ATS

Interesting facts

ATS (Automobili Turismo e Sport) was founded in 1961 in the wake of Ferrari's infamous 'palace revolt,' set up by two key departing Ferrari engineers, Carlo Chiti and Giotto Bizzarrini, with the openly stated goal of challenging their old employer both on the track and in the road-car market. The venture was bankrolled by Count Giovanni Volpi, owner of Scuderia Serenissima, and the team was formally unveiled in April 1963 at the Geneva Motor Show. Its Formula One challenger, the Tipo 100, was developed near Bologna and used a 1.5-litre, fuel-injected, double-overhead-camshaft V8 in a car weighing barely 450 kilograms. Behind the wheel sat two more Ferrari exiles, Phil Hill and Giancarlo Baghetti, yet the car did not even appear until the 1963 Belgian Grand Prix, missing the start of the season. The cars turned up at races with crumpled bodywork and rough paintwork and retired race after race - the team's only classified finish came at the Italian Grand Prix, with Hill 11th and Baghetti 15th. After just five grands prix, before the 1963 season had even ended, ATS abandoned its Formula One adventure, turning what had been billed as Ferrari's next great rival into a cautionary tale within a matter of months. ATS raced in Formula 1 from 1963 to 1984, across 8 seasons as an Italian team. The team scored a total of 7 constructors' championship points.