Obscure Atalanta Marque Being Revived By British Restoration Shop, “New” Sports Tourer Coming in 2013

A collaboration between a wealthy enthusiast and a restoration shop in Cheshire, England, has resulted in the revival of the little-known, 75-year-old Atalanta brand. The reborn Atalanta Motors will build and sell a "new" Sports Tourer, a model which first debuted in 1937 and was produced in very limited numbers. The original car boasted lightweight construction and several features said to be advanced for the time. If this sounds a lot like the concept behind many of Morgan's new/old offerings, it is a fairly similar idea: The Sports Tourer "Revival" uses the original body and chassis design, but receives a modern powertrain and updated interior pieces. The first cars will be handmade and most of their components will be custom-fabricated. Body and Chassis Just as on the original Sports Tourer, the new model features aluminum bodywork. Everything the eye can see is intended to replicate the old car as faithfully as possible. We'd say the efforts are successful; every inch of the Atalanta drips with classic Art Deco–era styling. Underneath, the steering, suspension, and critical castings are modern evolutions of the original bits. The chassis is aluminum, and, according to Atalanta Motors, the whole car weighs around 1600 pounds. It rides on a fully independent suspension supported by driver-adjustable dampers at all four corners. Interestingly, the first Sports Tourer also had an all-independent suspension and was available with adjustable dampers dubbed "Telecontrol"; the name carries over to the modern car's system. Four-wheel disc brakes with four-pot calipers front and rear are fitted to the new Sports Tourer, replacing the original's drum brakes. Rounding things out—pun intended—are a set of period-looking, 18-inch aluminum wire-spoke wheels shod with appropriately narrow tires. Engine, Transmission, and Electronics Atalanta Motors is cribbing the Sports Tourer's engine and transmission from established manufacturers instead of re-manufacturing the original pieces. The car is powered by a 2.5-liter four-cylinder making 185 hp and 190 lb-ft of torque. The company wouldn't say where it will source the engine, but did reveal that it is an American piece. (Assuming no bore or stroke shenanigans, it's probably Ford's 2.5-liter engine.) Since the original Sports Tourer was available with a supercharger, the new version will be, too. (No output figures were given for the supercharged engine.) Power is routed through a Borg-Warner five-speed manual to the rear wheels via an updated, aluminum-cased differential; the '30s Atalanta could be had with a Warner synchromesh overdrive manual transmission. Another fun fact: that car also could be fitted with a Cotal pre-selector gearbox. Finally, the updated Sports Tourer has modern electronics, which are discreetly integrated into the dashboard and instrument cluster. Reality? The new Atalanta Motors is hoping to build about 12 cars per year, with each one built to order. Although the first run of vehicles will be hand-fabricated, a series of suppliers and manufacturers have already been lined up to furnish some of the parts. We're told that customers who place orders now can expect their new Atalanta to be delivered by this time next year. Final pricing has yet to be established, but the initial figure in England currently stands at £99,995 before taxes. The company tells us that it has no immediate plans to sell cars in the U.S., but it is currently exploring the feasibility of bringing the Sports Tourer to North America in the future. Only 21 Sports Tourers were built in the late 1930s. Just seven survive today; of those, only four are in running condition. If we'd have to guess, those four cars would each command money north of Atalanta's asking price for the new Sports Tourer. Plus, how else are you going to get that new-car smell in a 75-year-old roadster? from Car and Driver Blog http://blog.caranddriver.com

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