Ariel reveals Atom V8

By Tom Phillips

08th September 2010

It’s the ultimate car for wind in the hair motoring. With no doors or roof, the standard Honda-powered Atom is one of the most extreme cars money can buy. But now Ariel has gone one step further, with a limited production run of 25 Atoms powered by a V8 engine.

The engine is built for Ariel in the USA and features a dry sump, flat-plane crank and a ceramic-coated exhaust. Much of the technology used is derived from racing cars, and buyers will be able to choose whether to have their car in road or race trim. In road mode, the engine revs to 10,500rpm and develops 475bhp, while the race model makes 500bhp at 10,600rpm.

Couple that to the fact that the Atom V8 only weighs 550kg, and performance is seriously brisk. 0-62mph takes less than 2.3 seconds, with 100mph from rest taking just 5.4 seconds.

In road mode, top speed is 170mph which stretches to 200mph in race setup. The power to weight ratio is in excess of 900bhp per tonne, easily beating the Ferrari Enzo’s 434bhp per tonne and Bugatti Veyron’s 530bhp per tonne.

To cope with the engine, Ariel has fitted the Atom with a racing six-speed paddle shift gearbox, which can change up in just 40 milliseconds, a limited slip diff, and a race-derived adjustable inboard suspension system with remote reservoir dampers.

The brakes have also been uprated, while a special data logging instrument panel and carbon composite wing and nose section have been added, along with a gold powder coated chassis.

The cost for all this adrenalin-fuelled motoring is £124,850.00 plus VAT. But with just 25 cars being made, and 20 already being pre-ordered, time is running out to get your hands on one of the most extreme cars ever built.

Tell us about your car in our Driver Power survey.