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This article is marked as 'retired'. The information here may be out of date, incomplete, and/or incorrect.
In Britain, there is a very small car company called Ariel, and they make a very small car called the Atom 2. Ariel has been building cars for since 1898— over 100 years— yet today they have fewer than 10 employees, and work out of a barn. But as small as the company (and their product) may be, this car has the horsepower and handling to make any grown man weep openly.
It’s design is brilliant and minimal, it has no more than is absolutely necessary. As the folks at Ariel say, “If it doesn’t need it, it hasn’t got it.” It’s chassis is gorgeously engineered, doubling as a protective exoskeleton. It has no doors, no roof, and no windshield. It does have a trunk, but it’s barely large enough to fit a portable defibrillator machine.
Watching this car move at high speeds is like watching a roller coaster in action. It grips the road with absurd tenacity, and accelerates from 0-60 at a a ludicrous 2.9 seconds, assuming you can shift through its six gears fast enough. It weighs 500kg (about 1,100 lbs), it sits atop a sophisticated race car suspension system, and it is powered by a 300hp supercharged Honda engine. This gives it a weight/horsepower ratio of about 600hp/ton.
In the first video segment linked below, which you must watch if you’re a self-respecting car enthusiast (even if only to see his pneumatic face lift), the host describes the Atom 2 as “driving nirvana.” He relates “Over the years, I’ve flown F-15 fighters, and done power slides in airboats, and strafed the desert from helicopter gunships… but for sheer excitement, this thing is off the scale.”
The first video clip pits the car against a Honda CBR 600 RR, which is one quick number as motorcycles go. I won’t spoil the ending… you’ll have to watch it to see how that turns out.
The Atom 2’s weight-to-horsepower ratio is better than the Ferrari Enzo and the Porsche 911, but perhaps the most important bit of information when comparing this car to others is the price tag… the Atom 2 starts at under £20,000, which is about $36,800 U.S. at today’s exchange rate. Compare this to the 911 at about $132,000, or the Enzo at about $645,000.
Unfortunately, all of this information is anecdotal— I haven’t been in an Atom 2 myself— but I’d give my left nut to experience it first hand.
More info:
Video of the Ariel Atom 2 in action
Another video (20mb)
Ariel home page
Updated 9/7/2005 at 11:33am: It appears that Ariel Motors has reached an agreement with Oregon-based Brammo Motorsports to build and distribute a modified version of the Atom 2 in the US… they just started taking orders a few days ago. The 145hp version is estimated at $35,000, and the theoretical 290-300hp version is estimated at $45,750. I’ll have to call them and see if they’ll take me up on my left-nut offer.
Details, and more great photos and video: The Ariel Atom Meets the USA
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Beautiful car – it’s like art.
I wonder what kind of gas mileage it would get – completely missing the point, I know.
I don’t think that lack of a windshield would be very fun though.
PERKY_NIHILIST said: “Beautiful car – it’s like art.
I wonder what kind of gas mileage it would get – completely missing the point, I know.
I don’t think that lack of a windshield would be very fun though.”
Did you watch the video? The windshield would become completly superflous, and negate the cool face effect.
PERKY_NIHILIST said: “I wonder what kind of gas mileage it would get – completely missing the point, I know.”
The only figure I’ve been able to find is about 25 mpg for the non-supercharged version. So it’s about what you’d expect from a sports car (or in this case, a glorified over-powered go-kart).
Did you watch the video? The windshield would become completly superflous, and negate the cool face effect.”
It was the video that made me pine for a windshield! I can’t imagine that being fun over a long drive. It is a cool effect though!
Alan:
It looked like a super go-cart to me too. I called my husband to check it out and he wondered if it was street legal. I’m guessing yes but wow – very go-cart like.
25 mpg isn’t too bad.
Nice site by the way. I haven’t got the hang of the quotes but I love the fade effect.
PERKY_NIHILIST said: “I called my husband to check it out and he wondered if it was street legal.”
In the US, there’s a package called a “road pack” which presumably makes the car street-legal… it adds turn signals, horn, rear tails, and headlamps. I think a windshield and wipers are also necessary in the US. But it is definitely borderline, in many senses of the word.
PERKY_NIHILIST said: “Nice site by the way. I haven’t got the hang of the quotes but I love the fade effect.”
Thanks! I found a bug in the Quote feature today (which I mean to fix in the next little while), and that may be why it’s giving you trouble. But if you have a suggestion for a way to make the feature more intuitive, I’m completely open to suggestions.
I saw the video and there are some things I would like to say.
First of all there are faster vehicles on 4 wheels, with more horsepower per ton, an equal acceleration and a windshield ;-).
Second, my favorite bike, the Honda CBR600RR is a very fast one, but there are a lot of faster bikes which had been better for a race against the Atom. For example the CBR1000RR Fireblade with 175 hp on 174 kg.
Or maybe the fastest bike in the world: Marine Turbo Technologies Y2K, 286 hp on 200 kg, maximum speed about 400 km/h.
Last but not least I have a question. The video stops after the first bent where the Atom 2 overtakes the pole position, so where is the rest?
Thanks for listening and for answers.
Despite the host’s enthusiastic assertions that it’s the fastest thing on four wheels, they discuss later in the video that it’s not technically true, just that it’s the fastest thing on four wheels for under $40,000. I don’t know why your video playback ended where it did, it plays well beyond that point for me… you’re the first to mention the problem. Perhaps it would help to download the video to your hard drive before viewing… right-click, and Save Target As.
Although the CBR600 RR isn’t the fastest bike in the world, it’s still has very decent speed, and it seems pretty impressive for a car to overtake it. But that’s just me.
Higher-res version of the video now on Google Video.
Is it just me or does the guy in the picture resemble the Governator, Arnold Schwarzenegger?
I like the car, a lot… Although the guy is that Top Gear host i don’t know what his name is, but he doesn’t really look like Arnold…
His name is Jeremy Clarkson..
I’m wondering about the price tag. My first reaction is that it is good that it is actually possible to buy on a medium level income, but my second reaction is one of horror. I can just imagine all those hooning teenagers driving these. Think of the carnage an irresponsible driver could do on the road if he had one of these. Great car, but I don’t think every Tom, Dick and Harry should have it, or at the very least, keep them off the public road.
…buy Ariel…eat bugs. Nuf said.
I am screaming at the sheer horror of driving that fast without any kind of protective covering. I.e. a roof. That just plain terrifies me, I would seriously hate to be the one with the responsibility of driving it!
BRILLIANT!! That the second driver wore a helmet. I just see an BIG SUV hitting it from the side. No room for air bags and no roll bar. Plus the sheer weight of the SUV fully loaded and packed with 7 people and all their gear.
No, no. I am not really putting it down. I’m just repeating the types of non-stop warnings my parents gave me growing up. No…you can’t have the convertible because it has no roll bar. (It ended up being the car I learned to drive in…a 67 Convertible Camaro – Racing Orange and Soft White Top.)
That’s so ridiculous…it’s so cool, and yet again, I simply can’t understand it. Guess I’m just not a car enthusiast.
Kafka said: “I’m wondering about the price tag. My first reaction is that it is good that it is actually possible to buy on a medium level income, but my second reaction is one of horror. I can just imagine all those hooning teenagers driving these. Think of the carnage an irresponsible driver could do on the road if he had one of these. Great car, but I don’t think every Tom, Dick and Harry should have it, or at the very least, keep them off the public road.”
You are the reason that the world is no fun anymore ;P
Okay, as a regular watcher of top gear (the video) I feel i should come to it’s defence, In the second driver is ‘the stig’ an anonymous tame racing car driver who tests all the cars and wears a helmet to protect his secret identity. The presenter (first driver) is called Jeremy Clarkson and has very little in common with schwarznergger.
on to the more important stuff, i want one, they are soo cool, but i wouldn’t want one on the road becuase they are so low that a hummer or 8-wheeled truck wouldn’t notice you.
It is a possible car of Bond if he gets bored of the Astin Martins
Bibliophile said: “Okay, as a regular watcher of top gear (the video) I feel i should come to it’s defence, In the second driver is ‘the stig’ an anonymous tame racing car driver who tests all the cars and wears a helmet to protect his secret identity. “
I see. So, NOW I have to take away my BRILLIANT! joke.
Alan Bellows said: “Despite the host’s enthusiastic assertions that it’s the fastest thing on four wheels, they discuss later in the video that it’s not technically true, just that it’s the fastest thing on four wheels for under $40,000. I don’t know why your video playback ended where it did, it plays well beyond that point for me… you’re the first to mention the problem. Perhaps it would help to download the video to your hard drive before viewing… right-click, and Save Target As.
Although the CBR600 RR isn’t the fastest bike in the world, it’s still has very decent speed, and it seems pretty impressive for a car to overtake it. But that’s just me.”
Any one else that rides can attest that that was not an acurate protrayal of what that CBR can do. That rider was not carrying nearly the max speed posible through the corners. And the braking display was horrible. That being said, I do think the Arial would still have better braking than the CBR with a competent rider.
The power to weight ratio is fractionally better (less than an ounce/hp for the 2006 RR) on the Arial (both with a 180 lbs. operator) but it will not accelerate or corner faster than the CBR 600 RR.
Hah, even though I’m not sure of the exact figure, but from what I heard Mayo Clinic here in Rochester MN pays out around $50k for a fully funcional testicle. So.. in theory, you could go have that lil lefty taken out and go order one of these :-)
Btw.. since I gave you this idea, you’ll have to come get me for a test drive :-D
One thing I’d worry about is getting caught behing a truck/SUV. You wouldn’t be able to see over/around it. It’s awesome because you can’t wipe out because you’re so close to the ground.
Couple of points and since I’m too lazy to direct them to the appropriate posters you’re on your own.
1. GOGGLES ! Sheeeeesh, can’t believe no one thought of this. All pilots wore them until cockpits
became enclosed.
2. No one said the guy was like Ahnold, only that he LOOKED like him.
3. Heck, that low to to ground you can look under the vehicles ahead of you. That was a joke.
I think Kafka’s worries about every teenage hoon getting one of these are unfounded. Production of them is still fairly limited. Frankly, with how the waiting list is, by the time you got one, you’d at least be a more grown-up hoon.
Laff.. let us teens have fun.. damn. If we want to be idiotic and take this thing off of jumps through a circle of fire over a pit of spikes and snakes, let us. C’mon now.. at the least it would make for a Damn Interesting Darwin award :-D
USNSPARKS said: “Couple of points and since I’m too lazy to direct them to the appropriate posters you’re on your own.
1. GOGGLES ! Sheeeeesh, can’t believe no one thought of this. All pilots wore them until cockpits
became enclosed.”
Well, I think they were higher up for the most part and had less chance of bugs going up their nose or hitting a small stone that could take a tooth out. I still say….you need a helmet. That way, when an SUV rams you in the side your brain may stay in tact; offering you the pleasure of feeling all the crushed bones and rods from the car itself sticking out of your thigh. You won’t be BRAIN DEAD but instead be on morphine induced comas as they put you back together over several months. As far as motorcycles go, at least they are at eye level and give you more of a chance to be noticed while blowing through the YIELD sign.
Ok,
Let’s clarify a couple of things first. I ride bikes, and love riding bikes. But I’m educated enough to understand the fact that potent sports cars have significantly higher cornering speed than bikes. And the same goes for braking. Even a modern family car can brake quicker than a sports bike.
That out of the way. I’ve driven this thing! And I still have both balls intact. Although they did try to run and hide during the first full throttle accelleration in the Atom. It was just a 220hp version that takes close to 3.5sec 0-60. And I can confirm most of the words that has been siad about this thing before. It is totally insane!!! There is nothing missing…except roof, doors, wind shield etc:-) And believe me when I say this: After driving this beast, you will have no doubt that whatever you thought you would miss on it, is not necessary. You will have no help turning, braking or controlling oversteer by electronics. I like that. Unassisted brakes does scare the sh*t out of you the first time, but when you realize you have to put some oumph to the pedal, it stops quicker than you can say SUV.
The Atom2 gives you everything you need…pure driving pleasure. Nothing more and nothing less. If you like the idea of having the potential of kickin’ any supercar as at any given time for money that you could possibly afford. This is your car. If you want air condition, car stereo and other things that has nothing to do with driving. Look somewhere else.
Wonder what the insurance on one of these would run…
if you’re worried about the cost of insurance, i’m not sure you’re mad enough to buy one of these beasts….Oh how i wish my lottery numbers would come up!!
Lots of you guys are missing the point here. This thing is just a 4 wheel motorcycle, No more! I really don’t want another bike. Been there done that and my throttle hand just loses control. I want 4 wheels under me from now on. If I had the spare change I would order one of these thing in a hart beat. I did think that windshields were some kind of requirement in the usa. Maybe not? hmmm… I used to build choppers dune buggies race cars etc. The parts to put one of these together would be cheap. Think I will build my own version with full roll cage but only if I can drive it without a windshield. looks like loads of fun.
JustAnotherName said: “BRILLIANT!! That the second driver wore a helmet. I just see an BIG SUV hitting it from the side. No room for air bags and no roll bar. Plus the sheer weight of the SUV fully loaded and packed with 7 people and all their gear.
“
If anyone is interested, go to your local drag strip and look at the design of the tube-chassis cars. You will find them very similar to the atom, but with an overhead cage (unless it is a rail). Tube-chassis cars are safer than the unibody cars that are on the road, assuming that it is not a Hummer or monster truck that climbs over you.
My grandson likes the cars. He gets a magazine delivered to the house on saturdays once a month and some of the cars sure are fancy. Sir, I would like to purchase this vehicle as an early graduation present for him. Could we discuss financing terms. I am a middle income woman with a clean credit history and little debt. Your price is a little high, but I am sure we can work something out. Would it be possible to get a term extended to 72 months and a 10 percent down payment. If so, I’m your gal. I also have 0ther methods of payment if my monetary funds prove to be insufficient. My username says it all. I will be the one in the back row tipping over. Hope to see you soon.
Billy
who owns these things?
PERKY_NIHILIST said: “It was the video that made me pine for a windshield! I can’t imagine that being fun over a long drive. It is a cool effect though!”
you can get a windscreen as an extra though
hmmm…..
JATO + Ariel Atom =
Hello Alan
The Atom is a fine example of an Exoskeleton Car. If you would like to see more check out ExoCars.net
Thanks
Right i have been out in one of these babies and i can tell you, yes they are road legal and are completely insane, driving at 120mph around very bendy and narrow sommerset (UK) roads where you dont know if you will come out of the next corner alive is truely terrifying yet was the best experiance of my life, i have never had more fun than i did for the hour i spent in the atom (and no comments about needing to get laid). I actually spoke to the managing director of arial about both insurance and fuel effciency on the atom, apparently insurance is very cheap because the engine isnt large and the car is inexpensive so it falls into a low insurance bracket (again this is for the UK). With petrol he said that it could do more mpg then a honda civic type r but that this can only been done if you dont drive it like a mad man, and lets face it that will never happen in this car.
O yeah and one more thing about people commenting on Clarksons face being blown apart it is advisable to wear a crash helmet as a) it stops the unwanted face lift and b) u wont get killed if the car in front kicks up a stone that happens to hit you in the face
Having one of these in my garage I have to come to its defence…
It is mindblowingly fast and it attracts attention more than anything else on the road.
It gets reasonably good mileage even when you floor it everywhere. Clarkson has it right.
Insurance is reasonable and everyone on the road sees you! The trouble arises from them looking at you and not the damn road. If you dont want that SUV or Hummer up your rear, then just press the go pedal a little and laugh your goodbye’s to its driver…
The chassis is FIA rated so it will survive an impact better than the family saloon! It brakes almost as good as it accelerates! Driving around suburbia sunglasses are fine; open road or highway and you wear a helmet.
Dont believe me? Call the Ariel factory (UK), or TMI (USA), or the arielatomexperience.com Book a ride and watch your expectations shatter. Then comment.
hi all,
I have read all you comments and i respect all views. I do want to say i think you have missed the point of the car though,
The car is road legal, yes, but it is far from an everyday car, its really for weekend use a pleaser rides, such that you do on a motorcycle. Your ment to put you racing gear on, helmet and gloves and feel like a F1 driver in the rural parts of the world were no SUVs go, i.e a racing track.
The size and lack of safty equipment in no differnt from a motorcycle, this is they only way to get the thrills of a bike from 4 wheels. As for teens i dont think for there first car they can get hold of $450000 (even if they could a car of this price tag wont be slow if speed is what they want) or would beable to take all 15 mates down town, so i think hardly any of them would look twice at it, all so there are hundreds of two seater kit cars with motorcycle engines in all ready out there and we dont have a mass teen problem, this also goes for motorcycles. The only thing that sets this apart from the rest is the mighty Type r engine behind you.
Top gear is a brilliant motor show and i recomend it.
Enjoy driving.
Andy
Its built by ‘Mad dogs and Englishmen’. Its built for fun!!! Not everyday and when you consider that we only get about 4 months of weather good enough to drive it in the U.K. It means most of the time you would have to wear a helmet and full weather gear to stop you suffering from a bout of hypothermia. Its one of many of what we call track day cars. Because of our draconian driving laws in the U.K. we use race tracks to drive fast on special days called ‘run what you brung’. I don’t know how it is in the U.S. but young drivers simply would not be able to insure it in the U.K. as our insurance for cars is not cheap and they can simply be refused by the insurance companies. This is for car drivers who want to have the frill of riding a sports bike but don’t have the license in the U.K. Also Top Gear a big show in the U.K. Watched by millions. It is a car show so they don’t really like bikes, but they do have a respect for the capability’s of sports bikes. The best way for the shows presenters to kill there career would be to tell viewers if you want to go very fast, buy a bike!
I’ve talked to a guy that owns one. we wears a full-face visored helmet to avoid the epiglottis full of bees/rocks in the cornea. It’s his daily driver, too; the main drawback is that he can’t take a friend to the grocery store. It may help to think of it as a motorcycle with a rollcage (yes, it does have a rollbar hidden in the intake scoop like on an F1 car) rather than a car. I’d like to drive one — there are several outfits running tracks days with them, pay some ridiculous sum and fling it around a track for an hour — but i don’t think I could own one.
(I want a 427 GT40 — almost as insane, but keeps the dirt off.)
Awesome items!! Give us the full lowdown along with loads of pictures when you get back.
fredi
http://www.gigwebhosting.com
WOW, this post is absolutely great, i saw it as a screen shot somewhere and i just had to get my hands on it. Its worth it. Thanks
william
http://www.corpgearusa.com
See also: Noble, Ultima, Caterham.
Modifications: Dual hayabusa – 2 x 500 hp motorcycle engines, effectively giving it AWD
http://videos.streetfire.net/video/1000hp-1000kg-Ultima-GTR_41706.htm
World’s quickest street legal car:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1FvqIUBP5Gc
For maximum performance: more insane than rocket racing, top fuel drag bikes.
http://www.kingracing.com/topfuelbikes.html
Hi all
The Brits boohooed copyright on the youtube vid:(( Anyone know where else I might see the vid?
^5’s to Alan for such a great site.
I love it. I’d give your left nut to drive it, too.
My favorite car ever was my 1960 bug-eye Sprite. 45 mpg
Ed Graham
There’s a video on this site of the Ariel Atom experience http://www.drivingexperiences.com/category/supercars/ariel-atom/ on the right hand side. As a Brit I’m really proud of this car!