ATS Wild Twelve by Torino Design
Italian duo team up for bold new V12 hypercar, with Ferrari-rivalling 385km/h top speedHot on the heels of the gob-smacking 2500 GT comes ATS's second car in as many months, the revived Italian brand from the mid-1960s forging ahead with the Wild Twelve hypercar.
Pitched as a top-dollar rival to the likes of the Porsche 918 Spyder and Ferrari LaFerrari, the ATS Wild Twelve made its debut at the Parco Valentino salon in Turin, an open-air car show in Italy running for its second year.
While the car can be expected to be built by ATS, the design was penned by Torino Design, an Italian automotive design outfit. Its artists appear to have succeeded in combining ATS's signature design with a dash of ultra-modern aggression.
As the name suggests, the striking new Wild Twelve is powered a V12 petrol engine, displacing 3.8-litres – relatively small for a 12-pot screamer – which drives the rear wheels through a nine-speed automatic transmission.
Lump in a pair of electric motors that drive the front wheels and you're looking at scintillating traction which is claimed to propel the car to 100km/h in 2.6 seconds, on par with the $1.5 million Porsche 918 Spyder hypercar.
The V12 and twin electric motors deliver a combined power output of 630kW and 920Nm, not far from the Porsche's 652kW output and Ferrari's 708kW total. Its kerb weight of around 1500kg will result in a top speed of 385km/h according to ATS.
Another benefit of the electric motors is that the car's V12 can switch off if necessary, the car running on electric power for around 30km/h, ideally.
The only issue with the ATS Wild Twelve is that it's still vapour-ware – it hasn't been confirmed for production. That said, if the hand-made 2500 GT is anything to go by, the Italian car-maker shouldn't have too much trouble convincing well-heeled buyers of the Wild Twelve's pedigree.
It has been reported that ATS is plotting to build around 30 of the wild 12-cylinder hypercars, with talk of manufacture occurring at a disused Bugatti plant in Campogalliono in Italy, although timing is not yet released.
As the echoes of the global financial crisis that kicked off in 2008 fade, Greece's current woes notwithstanding, more and more niche car-makers are actively engaging in the hypercar and ATS is one such example.
And as for the cost of the Wild Twelve? As the old saying goes, if you have to ask, you can't afford it.
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