ATS 2500 GT
The ATS 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. It was presented in April 1963 at the Geneva Motor Show.
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 the second mid-engine sports cars (the René-Bonnet / Matra Djet was presented five months earlier at the Salon de l'Autombile in Paris, France), the 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.
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