Atalanta Motors today brings its original vintage sports car up to date. Acknowledging over 75 years of automotive evolution, yet remaining true in spirit and sympathetic to the style and function of the original Atalanta sports car design. Established in December 1936 and based in Staines Middlesex, Atalanta Motors Ltd designed and produced innovative and exciting sports cars for just over two years before the outbreak of war halted development and production after only about 22 cars.
Atalanta Motors were the only pre-war British car manufacturer that instigated and brought together innovative design features that included fully independent coil spring suspension; adjustable damping front and rear; full hydraulic brakes; electric operated pre-selector gearbox (an early semi-automatic!); three valve twin spark cylinder head, and made use of lightweight materials such as electron, duralumin and hiduminium for many of its castings. Initially the Atalanta was offered with Alfred Gough’s aluminium 1½-litre 78 bhp and 2-litre 98 bhp four cylinder engines initially developed for Fraser Nash cars. A supercharged option was also available and later in 1938 a more reliable 4·3 litre V-12 Lincoln Zephyr engine producing 112 bhp was introduced.
Atalanta cars were available in a variety of configurations including an open two seat sports car, two door saloon and a drop head coupe; these advanced and expensive sporting cars were regularly tested by both their owners and the works in various competitive events with some success in the late 1930’s. All Atalanta models benefited from a lightweight construction that contributed to delivering excellent performance and coupled with revolutionary road holding (that was reviewed in a 1939 road test as “beyond criticism; rough, almost colonial sections can be treated like main roads. The Atalanta has the tenacious quality of a racing car when cornering, and it is nearly impossible to cause the tyres to squeal”) the cars gave great traction and high levels of grip.
Atalanta’s original design philosophy of producing a performance sports car with lightweight construction and reduced un-sprung weight coupled with a light but powerful four cylinder engine is still embraced today.
Our objective is again to provide discerning owners with a stylish, exhilarating drive, with easily accessible ‘torque derived’ performance; a comfortable ride with assured traction yet engaging handling that delivers driver satisfaction even at modest speeds.
Remaining true to the original design ethos, delivering sporting performance by employing modern materials and technology, today’s car enhances the positive and enjoyable characteristics of vintage motoring in a reliable and usable package that is relevant to today’s driving environment.