Automobili Turismo e Sport
 |
|
| Full name | Automobili Turismo e Sport S.p.A. |
|---|---|
| Base |
 Italy
|
| Founder(s) |
Carlo Chiti Giotto Bizzarrini |
| Noted drivers |
 Phil Hill Giancarlo Baghetti
|
| Formula One World Championship career | |
| First entry | 1963 Belgian Grand Prix |
| Races entered | 5 |
| Constructors' Championships |
0 |
| Drivers' Championships |
0 |
| Race victories | 0 |
| Pole positions | 0 |
| Fastest laps | 0 |
| Final entry | 1963 Italian Grand Prix |
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.
The company was formed by Carlo Chiti and Giotto Bizzarrini, among others – intending for it to be a direct competitor to Ferrari both on the race track and on the street. Chiti and Bizzarrini built, with sponsorship from the Scuderia Serenissima's Count Giovanni Volpi, a road-going sports car and a Formula One racing car.
The sports car was the ATS 2500 GT, a small coupé developed by Chiti and Bizzarrini with a Franco Scaglione-designed bodywork built by Allemano. The engine was a mid-mounted 2.5 L V8 engineered by Chiti, capable of achieving 245 hp (180 kW) and accelerating to 257 km/h (160 mph). Only 12 cars were reportedly built, and few exist today. Apart from being one of the first mid-engine sports cars (the René-Bonnet Djet in France is said to have beaten it to the market by a few months), 2500 GT never gained fame or popularity, but its 90 degree DOHC V8 with a flatplane crankshaft was later developed into Alfa Romeo Tipo 33 engine in 2 L, 2.5 L and 3 L formats by Carlo Chiti at Autodelta.
The F1 car was the Tipo 100, a 1.5 L V8 engine powering a chassis that was a virtual copy of the outdated Ferrari 156. Drivers Phil Hill and Giancarlo Baghetti, also fleeing from Ferrari during a period of political turmoil, were signed to drive the new car, but a dismal 1963 Formula One season forced Chiti to close the door on the racing team. The ATS would later be used in the Derrington-Francis project spearheaded by the Rob Walker Racing Team's former chief mechanic, Alf Francis.
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Wikipedia