The ATS GT Finally Launches With As Much As 827 Horsepower

The ATS GT has been a long time in the making. But this time, we’re told, it is finally here.

The story of Automobili Turismo e Sport (ATS) dates back to the great walkout from Maranello in the mid-1960s, when a group of executives and engineers, fed up with Enzo Ferrari’s notoriously difficult manners, left to establish their own company.

Lead by Carlo Chiti and Giotto Bizzarrini, the newly formed company created the ATS 2500 GT and briefly competed in Formula One (to less than spectacular effect). The company went under in 1965, but a new consortium revived the name in 2012.

True to its history, the reborn ATS has been marred by internal rivalries ever since. But it’s ostensibly put those troubles behind it to introduce the ATS GT Launch Edition. The mid-engined supercar is built around a carbon-fiber chassis overlaid with rather stunning carbon-fiber bodywork in a package sized somewhere in between the Lamborghini Huracan and the larger Aventador.

At its heart sits a 3.8 twin-turbo V8 not unlike what you’d find in a McLaren 570S, driving the rear wheels through a seven-speed automatic transmission. ATS will offer it in two states of tune: one producing 730 horsepower (537 kW) and 575 lb-ft (780 Nm) of torque, and another with an impressive 827 hp (608 kW) and 700 lb-ft (949 Nm). The manufacturer says it’ll hit 60 in 2.9 seconds and 120 mph in 9.6.

Brembo carbon-ceramic brakes keep it all in check, double wishbones suspend it at both ends with adjustable shocks, and Michelin provides its Pilot Sport S4 or Cup 2 tires on 20- or 21-inch wheels – plus, it features all the electronics you’d expect from a modern supercar.

As with the original 2500 GT, ATS will only offer a dozen examples of the Launch Edition at €740,000 or $850,000 a pop. Finally, the automaker has partnered with timekeeper U-Boat to offer a corresponding wristwatch.