ATS (Auto Technisches Spezialzubehör) is a German company that manufactures alloy wheels for road and racing cars. It is based in Bad Dürkheim near the Hockenheimring race circuit. ATS had a Formula One racing team that was active from 1977 to 1984.

ATS was founded in 1969 by Günter Schmid. The company specialised in lightweight wheels for Porsche, VW and Mercedes-Benz automobiles. ATS manufactured the "Penta" wheel used by Mercedes tuning company AMG from 1979 into the 1980s. After sponsoring a string of national motorsport events, Schmidt decided to enter Grand Prix racing with his own team.

In 1977, ATS purchased the remaining PC4 chassis from Penske Racing after the American team retired from Formula One. Jean-Pierre Jarier was signed to drive the car, and the team went off to an auspiciuos start, with Jarier finishing 6th on the team's debut at the United States Grand Prix West. A second car was entered in the 1977 German Grand Prix for German touring car racer Hans Heyer.

pc4

1977

The Penske PC4 was a Formula One car used by Team Penske during the 1976 and was driven to victory in that year's Austrian Grand Prix by John Watson, scoring the last win for an American-licensed constructor in a F1 race. It was used for most of the following season by ATS Racing and Interscope Racing also used the PC4 for two races that year.

The Penske PC4 was designed by Geoff Ferris. It featured a low monocoque tub with hip radiators. After a poor debut in Sweden, its aerodynamics were revised and the wheelbase extended. Three chassis were built by Team Penske during the course of the 1976 season.

German industrialist Günter Schmid brought the Penske PC4 chassis for his newly formed ATS Racing team, set up to participate in the 1977 Formula One season.

ATS discarded its PC4s following the introduction of its own chassis, the ATS HS1, for the final three races of the year.

hs1

1978

The ATS HS1 was a Formula One car used by ATS during the 1978 Formula One season. Robin Herd redesigned the Penske PC4s for the ATS team in 1978, and they were known as the ATS HS1. They were a complete disaster for the team.

After running a Penske PC4 for 1977, ATS built their own car for 1978 with German Jochen Mass and Frenchman Jean-Pierre Jarier as their drivers. Italian driver Arturo Merzario later acquired the design and rebranded the car as the Merzario A1.

The car was powered by a Ford-Cosworth DFV 2,993 cc, 90° V8, NA, mid-engine, longitudinally mounted. It was mated to a Hewland FGA400 5-speed manual transmission.

All three HS1s, the two original converted Penske PC4s and the third car that was built from spares acquired from Penske, remained with the team for many years.

d1

1978

The ATS D1 was a Formula One racing car manufactured and raced by the ATS Racing Team for the last two races of the 1978 Formula One season. It was powered by a Cosworth DFV V8 engine. Driven by Keke Rosberg, the D1 failed to finish any races in the points.

The D1 was designed by John Gentry and Gustav Brunner. Designed as a wing-car, the D1 utilised an aluminium monocoque and was powered by a Cosworth DFV V8. It was intended to be a replacement for the team's poorly performing HS1 car (a modified Penske PC4 chassis) with which it had started the 1978 Formula One season.

d2

1979

The ATS D2 was a Formula One racing car manufactured and raced by the ATS Wheels racing team for most of the 1979 Formula One season. It was powered by a Cosworth DFV V8 engine. Driven by Hans-Joachim Stuck, the D2 failed to finish any races in the points. It was superseded by the ATS D3 from the Austrian Grand Prix.

The D2 was designed by John Gentry and Giocomo Caliri, the latter of whom had previously worked for Ferrari. Utilising an aluminium monocoque, the D2 was powered by a Cosworth DFV V8.

The D2 was generally unreliable and Stuck finished only two races from the seven that he qualified for. From the Austrian Grand Prix, the ATS team switched to a new car, the ATS D3.

d3

1979-1980

After a year struggling with the D1/D2 cars, ATS introduced the new ATS D3 at the 1979 Austrian GP. Designed by Nigel Stroud, it represented a significant step forward, but was replaced early in 1980.

Nigel Stroud's new design appeared in public for the first time at the 1979 Austrian GP. Although outwardly similar to the D2, it featured a new monocoque and new suspension, and a much smoother and neater body, although still following standard Lotus 79 lines. The team was now managed by Vic Elford, who had replaced Fred Opert at the German GP, and was making clear progress again.

A second D3 was built for 1980, and the two cars were renamed D4s, although the definitive ATS D4, a new design, appeared at the South African GP. Stroud left to design an Indianapolis car for BS Fabrications, and then left them in May 1980 to join Lotus.

One of the D3s was on display at the ATS factory at Bad Dürkheim for many years. It was sold in 2014, and has since raced in Masters F1 events in 2017 where it is described as D3/01. The other car has been with a German owner for over 40 years.

d4

1980-1981

Like many early 1980 cars, the ATS D4 looked very much like a Williams FW07. Gustav Brunner and Tim Wardrup were credited with the design, which was lighter, shorter and narrower than the ATS D3.

ATS had a free-wheeling attitude to type numbers, and had started 1980 with a pair of cars, one of which was new, which they described as being D4s. The first of these was a modified version of the D3 introduced the previous autumn, and the second was its brand new twin. These were used in South America and most publications called them D3s, but it appears that the team were calling them D4s. However, ATS then introduced a new model at the South African GP which was also called the D4. This new car was described as being outwardly similar to previous ATSs, but with a completely new monocoque.

The team's highly regarded designer, Gustav Brunner, quit the team during the season after an argument with team owner Günter Schmid.

The two surviving D4s were reworked by new designer Hervé Guilpin over the winter, and were driven by the returning Lammers in the opening races of 1981 until the new ATS D5 made its first appearance at the Belgian GP. Due to ATS's numbering system, the chassis plates used by ATS on these cars are likely to have been offset offset by two from the numbers used here, so D4/01 would have been plated "D4/03" and so on.

d5

1982

The ATS D5 was a Formula One racing car manufactured and raced by the Team ATS racing team during the 1981 and 1982 Formula One seasons. Originally known as the HGS1 in 1981, it was updated for 1982 and designated the D5. The team scored five points with the chassis across the two seasons it was raced.

The chassis was designed by Hervé Guilpin and Tim Wadrop and was updated by Don Halliday for the 1982 season, for which it was known as the D5. It utilised an aluminium monocoque and was powered by a Ford Cosworth DFV V8.

The HGS1 made its first appearance partway through the 1981 Formula One season at the Belgian Grand Prix.  ATS continued to use the HGS1, now designated as the D5, for the 1982 Formula One season.

d6

1983

The ATS D6 was a Formula One racing car manufactured and raced by the Team ATS during the 1983 Formula One season. It was powered by the BMW M12/13 4-cylinder turbocharged engine but the team failed to score any points.

The D6 was designed by Gustav Brunner, who based the chassis around a carbon-fibre monocoque. To replace the previous year's Cosworth DFV V8, team owner Günter Schmid arranged a supply of BMW M12/13 4-cylinder turbocharged engines.

A total of three chassis were built during the year. The D6 was trendsetting in the way that its chassis was shaped aerodynamically at the front end so that separate bodywork was no longer needed. In the years to follow this design philosophy became the standard in Formula One; McLaren was one of the last top teams to adopt it in 1992 on the MP4/7A.

After running two entries the previous season, for 1983 ATS reverted to a single entry driven by German Manfred Winkelhock. In qualifying, Winkelhock was often in the top ten on the grid, however, he finished only four races, the best of these being the European Grand Prix where he placed 8th.

d7

1984

The ATS D7 was a Formula One racing car used by Team ATS in the 1984 Formula One season. The car was designed by Gustav Brunner and was driven for most of the season by German Manfred Winkelhock. He was joined in a second car late in the season by Formula One rookie, Austrian driver Gerhard Berger. It was the last car produced by the ATS team.

Early in the season, the D7 with its powerful turbocharged BMW engine, showed surprising speed, if not reliability. The ATS D7 scored no points for the 1984 season. Following the season BMW stopped supplying the team with its engines due to the lack of results and bad publicity team owner Günter Schmid had gained for his pit lane antics. As a result, Schmid closed the team at the end of the season.

Having established a new brand of wheels with Rial, Schmid would return to Formula One in 1988 with the team of the same name.

Rial is a German producer of light alloy wheels and rims, and was a Formula One constructor competing in the 1988 and 1989 seasons. Founded in the 1970s as a wheel rim producer, the company was bought by Günter Schmid, ex-owner of the ATS wheels company in 1987. Schmid followed the same strategy as he had at ATS, advertising the Rial wheel brand by entering Formula One as a constructor.

After leaving Formula One at the end of the 1989 season, the Rial Racing division was closed, and the company did not race again. Rial continues to manufacture wheels and rims from its factory in Fußgönheim.