Automobili Turismo e Sport
Automobili Turismo e Sport SpA (in short: ATS) was a small Italian manufacturer of sports and racing cars based in Ponteccio Marconi in Bologna, which briefly became involved in Formula 1 racing. The company was founded in 1962 by a number of former Ferrari employees and existed until 1964. With the German wheel manufacturer ATS (Auto Technics special accessory), which until 1984 was active from 1977 in Formula 1, there is only an accidental similarity of name abbreviations.
- 3.1 A.T.S. 2500 GT
- 3.2 A.T.S. 2500 GTS
- 3.3 Restanten
- 4.1 to Formula 1
- 4.2 The road sports car
The company's history
Led to the founding of A.T.S. was a so-called Palace Revolution at Ferrari: In the fall of 1961 there was an intense, very personally managed dispute between Enzo Ferrari and his wife, Laura Ferrari on the one hand and the former Ferrari sales manager Girolamo Gardini on the other hand, was fired as a consequence Gardini of Ferrari. Five other Ferrari employees who had their solidarity with Gardini were also subsequently dismissed: Giotto Bizzarrini ( director of prototype development ), Carlo Chiti ( Ferraris Development Manager ), Fausto Galassi ( the head of the foundry ), Enzo Selmi (personnel director ) and Romolo Tavoni ( race director of the Scuderia Ferrari).
The six former Ferrari employees founded in February 1962, the company ATS, with which they pursued the declared goal to make Ferrari both on the road and on the racetrack serious competition. As a financier of the project Giorgio Billi and Jaime Ortiz Patino - were added. Shortly after the establishment of the company, the young Venetian nobleman Giovanni Volpi di Misurata Conte joined, who maintained a separate team under the name Scuderia Serenissima. Beginning of 1962 held Billi 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. Due to some personal differences Volpi jumped off after only a few months to develop with his company, the Scuderia Serenissima, their own racing cars; somewhat later also secreted Ortiz, Bizzarrini and Gardini - the trigger of the " palace revolution " - from, so that the company almost completely Giorgio Billi was the end of 1962 and was technically ruled by Carlo Chiti.
Billi bought a large area in Ponteccio Marconi in Bologna, where the company headquarters and a large factory should be built. To this end, it did not come; actually resided A.T.S. until the very end in a farm, which stood on a corner of the area.
In 1963 A.T.S. with the Tipo 100, in the formula 1; about the same time the debut derived from the racing car sports car ATS 2500 GT / GTS. Both projects were short-lived and ultimately failed due to inadequate funding.
In the summer of 1964 was A.T.S. almost insolvent. At this time came from the Alfa Romeo directed primarily at Carlo Chiti offer, ATS to take over and make the operation a factory racing team. Some sources report that this step failed to Giorgio Billi, who feared to lose his influence over the company. Chiti even accepted the offer by Alfa Romeo. He left A.T.S. in the fall of 1964 and took in November 1964 on the work by Autodelta, a company which Alfa Romeo racing activities coordinated in the next 20 years.
With the departure of rickets was A.T.S. no longer functional. The company closed the end of 1964 the gates.
A.T.S. in Formula 1
A.T.S. participated at the 1963 Formula 1 World Championship. The approach to make the Scuderia Ferrari here with its own racing car competition failed early. Designed by Carlo Chiti car never reached the level of reliability and the speeds that were required to be classified in the front ranks. The team signed up to seven world championship races, but appeared only five races. Only once it reached target arrivals; in all other cases gave the drivers on due to technical defects in their cars. The Formula 1 involvement of A.T.S. is now often described as a " disappointment "; Other observers see the commitment as an example of hasty and unthinking activism.
The A.T.S. 100
For the Formula 1 involvement of A.T.S. Carlo Chiti designed to A.T.S. 100 The car had a developed by Chiti even eight-cylinder engine, which gave less than 190 hp and was one of the weakest engines of the grid. The car was in many ways not competitive, and the preparation of the car to the race reached only " amateurish level."
The races
In 1963 A.T.S. to five of world championship races. The first race of the year, the Monaco Grand Prix, the team left out. During the subsequent Belgian Grand Prix at Spa- Francorchamps debuted the team. Drivers were the former Formula 1 World Champion Phil Hill and Giancarlo Baghetti. Both were 1962 driving for Scuderia Ferrari.
The first time the team made an unprepared impression. The racing cars were assembled smeared with oil and bad. In qualifying, Hill proved to be the faster riders. He qualified at 12.6 seconds behind the pole time of Graham Hill ( BRM ) for the 17th starting position. Baghettis residue was 39.5 seconds; so he went behind Tony Settember in problematic Scirocco BRM was the last at the start. In the race, both ATS - pilot fell early with gearbox problems.
At the next race in the Netherlands both riders fell off before they could cover even a quarter of the race distance. In Hill, the rear suspension broke while ignition problems occurred at Baghettis car.
At the Grand Prix of France and Great Britain took ATS not participate; Chiti used the time to instead improve the competitiveness of the car. In fact, he took a few changes to the ATS 100 before.
The Grand Prix of Germany reported A.T.S. Hill again and Baghetti. A race entry did not exist, however: The racing car carriers of the team crashed on arrival before the Nürburgring was achieved.
The third race of the team was the Italian Grand Prix. Hill qualified here with 5.4 seconds off the pole time of John Surtees in Ferrari for the 17th starting position, Baghetti went finish last race. Both riders reached at Monza a finish. Hill was charged with seven laps behind the Eleventh, Baghetti came in fifteenth with 23 laps to the finish. The high residue was due to a number of pit stops, where technical defects could be repaired. These were the only target arrivals a car from ATS in Formula 1
When the U.S. Grand Prix at Watkins Glen, both drivers left after oil problems printing in the fifth round. During the subsequent Grand Prix of Mexico, the team suffered from a number of engine problems; the engines developed in the high altitude of Mexico only reduced performance. In the race Baghetti retired after ten rounds out after engine problems; Hill was forced to retire prematurely after 40 of 65 laps due to a suspension failure.
After this race turned A.T.S. the Formula 1 operation, a. At the last race of the year in South Africa, the team took no further part.
Further utilization
A A.T.S. 100 was taken over by the British racing mechanic Alf Francis. He revised the car and reported it to the Grand Prix of Italy in 1964 under the name Derrington - Francis ATS100 for the Portuguese racing driver Mário Cabral. Cabral after qualifying, but he could not finish the race due to a technical defect. The car was later destroyed by Dan Gurney in an accident during a test drive.
A.T.S. 2500 GT and 2500 GTS: The road sports car
According to the target, Ferrari beat both on the racetrack and on the road, developed ATS also a street sports car, of which two versions were provided: a basic model under the name 2500 GT and a stronger vehicle designated 2500 GTS. Carlo Chiti first planned to sell 500 to 600 cars per year; later, the expectations were reduced to about 120 copies per year. Even that could not materialize: It appears that no more than nine vehicles of the types 2500 GT and 2500 GTS were produced. A major reason for this was in addition to the thin financial position of the company, the fact that the disastrous results of the Formula 1 involvement had destroyed the company's reputation.
A.T.S. 2500 GT
The base model was the A.T.S. 2500 GT. His technical concept of the Formula 1- derived vehicle. The A.T.S. 2500 GT was - after the Matra djet by René Bonnet - the first road car with mid- engine.
The 2500 GT had a tubular frame, which was made of steel; the body was also made of steel. The behind the cabin longitudinally mounted engine was enlarged to 2.5 -liter displacement version of the Formula 1 engine. It was a V-engine with a cylinder angle of 90 degrees and an overhead camshaft per cylinder bank, which was fed by two Weber carburettors with mixture and should deliver 220 hp DIN. When empty weight was A.T.S. 810 kg to. As power transmission manual, fully synchronized five-speed transmission from ZF was provided; However, at least one vehicle was - probably for financial reasons - notwithstanding this, equipped with a five-speed gearbox, the Carlo Chiti had designed. It consisted of an ATS case and a set of gears from Colotti.
The 2500 GT / GTS was designed as a two-seat mid-engined coupe. In terms of design, there are different information. Some sources attribute it to the design of Giovanni Michelotti, mostly however assumed that Franco Scaglione designed the vehicle. Secured in each case is that the bodies were built at Allemano.
The A.T.S. 2500 GT was presented in March 1963 at the Geneva Motor Show. It should cost 4,700,000 lire.
Overall, according to most sources, four vehicles of the ATS created 2500 GT. A fifth vehicle was manufactured in 1965 by Alf Francis from some leftover parts and various third-party components; it does not carry the brand emblem of ATS, but the logo of the Scuderia Serenissima, worked for Francis 1965.
A.T.S. 2500 GTS
During the year 1963 A.T.S. developed on the basis of the coupe, the sports version 2500 GTS. The technical structure is essentially retained. Changes were made primarily on the engine difference from 2500 GT, the GTS was equipped with four Weber carburettors. From this and from an increased compression resulted in an increased performance that was now given with 260 DIN HP. Then got the GTS unchanged in design aluminum body, which was also produced in Allemano. The dry weight of the car was given as 750 kg, top speed is said to have amounted to 255 km / h. These values were never independently confirmed. No journalist was allowed at the time driving a GT or a GTS itself. In his presentation of the purchase price of the ATS was 2500 GTS specified with 5,300,000 lire.
With the GTS is A.T.S. reported repeatedly to sporting events, but could not convince this:
- The first two prototypes of the 2500 GTS reported ATS to the 1000-kilometer race at the Nürburgring, which was held in May 1963. The car but not on there came: The cars were destroyed on arrival, as the racing car transporter was involved in an accident.
- Two other GTS were reported by the Scuderia Centro Sud to be held on April 26, 1964 Targa Florio; Drivers were Giancarlo Baghetti and Piero Frescobaldi. In the race Baghetti drove absolutely the fastest lap, but was ultimately - as well as Frescobaldi - with engine failure from.
The production numbers of the GTS were not disclosed. Most sources today assume that a total of five vehicles were manufactured from Type GTS. This includes the first two prototypes, which were destroyed on the arrival to the Nurburgring and not rebuilt, include. Three A.T.S. 2500 GTS still exist today.
Restanten
After the end of the company Alf Francis took over the remaining material from ATS, which went through several hands later. today will still exist four engines and nine chassis. Supposedly carry two chassis almost finished body.