It took two years for another car to dethrone the Atom the Pagani Huayra lapped the course in 1:13.8. At the time, it was the quickest are ever around the circuit. In January of 2011, the V8-powered Atom set a record lap around the Top Gear test track of 1:15.1 seconds. But the V8-powered Atom achieved its spot in the limelight on a popular episode of the BBC program, Top Gear. "We'd go slightly further it's hard to believe the Ariel Atom V8 is permitted to exist right now." Soaking Up The SpotlightĮnthusiasts and reviewers alike loved the Ariel Atom V8. By Dave VanderWerp Published: Jun 1, 2009. "In 10 years time you might not be able to do this sort of thing anymore," Ariel boss Simon Saunders said in a 2010 Evo interview. Small tweaks and a berserk Honda powertrain make the near-perfect Atom lighter, faster, and better. The company benchmarked the car against the then world's fastest, the Bugatti Veyron. With an extremely light curb weight of around 1,200 pounds (550 kilograms), the Atom 500 could sprint to 60 miles per hour (96 kilometers per hour) in a hypercar-rivaling 2.3 seconds. The 3.0-liter flat-plane crank engine built by Hartley produced a whopping 500 hp (372 kW) and 284 pound-feet of torque when new, power routed through a six-speed sequential gearbox. The Ariel Atom 500 shed the standard version's tiny four-cylinder for a V8 instead. None of them, though, were more impressive than the V8-powered Atom 500. But the original Atom was just a jumping-off point Ariel built (and continues to build) multiple variants of the Atom at their U.K. With a Lotus-tuned chassis, a 1,349-pound (611-kilogram) curb weight, and a 300-horsepower (223-kilowatt) engine, enthusiasts everywhere celebrated the open-top sports car for its agility and speed. Using a slightly detuned version of supercharged-K24 engine found in the Atom 3.5, producing 290bhp, the Nomad dispatches 0-62mph in 3.1sec.Ariel Atom 4 Debuts With 320-Horsepower Type R Engine Bonkers From The Beginning It won’t match the Atom for speed on road or track, but is capable on both and prioritises fun. Despite its hatchback origins it performs well on track, with a limited-slip differential, huge grip reserves and a strong turbocharged 2.0-litre engine that develops 316bhp and 295lb ft of torque.Īlongside the Atom, Ariel offer the Nomad, a bare-bones off-roader that looks Dakar-ready. The Honda Civic Type R can’t come close to the Atom in raw performance terms, but has track credentials and the Nurburgring stamp of approval. 0-62mph is dealt with in 3.9sec, over a second slower than the Atom, but the trade-off is a car that you could use everyday – according to Lotus. Like the Atom it’s supercharged, developing 243bhp from a 1.8-litre four-cylinder engine. The £46k Lotus Elise 250 Cup is a stripped back Elise that is fantastic on the road and surprisingly friendly on track. But stick with it and the Atom is much more driveable than you first imagine and once you learn to work with the Porsche 911-like weight distribution and be brave with the throttle, it’s incredibly rewarding. The Atom’s handling has always taken a while to get used to, feeling fairly wild and intimidating to start with. #ARIEL ATOM V8 MANUAL#It contines to be mated to a convetional H-pattern six-speed manual gearbox. The supercharged Honda Civic Type R sourced 2-litre engine also gets a bit more power (up to 310bhp), but given the 3’s already eye-watering ability in that department, it seems like the most incidental of the upgrades. Instead of the large, bug-eyed headlamps that used to sit back up towards the wing mirrors, the 3.5 gets two neat rows of three bulbs further down its nose. #ARIEL ATOM V8 UPDATE#Perhaps the most obvious update is the lights. The big one-piece seats have also been made a little stiffer. The 3.5 also gets the carbon-surrounded digital dash from the V8, which looks very smart, and the nose panel has been subtly changed with a crease now running down the middle. Most of the chassis changes are things that Ariel learnt while building the wild Ariel Atom V8, with new suspension pick-up points and bracing around the engine all helping to make the chassis stiffer. > Ariel Nomad review Technical highlights? Ariel couldn’t call it Atom 4 because a whole new integer only appears when the engine changes, but nevertheless there has been a raft of small upgrades aiming to make this supercharged model the best one yet.
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