De Tomaso made a handful of Formula One appearances from 1961 to 1963, with their own chassis and a mix of engines. During 1962 the De Tomaso 801 appeared, with an original 135-degree 1498 cc V8 with a claimed at 9500 rpm, and a six-speed De Tomaso transmission (although presumably developed by Valerio Colotti). The stubby and somewhat unaerodynamic design of the car raised some questions among period writers, as did the claimed max power. The De Tomaso 801 was entered in a number of races but only appeared once, at the 1962 Italian Grand Prix, where it failed to qualify.