Meet the Ferrari-Rivaling, 640HP ATS Supercar

BOLD RIDE

Copyright © 2015 Bold Ride LLC.

 

Posted by Zach Doell

 

The ATS marque – Automobili Turismo Sport – might not be a household name among the supercar greats, but give it time. In 1961, a group of Ferrari staff were forced out during an internal crisis. A few of them got together and decided to build a car – the 2500 GT. 
 

Their intentions were basically “beat Ferrari at all costs.” Unfortunately, the group folded after a scant 15 cars were built, and the marque sat dormant for years. Now, ATS is back – reinvigorated, renewed – and their new 2500 GT looks like a proper Ferrari rival.

Surely, the world isn’t in dire need of another rarified Italian supercar, but collectively, we might be able to make an exception for the 2500 GT. First and foremost, the engine. The driving force behind any Italian thoroughbred needs to be punchy, sonorous, and a little bit bent on killing you. With 640 horsepower rocketing from the GT’s free-breathing mid-engine V8 at 10,000 rpm… it sounds like that checkbox is good and covered.

Keep your foot planted on the gas pedal and the 2500 GT will pounce from zero to 60 mph in 2.9 seconds, and climb all the way up to 211 mph. Then again, with a curb weight of only 2,095 pounds, there isn’t much car to carry around (less than even a Lotus Exige LF1). ATS constructed both the 2500 GT’s backbone and bodywork from carbon fiber, and has affixed an aerodynamic undertray beneath the car to keep it firmly planted at speed.

Order a 2500 GT and you’ll have a choice of either a six-speed manual or six-speed sequential gearbox, fed to a limited-slip differential at the rear. Massive six-piston calipers fit to all four corners, complemented by road-taming Öhlins dampers, but you won’t find ABS. A knife-edged supercar indeed.
Interested? The new iteration of the ATS 2500 GT will be shown today at the Top Marques auto show in Monaco.

Photo Credit: Degler Studio

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