with Alfa Romeo's racing department. He also worked for Scuderia Ferrari, Ferrari and was involved in the design of t ...

and Giotto Bizzarrini, the car was built only in limited numbers before investors withdrew financial support and the project collapsed. The car's drawings were later used for Count Volpi's (an early backer) failed Serenissima sports-cars project. A Moreno Baldi attempted another revival of the ATS concept in 1970, and failed even more disastrously. With its (210 bhp according to some) and of torque it was claimed to be capable of a top speed. A competition version (ATS 2500 GTS) produced but never amounted to much. The coachwork was by Allemano, and the 5-speed transmission by Colotti.

Revival effort

In 2012, there was an attempt to re-establish ATS. Digital images of a newly designed 2500 GT were shown, with a 2.5 L turbocharged flat-four engine (a

Cosworth Cosworth is a British automotive engineering company founded in London in 1958, specialising in high-performance internal combustion engines, powertrain, and electronics for auto racing, automobile racing (motorsport) and mainstream Automotiv ...

-tuned Subaru flat-four claimed to produce 500 hp). The car never entered production. in 2017, ATS announced another model, a spiritual successor to the original 2500 GT called the ATS GT. The new GT is based on the

McLaren 12C The McLaren MP4-12C, later rebranded as the McLaren 12C, is a sports car produced by the British carmaker McLaren Automotive. Manufactured between 2011 and 2014 and designed by Frank Stephenson, the MP4-12C was available as both a coupe and a R ...

and ATS had hopes to enter production in 2019.

References

Sources

* {{cite book , title = A to Z of Sports Cars , author = Mike Lawrence , publisher = Bay View Books , location = Bideford, Devon , pages = 38 , year = 1991 , isbn = 1-870979-81-8 Cars of Italy Cars introduced in 1963 Rear mid-engine, rear-wheel-drive vehicles Sports cars