hello to everyone. I'm just part of this forum of great passion. We are relaunch the ATS brand with the new 2500 GT this year after 50yrs since creation. What do you think? i like to know your opinions thanks http://www.facebook.com/ATSAUTOSPORT
It's only recently that the revival of ATS came to my attention, just like its purchase of the De Tomaso brand. Information about these are very scarce. The 2500GT looks a bit bland to me, and very un-Italian. It needs more sensual curves to become appealing, I think. What about the engine; flat-four. Is it a Subaru engine? An attempt to revive OSCA a few years ago intended to use the Subaru engine. Not much is known about the ATS 2500GT since it was announced. The bike-engine 1000 Barchetta is almost like any car in that category: Radical, Ligier, Caterham, etc... Not really distinctive, and with a very limited market. The Leggera reminds me of Lister-Jag, Cobra, etc... Very sensual lines and WOW appeal there! It seems to have a basic tubular chassis(square tubes_ and plastic body; not a bad combination in itself if one wants to keep the price down. At £30000 it has a chance to compete against Lotus Elise. At £50000 it will come against Porsche Boxter. All depend of the execution. If ATS can find itself a niche in the hand-crafted car market at a reasonable price, it may have a chance. But pushing conjointly 3 conflicting designs is spreading the resources. Probably that none is actually ready for production (I hope I am wrong) and without a finished product to offer for testing to the media, the effort may be wasted. It may be that Geely (the Chinese car maker) controls ATS now. I hope it will support the Italian workshop, and not be too impatient for financial return.
Hi, Should Geely really control ATS, it would be interesting how this turns out. Geely controls Volvo. Given some of the intersting stuff that is coming out of Volvo these days, it would be interesting to see how this pans out for ATS. Regards, Ramin
The new coupe looks nice but the new front engine spider is just a terrible design and leaves a bad impression of the new ownership. A kid could draw up a better looking car during math class. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
The mid-engine design is really nice and evocative of the original ATS. Remember reading about the ATS in R&T in the 60s. Good looking and quick car. Cannot say much for that other design, which looks really kit-carish. Image Unavailable, Please Login
The first ATS was THE first mid engined super car you could argue it was the Matra but the ATS was top notch for that time period. Even showing the engine thru glass!
I have been assured (officially) that Geely has no involvement in ATS. One of the ATS directors intended to import Geelys in Italy a few years ago; the deal didn't materialise.
Hi William, Thanks for the heads up. So who is backing ATS ? The reason I ask is that I remember seeing a car called Artega. It was German built, and, in my view, very well engineered and a blast to drive. It was backed by a leading German parts supplier who used the car to showcase its engineering skills. It could not survive, despite such a background. What are the odds that ATS can survive, especailly as the first glimpses seem somewhat underwhelming. Regards, Ramin PS: Not to get off subject, any news on the possible return of TVR ? De Tomaso ?
The man behind the revival of ATS and the purchase of the De Tomaso name also is Gianluca Gregis, who owned UKGARAGE in Milan before, the importer of hand-made sports cars TVR, Mosler, Noble, Westfield, Ginetta and Radical. He has associates in this business, but no major backer. And yes, the Artega was a promising car too. The production of low volume hand-made cars is a very risky business.
I wouldn't call the Matra Jet (born Rene Bonnet Djet) a supercar, but it probably went on the road a few months before the ATS 2500. Designed by Carlo Chiti, the ATS was never produced in any quantity (12 cars only), but deserves a footnote in Italian car history. When Count Volpi fell out with other investors and left ATS, he was apparently given a few engine and transmission castings as part payment. Volpi hadn't abandoned his dream of building his own cars and recruited engineer Massimino (ex-Maserati and ex-Ferrari) to design it. Massimino based the engine on the blank casings Volpi had and developed it to 3 litter. Serenissima ran in a few endurance races (Le Mans) without result Interestingly, Volpi lent one of these engines for Bruce McLaren to try in F1 during his first year in GP. Later, after the demise of ATS, Carlo Chiti founded Autodelta. The firm became a tuner and race specialist for Alfa Romeo and Chiti used his V8 ATS engine design on the Alfa 33 sport car. So, the ATS connection is rather interesting.
That is a very interesting timeline, one I would have never dreamed up. On the same note, someone, IIRC Ed Niles, posted some photos inside ATS a few years ago, and there were stacks of castings, much, much more than for the 12 completed cars. How close is the tipo 33 Alfa engine to the ATS V-8, and is it at all possible that they are basically 1 and the same? Best, Jack.
post #12: Massimino engine from 1963 has nothing to do with Chiti's ATS engine design. Different engine, different design and no connection. Alf Francis has nothing to do with that engine and no ATS parts or design used.
Historic racing brand ATS returns with this elegant powerhouse | Classic Driver Magazine Seems like they actually built one...
You can do it with many of the american V8 engines but it costs a LOT. Even the LS7 can spin that with some work. On the other hand, I am not sure it gains you a lot. There are easier ways to get power out of one of the american V8s.
The engine would apparently be an ex-F1 Renault V8 engine design reworked to 4000cc capacity. I don't know if it's atmo or turbo. That must cost a lot, but at least it's unique to ATS. Wait and see ...
I don't want to rain on your parade, but would check with an international copyright lawyer because Cadillac has a model called ATS. But if you formally bought the name ATS from the last owner(s) --Count Volpi, or whoever was left holding the bag--maybe your claim to the name predates theirs. To see how Cadillac uses the name look here: 2015 ATS Coupe - Cadillac ATS Coupe | Cadillac Cadillac Introducing the 2015 Cadillac ATS Coupe. Every element designed to thrill. ‎Photos - ‎ATS Coupe Standard Equipment - ‎Competitive Comparison It could get really confusing if they bring out a mid-engined Cadillac called ATS. I wouldn't want to get run over by GM's team of lawyers...
As far as I understand, the people who make the ATS in Italy officially registered the name and trademarks, and have documents that show that. ATS stands for Automobili Turismo e Sport. It's a brand name that can trace its history as far back as 1962, although the original company folded after a few years. ATS was created by ex-Ferrari engineers. I don't know what ATS in the Cadillac ATS stands for, but it's just a model, and not a make, isn't it?
There's a huge stretch between kickoff and goal line. Getting IP rights to ATS is a start; what they do with this what matters. And, quite frankly, the original ATS wasn't that impressive or memorable. Matt
ATS is part of Italian motoring history, even if the company itself wasn't a success, produced few cars and folded in acrimony when its participants fell out. ATS DNA can be seen in Serenissima, Lamborghini and later in the Alfa 33. Carlo Chiti and Giotto Bizzarini worked in the design of their engines, directly or indirectly.
Bizzarrini did no work on the car, this is a complete misunderstanding. The truth is that Bizzarrini had a V12 design in his pocket and wanted to use it but Chiti was in favor of a V8. Bizzarrini walked and used the design at Lamborghini, end of story.
