ATS For Sale? Not So Fast Says Italy’s ATS Brand Owner In A Tale Of Two ATS Names…

Earlier this month, we received an email from ATS Automobili Turismo Sport stating that the boutique carmaker was up for sale, but now, ATS Automobili is saying that’s not true…

If you’re confused, let us try to elaborate as best we can with what the two companies, which share the same logo and heritage, have told us:

ATS Automobili said it’s based in Borgomanero, Italy, and was founded in 2011 by Maritan Daniele, while ATS Automobili Turismo Sport (the one for sale) works out from Tenerife, Spain, and was reportedly founded in 2012 by Gianluca Gegis.

According to Italy’s ATS Automobili, they originally cooperated with Gianluca Gegis who claims fame to Spain’s ATS Automobili Turismo Sport, but departed ways last September.

The Italian company sent us an email in which it states that it has filed a lawsuit against the Spanish side, which it claims, has illegally used the company’s “registered” brand name and designs, attaching the papers in a PDF file that you can check for yourself, if you speak Italian, in the gallery. Italy’s ATS added that their company is moving ahead with the presentation of a new model at the Top Marques Monaco 2015 show, the 2500 GT.

Below, we’ve attached the emails we got from both companies.

From Italy’s ATS:

“We are the real ATS Automobili, we are located since 2011 in Borgomanero (NO) Italy. We had and we have a lot of problems with Gregis, he was a collaborator but is from September that he isn’t a our collaborator. He is using our registered designs, our website (he has changed all our passwords), our old email and he made a false signed to stole our company brand ATS(I attached a copy of the lawsuit made by the real owner of the ATS Brand at Oami in Alicante). I attached you also our registrations of design.

We ask you to remove the article and don’t write anymore about the false
ATS Owner… Gregis. ATS is based in Italy in Borgomanero and this is the
official website www.ats-automobili.com.

I attached some pictures of our ATS Factory in Italy and a official press
release.

Best regards Daniele”

From Spain’s ATS:

“Official ATS Statement

The manufacturer ATS (acronym of Automobili Turismo e Sport) was founded in 1962 by Engineer Carlo Chiti in collaboration with Romolo Tavoni and Giotto Bizzarrini. Together with three prominent men, all the technicians of the Ferrari F1 racing team that collected of victories in the World Championship of the time, in direct disagreement with the thought of Enzo Ferrari, formed this new project in an attempt to mount an Italian competitor versus Scuderia Ferrari, together with the financial support of Count Giovanni Volpi, wealthy Venetian businessman already owner of Scuderia Serenissima and already Ferrari’s customer.

In 1963, the ATS began with two cars in the Grand Prix of Belgium under the leadership of the World Champion Phil Hill and Giancarlo Baghetti, the best Italian talent of the period. In March of the same year was presented at the Geneva International Motor Show also the 2500 GT coupe road built in two versions. Engineered by Chiti and Bizzarrini was designed by Franco Scaglione and assembled by Allemano. The 2500 GT with steel body and a 2.5-liter V8 engine derived from the F1 was credited with 210 hp while the “GTS” was the lighter version of 750 kg with aluminum body and engine power increased to 245 hp. Both version had a tubular steel and for the first time in the world a sports car road coupe had the engine installed in the rear middle.

In 1964, after only two years as a result of internal disagreements between investors and technicians, ATS unfortunately closed its doors but with the satisfaction of having enclosed under one name the best Italian automobilistics minds of the time, which helped to create and consolidate years after, famous names, from Lamborghini to Autodelta, from Iso to Bizzarrini, from Alfa Romeo to the stables of the 80 F1.

In 2012 the Italian designer and businessman Gianluca Gegis bought the ATS brand copyrights that still own today and presented two remakes of the original ATS cars from the sixties: the ATS SPORT 1000 and the ATS 2500 GT.

Today this prestigious brand is for sale with all the car project assets. A big opportunity for new investors to buy the only one car brand today on the sales market that run a F1 Canpionship and got huge heritage in italian sportscars history.”