Page 1 of 2 Next >> While Enzo Ferrari has gone into history as one of the most successful automotive entrepreneurs, his people managing skills, or lack there off, have led to serious problems on several occasions. The most telling example is the fall-out late in 1961 with a large number of his senior staff after he fired Ferrari's sales manager, Gerolama Gardini, for dubious reasons. All the people that were loyal to Gardini and requested him to be reinstated were subsequently fired as well. Among them was chief engineer Carlo Chiti and his right hand man Giotto Bizzarrini.
Shortly after the 'Palace Revolt', the group of defectors was approached by a young, but very rich Count Volpi. He was a big racing fan and frequently entered racing cars under the Scuderia Serenissima banner. With so many experienced engineers available, he could now persue his dream of building his own Serenissima road and racing cars. With further backing from two other wealthy industrialists, he set up shop early in 1962 and work was started to design both a mid-engined GT-car and a Formula 1 racer with successfully taking Ferrari on as the ultimate goal.
Sadly there was little progress, due in no small part to a clash of egos with both the backers and also the engineers. Bizzarrini and Volpi were in one corner and Chiti in the other, which eventually led to a split in the second half of 1962. Volpi took the Serenissima name with him and Bizzarrini went on to offer his services as an independent consultant for many other manufacturers. The remaining group had to come up with a new name and chose 'Automobili Tourismo e Sport SpA', or ATS. Under this moniker a new Formula 1 car was launched in December of 1962.
One of the main reasons Bizzarrini walked out is that he felt his ideas were completely ignored by Chiti, who had his mind set on a V8 engine. Bizzarrini did work on a V12 engine, but never even showed it to his colleagues and it is believed that the later Lamborghini V12 was based on this early design. For the Formula 1 car, Chiti's V8 displaced just under 1.5 litre and sported twin overhead camshafts. Initially four Webers provided the fuel mixture, but one point a Fuel Injection system was also tried. At its debut, an output of 190 bhp at 10,000 rpm was claimed. Page 1 of 2 Next >>
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While Enzo Ferrari has gone into history as one of the most successful automotive entrepreneurs, his people managing skills, or lack there off, have led to serious problems on several occasions. The most telling example is the fall-out late in 1961 with a large number of his senior staff after he fired Ferrari's sales manager, Gerolama Gardini, for dubious reasons. All the people that were loyal to Gardini and requested him to be reinstated were subsequently fired as well. Among them was chief engineer Carlo Chiti and his right hand man Giotto Bizzarrini.