Revolver

Those of us who caught last night's Top Gear would have delighted in Clarkson's facial distortions as he raved like a maniac about the Ariel Atom.

Remember, in the hands of the Stig only the Ferrari Enzo has been faster around their test track.

Got me thinking - it's all about power to weight and smart packaging.

Forget the Honda 4 potter - could there be a better test bed for a super/turbo-charged Renesis powered track day special??!!

Imagine that linear power delivery and rev for the stars feeling in a chassis that weighs less than half the 8!

For those who are interested in more info - check http://www.arielmotor.co.uk/04/frames.htm.

BTW, for sale in Aus (track only) and NZ (road and track) apparently - see the dealer network links.

Mikey - you sure you have to move back here?!

Comments please.

azzaboynt

face contorting goodness!

My wife and I saw it last night and laughed outselves silly, especially when he demonstrated it's practical nature by pointing out it had a "boot".

Putting a rotary in place of a 4 pot would be cool however even better if it were supercharged as well. There was a recent competition where you could win a track day in an atom? Saw it on the BBC Channel on foxtel, however it was a while ago..

Damn australian road regs, can't even drive one even WITH a helmet.

Revolver

Oops, before the Top Gear ***** get on my case, better correct the lap time claim.

Found this, which is more current info than last night's show:

"The show’s fastest lap time still belongs to the Maserati MC12 (1min 18.9sec), followed by the Ferrari Enzo (1min 19sec), the little open-wheeler Ariel Atom (1min 19.5sec) and Porsche’s Carrera GT (1min 19.8sec)."

Revolver

Forget the helmet - on our roads I think you'd need a kidney belt!

Revolver

Out of curiosity, I made some enquiries. Here's the generic response:

Thanks for your interest in the Ariel Atom.

Our apologies for the generic nature of our reply but we've been swamped with emails following the Top Gear segment. We hope to answer many of your questions in this email but please feel free to come back to us with any specific questions. If you're associated with a media outlet please be advised that the information in this email is not for media release.

As you may have seen on Top Gear, Ariel Motor Company in the UK make the Atom, a 520kg two seater road car with the dynamics and performance of a single seater racer - a car that's about having a tonne of fun on the road and track. To give you some idea of the background behind the Atom, Ariel designer/director Simon Saunders has designed both motorcycles and vehicles including being the exterior designer for Aston Martin for a period in the 80s and being one of the exterior designers for the Porsche 959. He went on to became a successful independent designer, working on a wide variety of projects and also lecturing in vehicle design. In the late nineties he decided to redefine the Lotus 7 concept in a way that incorporated the superbike experience and in 1999 the original Ariel Atom was born with 120 BHP of Rover power. In late 2003 the Atom was significantly updated and Ariel have built vehicles at their manufacturing capacity since this time. In mid 2006 Ariel will be moving into a new factory premises which we trust will have capacity sufficient for the Australian market.

As the Australian and New Zealand distributor for Ariel, we are undertaking Australian compliance for the Atom and expect to have this completed later in 2006. Those of you familiar with the Australian Design Rules (ADRs) and the compliance process will know that it is not straightforward but we are making a serious investment in the process over the coming months.

As for pricing it is too early to give an accurate answer but we can give you UK prices as in indication. The base spec UK price is 20,000 pounds which at current exchange would be around $70,000 once transported to Australia with local taxes paid. The next engine up starts from 24,500 pounds for UK buyers and the Atom tested by Jeremy Clarkson starts from 29,000 pounds in the UK with the 'big brake pack' he referred to. The key difference for Australian cars is that they will need additional equipment over UK spec cars to meet the Australian design rules - once these additional costs for compliance are finalised we will be in touch to advise local pricing.

If you would like to own a road-legal Ariel Atom, there is a waiting list in place - to join send us a request to join the list by email including your other contact details and we will confirm your position back by email. Do not assume you are on the waiting list unless you have followed this procedure. When compliance is in hand we will contact people on the waiting list to request a non-refundable deposit to secure your waiting list position.

If you don't care about Australian compliance (i.e. you want a track-only vehicle) then you can jump the waiting list queue and place an order for an Atom immediately with a seven month turnaround on order. Recently we've been investing in a motorsport specification Atom in New Zealand and our experience here may assist you, particularly if you want to race a car in Australia.

For any more information about the Atom you could visit our comprehensive New Zealand website -> http://www.openwheelers.co.nz and to drive the Atom for yourself contact Motoaction about an Eastern Creek (Sydney) track day with upcoming dates: Feb 13, Feb 24, March 9 and March 23. Visit Motoaction at http://www.motoaction.com.au , call on 02 9965 7266 or email book@motoaction.com.au for an experience you won't forget.

Otherwise, please stand by for more information about the Atom as it comes to hand.

Hmm, I could see a visit to the Creek being a fun day out...

Revolver

Those interested better have deep pockets for toys.

Pricing for track car only starts at about $78K and with various fruit it can easily break the ton . This for a car where the full house version retails for 29,000 pounds in the UK.

Gawd knows what they'll be asking for a road version.

Oh well, the excitement was fun while it lasted.

If anyone's interested in the options, etc I have the pricing configurator. PM me your email address and it's yours.

timbo

You are a madman! I think there's MORE than enough power to weight in the basic model (as shown by Clarkson's face!) But if not, there's up to 300bhp from that s/c Honda! That's crazy talk!!

kunz

holy crap!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

playa78

actually, Ferrari Enzo is currently 3rd behind MC12 and new Pagani Zonda F :D
i think this is one of the ep from two seasons ago..
I am waiting for the new season to begin.....
suffering withdrawl syndrome just waiting for those new ep...

playa78

heheh, i didn't realise u corrected urself there Dave
I want those new epsodes!!!

playa78

dope your correction was still wrong LOL :DDD

playa78

Dave, the ones the openwheeler have is not the Atom2 which has the Civic TypeR supercharged engine.. my friend went to one of the the event and told me they were basic none supercharged version. just thought I let you know..
but maybe they now have the Atom2 :D

yellowrx8inoz

Even at $100K+ it's still a lot cheaper than an Enzo or Zonda, for comparable performance. Remember to add the cost of some good leathers, seeing as it's open-air... and botox for the face muscles too, I reckon!

Clarkson's face was a hoot...

takahashi

Can't wait

Maybe I should burn you the latest series of TG Revolver... you are not up-to-date. .

The top 3 car is exotic hard to drive well car... well they are supercar and meant to be ridiculous... love to drive one for sure

Revolver

Guilty!



Actually, as I understood the segment, Clarkson was testing the full house version.

And since when was too much power enough??

Actually, I guess I meant that instead of the stepped, power band experience of the Honda motor it would be a huge hoot to have the more linear rotor behind you.

Revolver

Wouldn't it be fun to turn up with one of these tomorrow Kunz??

Revolver

And some of you thought "****" was too strong a word for Top Gear zealots...

Revolver

Thanks for the heads up playa. I kinda figured they might be using the lower powered model for mug punters.

Somehow I reckon it would be enough for me... to begin with

Revolver

Absolutely but it's such a single purpose impractical toy that you gotta ask yourself whether or not you'd have nearly as much fun on road and track in something like the Exige, which at least provides a roof over your head, some luggage capacity and other creature comforts for the money.

Ahh, what am I saying - how do you put a price on this kind of performance???

Revolver

That would be fantastic Taka. I understand there's a means to download the latest shows (hosting or somethin' ) but laziness and technofear have beaten me for the moment.

I guess you can also buy back series on DVD yeah?? I did see some book by Clarkson the other week listing his 100 fave cars but it was about 5 years old so I didn't bother.

Thank goodness someone at SBS saw some value in airing this program. Even 'er indoors kinda enjoys it, which speaks volumes about its ability to make the subject fun for all.

timbo

Slightly OT, but do I take it last Monday was the last of TG on SBS for a while? Doesn't really matter to me, as I pick up the current series on BBC World, but it's pretty poor behaviour on the part of SBS....keep us Aussies a good year behind!

Interesting your comment re 'er indoors, Revolver. This show seems to really appeal to women -- I have women friends ring me up and tell me about it. My betta 'alf loves it, too....thought the 3 Porsche episode was a real hoot!

Revolver

Mate, I'm still in the grateful we're getting it at all stage. I'll move on to cynical grumpiness in due course...

takahashi

I can mail it to you or pass on during the TAKA KALLI cruise ... your choice

generis

Hymee Grille Facemask a must have accessory

mirx*8

Clarksons a pretty funny guy
The atom has stunning looks. I really like the idea of just driving a shell, kinda impractical but really base....and being open and close to the road is always gonna make you feel like you are going much faster.....
NZ$249 for 5 laps at Pukekohe on the 24th feb.....sounds like fun...