Meet The Rare Italian Sports Car Born Out Of Spite Of Ferrari

Enzo Ferrari, who will soon be immortalized in film, was a character known for not being easy to get along with, but while many know of his dispute with Ferruccio Lamborghini leading to a rival sports car, not many know of the ATS 2500 GT.

The story of the rare ATS 2500 GT sports car and the team that built it was no different from many of the stories we've heard before. Like so many stories about Enzo throwing a fit, this one started during a tumultuous time within the Ferrari camp. What is now referred to as the "Palace Revolt" of 1961 was when several top-tier Ferrari employees were either fired or resigned over Enzo's decision to let his wife have a hand in running the company.

The disgruntled ex-Ferrari employees consisted of the former sales manager, former sports car development chief, former chief engineer, and the former manager of Scuderia Ferrari, and included names like Giotto Bizzarrini. Like many others, they challenged Ferrari by trying to beat him at his own game, forming Automobili Turismo e Sport, or ATS.

ATS's first sports car was the 2500 - the first Italian mid-engine rear-wheel drive sports car, preceding the legendary Lamborghini Miura.

The ATS 2500 debuted at the 1963 Geneva Motor Show as a fresh and beautiful design by Franco Scagleoni and Carrozzeria Allemano, with smooth-flowing lines and good proportions. It was a timeless beauty with, advanced features for the era, like four-wheel disc brakes, four-wheel independent suspension, a five-speed manual transmission, and a bespoke DOHC 2.5-liter flat-plane crank V8 making 217 horsepower and 188 lb-ft of torque in standard form, accompanied by a screaming 9,000-rpm redline. It was capable of a five-second 0-60 sprint and a top speed of 160 mph.

The 1,700-lb GTS got even more power, with 242 hp and a lighter aluminum body.

Unfortunately, ATS did not have the financial backing nor the racing pedigree to make the brand a commercial success - its attempt at Formula 1 failed dismally - and ATS had to close shop in 1965, having built only 12 cars. Aside from the 12 cars that came out of the ATS venture, the only lasting legacy was the development of the 2500 GT's engine into the Alfa-Romeo Tipo 33 race car, which had a road-going version that inspired the recently unveiled Alfa Romeo 33 Stradale.

Say what you will about Enzo Ferrari, but the man is the reason for creating some of the most desirable cars on the planet, the ATS 2500 GT and GTS included. What was born out of spite came a rare marvel of automotive design and engineering that we are lucky to see survive.

ATS was rebooted as a brand in 2012, and its most recent model, the 830-hp ATS GT, arrived in 2017 as a rebodied McLaren 12C. Meanwhile, a new Bizzarrini Giotto supercar was also announced recently, showing that the legacy of the men behind the ATS 2500 lives on to this day.