Auto Turismo Sport, Ltd

Welcome

If you came here to visit our site, you have a keen interest in preserving your sanity while you enjoy the experience of owning a special car. A special car can be defined as your exotic daily driver, a fine vintage car or an extraordinary classic. Auto Turismo Sport started as an Italian car specialty shop back in 1968. Founder John Mastroianni was an excellent mechanic and—being Italian—favored working on cars from Italy. So much so, John managed to own some of the most impressive Ferraris, Maseratis, OSCAs, and Abarths not because they were valuable but because they were a kick to drive. Over the years, John Sr. taught his sons, Steve and John, everything he knew about cars.

They learned the trade on the family Ferrari GTO, a 500 Superfast or the little Abarth ex-factory racer. When Steve and John joined Auto Turismo Sport full time, they put that knowledge to use by helping others. That hands-on experience is what makes Auto Turismo Sport a special place.

Fifty years later, Auto Turismo Sport now occupies a 9,000 sq. ft. space in Litchfield County, Connecticut. Our close proximity to New York City and its suburbs allows us to provide convenient and personal service based on your particular requirements. Pick up and delivery of your car in our enclosed transport is therefore not out of the question.

Services

If you have spent this much time visiting our website to get to this point, we have something in common. John Updike said, “most of American life consists of driving somewhere and then returning home, wondering why the hell you went.” Whether you’re destination is work, the cleaners, or your country home in the hills of Connecticut — we all need to get in a car and go. So why not make the most of it and do it in something that makes your pulse race?

We take care of cars that have that effect on people.

Auto Turismo Sport is a full service shop well stocked with the right tools, access to the correct parts and a decades of hands on and formal training. But that in itself doesn’t make a shop the place you want to trust your car to.

Maintenance

When you keep your car serviced and well exercised, you will have a happier car, a better performing car, and therefore a more enjoyable ownership experience. Older and exotic cars require a significant amount of routine service to operate at their maximum potential.

Our Italian exotic experience comes into play here because these cars are something special and require more expertise. Typically a V12 or V8 Ferrari requires more frequent minor services and a major service every few years.

Our minor and major services will also apply to other cars. Vintage or classic cars will not have many of the modern systems of an exotic that require inspection. You may tailor these services to suit your needs or goals. Whichever service your car is in for, you will see the words Change, Check, Inspect, or Replace very frequently. FullSizeRender

Repairs

Owning a special car doesn’t mean the road ahead will be free of all bumps, no matter how well you take care of it. A brake master cylinder will give way to age with a whoosh, an engine will require a rebuild, or that charging system will sprout gremlins that are very good at hiding. Whatever it is, ATS can handle it.

Our shop not only has all of the special tools required to perform the task, but the skill and experience to be accurate in diagnosing the problem and executing a plan to remedy the malfunction.

If an engine rebuild is required, you may not be happy about it because it is a time-consuming and expensive task.

But know this: when it is done and back in your hands, it will be glorious—probably better than you ever experienced before.

Here’s why: in addition to Steve Mastroianni, ATS has amongst its talented team members, Sean Sheridan and Dan Guedes. You can learn more about them in the Meet the Team section of the website. But for now, know that they are the technicians that fix things right. They love cars and enjoy swapping stories over coffee that usually end in “what the heck were they thinking.” wider sean lambo

Restoration

Returning a special car to its original condition is not an easy decision to make. Embarking on this journey can be an exciting experience for the owner. After all, you are entrusting the very soul of your classic car to someone else and receiving a virtually new car in return. Whom ever you chose you should know they are capable of delivering on the promise.

You’ll become part of the process, with as many frequent visits to check on progress as you see fit. Diligent expense tracking is part of the process, and although it is impossible to plan for all contingencies, you will be kept informed if something unseen surfaces. Table Stilll Life

Vintage Race Prep

Our proximity to Lime Rock Park Race Track and our extensive personal experience in vintage racing qualifies us as a resource to care for your race car. Safety, performance, and durability are the cornerstones of a good race weekend experience.

If you give us sufficient time before racing season or race day, we can help eliminate unforseen problems in the paddock. But racing is stressful on a car—therefore you may need on-site supervision on race day, which can also be arranged.

The Mastroianni Family Ferrari GTO getting ready to do battle.

Pre-Purchase Inspection

Buying and selling a special car doesn’t have to be a hit-or-miss experience. Long distance purchases can be made more informed through our network of inspectors nationwide. Any level of expertise can be sourced from a visual inspection to a complete PPI. For purchases local to the New York Metropolitan area, PPIs can be performed at our New Milford location. A thorough PPI can take 3 hours or more if it includes a compression/leakdown test. The actual length of time is dependent on how many cylinders we are inspecting so prices may vary.

You should consider a PPI for the car you are selling in advance of it hitting the marketplace. Uncovering minor issues and repairing them help to eliminate a long list of unimportant things that serve to become a bargaining chip for the buyer. “Everything works except…” should be eliminated from any ad copy for your car to get the most return on your initial investment. 13938127487_e734e5b78a_z

Sales/Acquisitions

Auto Turismo Sport has a long history of procuring and representing fine cars from around the world. One might even say that is how John, Sr. started the business back in 1968. Let us say you are looking for that special car for example. Just let us know what you want and in what condition and we will unleash the hounds to find it. It doesn’t matter if it is a rare Austin-Healey 100S or Ferrari 275 GTB 4 Cam. We’ve touched enough people in our 50 years in business to assure a very significant success rate.

And when it is time to shuffle the deck of your collection or just thin the herd, we can help in much the same way. Our relationship with collectors and dealers usually results in a quick sale. And that is not to mention the power of our sales director, Steve Mastroianni. Steve never ceases to impress us with its international reach to all the right people. Fees vary according to the task and can range from 6 to 8 percent depending on the level of our involvement.

The Team

Steve Mastroianni – You’ve heard the expression chip off the old block. Used here, it refers to Steve channeling his best friend and father, John Sr. We could go on and on about Steve’s training but we would be repeating the same thing over and over again. Steve learned by doing. And by doing, we mean as a young teen, he helped his Dad keep the family cars going. Sounds ordinary until you know what the family cars were. Dad’s daily driver of choice might be a ’48 Maserati A6G 1500 or a Bizzarrini. Mom had to make due with a Cord Sedan or some exotic Mercedes. Steve and his brother John raced the family Ferrari GTO or Steve’s favorite, a Lotus 23. Steve has pretty much seen it all.

Sean Sheridan – After years in the bicycle industry working at a carbon fiber wheel manufacturer, Sean decided to pursue his love of all things Ferrari. An engineer and designer, Sean worked at another shop for 12 years honing his skill by building bullet-proof engines for all kinds of Ferraris, important race cars and exotics like OSCAs and Cosworths. Of course, with 10 years of mechanical design/engineering experience, nothing scares Sean or taxes his enormous talent.

Sean has two lovely daughters and in his free time, maintains his status as a champion senior cyclist and accomplished Jazz guitarist.

Dan Guedes – Dan is our enormously talented protégé. Protégé is an uncommon term to use for a technician but it works here. Dan had formal training where he acquired an understanding of the science and technology that goes into the modern, highly-sophisticated automobiles.

Dan came to Auto Turismo Sport 12 years ago and has been working side by side with Steve Mastroianni learning much like Steve did – from the master. Dan jokes that one of his first supervised projects was building a Ferrari Daytona motor with Steve by his side.

In his free time, Dan enjoys playing with his impressive stable of really quick cars including an Audi S4 that belches fire.

Michael Maddalena – Michael returns to the Auto Turismo Sport team after a few years hiatus. During that time away, Michael gained experience and knowledge from one of the foremost experts in pre and post-war vintage automobiles. In his new responsibility, Michael will lead ATS in sales and acquisitions. He can be reached directly on his mobile at (203) 417-6856.

Milo – Shop dog and formal greeter. Milo is a rescue and not yet 7 years of age. He has an uncanny ability to stay away from moving cars. His favorite time of the day is lunch, the ice cream truck, and the UPS driver’s thoughtful treats.

Videos

Every so often we have a project that we believe is video worthy. It probably will have something to with an engine brought to life.

Ferrari 330 GTC – In this video, we have a ’67 Ferrari 330 GTC that was clearly an abandoned restoration attempt. The previous owner purchased the Ferrari 18 years ago and took it apart for paint. That’s pretty much where he left off.

The current owner asked us to see if we can get it running again and begin the reassemble task. This video shows our Sean Sheridan and Dan Guedes firing it up after a few days of preparation. As you will see, it ran but understandably it was really rough. It runs so much better after a thorough carburetor rebuild and a tune-up.

Ducati 750 SS “Greenframe” – The 750 SS is perhaps the holy grail of Ducati motorcycles. Built in limited numbers – around 400 – and originally sold to experienced racers, they rarely come to market. One of our customers owned this Greenframe for the past 14 years. It has not been on the road or started during his stewardship.

Our job was to get it running and find a buyer. We did both in record time. Sean started it using just starter fluid for the initial run. The task to see if everything inside the motor was in good order. In a few days time, he was doing laps around the building!

1956 Maserati 200i – One of our clients entrusted us to race prepare his spectacular ’56 Maserati 200i. He had a few complaints about how it was driving and asked us to take a close look. Now this is a client who loves to drive his cars. In fact it arrived at our shop on the road and in the rain. Our hats are off to him. Our senior technician Sean Sheridan dove right in addressing rear bearings, u-joints and a host of other issues large and small. One good catch – an oil hose ready to burst. Thanks Sean. We filmed the first drive after weeks of preperation. Sean, wearing a hat to cover the damage caused by a mountain bike race crash, and young Dan (with fire extinguiser) had an exciting ride and came back with smiles from ear to ear.

Family Cars

The Mastroianni family has, at one time or another, owned some really neat cars. None were part of a collection but were cars they drove every day.

Most have found new homes however the family still has a few treasures like the 1-off Studio GT by Neri & Bonacini and a rare 7-Liter Iso Grifo.

Client Comments

If you are new to our website, we would like to add you to our client list. Many of our clients have been with us from the beginning and have fond memories of working with our founder, John, Sr. We decided that hearing from them might help you make a decision to give us a try or at least come by for a visit to see first hand what the fuss is all about. Let us know if you are coming by. Perhaps you can join us for lunch? Click on the appropriatebox to read our client’s comment)

A letter from Chris Ungaro…

Contact

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Shop Office (860) 350-2128Fax (860) 350-2127

[email protected]

458 Danbury Road, New Milford, CT 06776 (Directions)

Sales/Acquisitions

Dan Guedes

(203) 300-6672