4 Sports Cars That Bankrupted Their Makers!

Описание: 4 Sports Cars That Bankrupted Their Makers!

Some of the most legendary sports cars in history didn’t just turn heads—they bankrupted the very companies that built them. The incredible stories of four ambitious machines that were ahead of their time but doomed by the harsh realities of business.

First up is the ATS 2500 GT, born from the famous “Great Walkout” at Ferrari in 1961. After a heated clash with Enzo Ferrari, top engineers Carlo Chiti and Giotto Bizzarrini left to form Automobili Turismo e Sport with Count Giovanni Volpi’s deep pockets behind them. They created a masterpiece: the first Italian mid-engine GT car, with a 2.5-liter V8 and flawless handling. Sadly, perfection didn’t pay the bills. Road car production was painfully slow, and their Formula One program burned through money. By 1964, ATS collapsed after building only twelve cars.

Across the Channel, the Berkeley Sports SE328 had a very different dream: affordable sports car fun for ordinary people. Using a 328cc Excelsior two-stroke engine and lightweight fiberglass body, this tiny front-wheel-drive car could hit 62 mph and even scored racing victories. Between 1957 and 1958, Berkeley produced over 1,200 SE328s. But the company’s real money came from caravan trailers, and when that market crashed in 1959, Berkeley couldn’t survive. By 1960, the innovative sports car maker was gone.

Then came the Gordon-Keeble GK1, a car that looked like a Ferrari but was powered by a reliable 5.4-liter Chevrolet Corvette V8. Designed by a young Giorgetto Giugiaro, it blended Italian style with American muscle. It was faster and more dependable than many British and European rivals. The problem? Gordon-Keeble priced it too low to make a profit and struggled with suppliers. By 1965, after building just 100 cars, the company went bankrupt.

Finally, the most famous of all: the DeLorean DMC-12. With its stainless-steel body and dramatic gull-wing doors, it looked like the future. Backed by over $100 million in government support, John DeLorean’s dream car should have been unstoppable. But poor performance, production issues, and the early 1980s recession spelled disaster. The company folded in 1982 after making about 9,000 cars. Ironically, Hollywood saved its legacy when the DeLorean starred in Back to the Future.

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