Tony Kart was established in 1958 by Antonio Bosio, a craftsman whose workshop in Prevalle became a gathering point for competitive kart drivers. In 1965, Bosio built a speed-record kart powered by a 100 cc Parilla engine; at Monza, driver Livio Bolis set a land speed record for go-karts of 214.286 km/h. Bosio also contributed innovations including the floating brake caliper. The company was purchased by Roberto Robazzi and Carlo Cancarini in 1983, after which the karts switched from Savoy blue to the now-iconic Tony Kart Green livery.
Under the Robazzi family, Tony Kart claimed its first CIK-FIA World Championship in 1986 when Fabrizio Giovanardi won the Formula C gearbox class. The company built on this foundation throughout what became known as the "Golden Era" of the 1980s and 1990s. Across all its brands — Tony Kart, Vortex, FA Kart, Kosmic, and Exprit — OTK has accumulated 35 World Championships: 23 with Tony Kart chassis, four with FA Kart, five with Kosmic, and three with Exprit. The group is the second-most successful chassis manufacturer in World Championship history, behind CRG. Multiple-time World Champions representing OTK machinery include Davide Forè and Marco Ardigò.
OTK expanded beyond its founding Tony Kart brand through a series of strategic additions. In 1995, it founded Vortex Engines as its in-house engine division, operating the ROK line of powerplants. In 1996, the Kosmic Kart brand was established. Throughout the 2000s, OTK added Redspeed Kart and Exprit Kart to its lineup. A notable collaboration with Formula One driver Jarno Trulli produced the short-lived Trulli chassis from 1997 to 2003. From 2009 to 2020, OTK partnered with two-time Formula One World Drivers' Champion Fernando Alonso on the FA Kart chassis. In 2021, the LN Kart brand was co-developed with Lando Norris, and in 2024 the CS55 Racing brand was launched with Carlos Sainz Jr. In 2020, OTK acquired the British Gillard brand and established EOS Racing Kart.
OTK machinery has served as a stepping stone for numerous future Formula One stars. Michael Schumacher, Ralf Schumacher, Jarno Trulli, Sebastian Vettel, and Lucas di Grassi all raced Tony Kart equipment during the group's dominant period of the 1980s and 1990s. In the modern era, Lando Norris won the 2014 CIK-FIA Karting World Championship on OTK equipment and later went on to win the Formula One World Drivers' Championship. Logan Sargeant is another World Champion to have raced under the OTK banner.
OTK operates a 17,000 m² factory in Prevalle where all chassis and engines are produced. Its karts are regularly tested at South Garda Karting in nearby Lonato del Garda. In 2022, a 70% stake in OTK was acquired by QCapital and BIC Capital, supported by Crédit Agricole Italia, while the Robazzi family retained 30% and strategic control. By 2023, over 90% of OTK sales were generated outside Italy, with subsidiaries in the United States, Japan, and Singapore, and more than 130 distributors across 70 countries, generating €45 million in annual revenue.
In 2023, OTK further broadened its vertical integration by acquiring Vega Tyres, a manufacturer producing over one million competition tyres per year and representing approximately 40% of the competitive tyre market. Vega had been founded in 1976 in Saronno, Lombardy. In 2025, OTK merged with TM Kart, an engine manufacturer holding 19 World Championships, primarily in gearbox categories. The Flenghi family of TM subsequently joined OTK's ownership group.
OTK Kart Group's sustained dominance across seven decades of competitive karting is unmatched in scope. Its factory team operations across the Tony Kart, Kosmic, and Exprit brands continue to challenge for world titles annually. The group's record of nurturing talent who advance to the highest levels of motorsport, combined with its industrial scale and multi-brand strategy, positions it as the defining institution of modern competitive karting.