Ariel Atom 3 at Virginia International Raceway - Car and Driver

[trancedsailor]

My dream car used to be a Lotus Exige S260. Now it's this. I own a 2,000 lb gutted Miata that I plan to turbo to about 250whp. Will be a BLAST, but not as fun as this, also not nearly as expensive though.

[Kalipathekid]

I wish I was rich.

[bigfirecat]

for that price you can have a lotus super 7 r500 and a 2 eleven

[chromehounds2]

@bigfirecat Super 7 R300, R400, and the R500 aren't lotus anymore, but is now just Caterham.

[38tech]

you can register this car here in florida..i have seen atleast 4 of them over the last couple of years. Lightning quick! i think i would still take a caterham.

[VersusModeADR]

below me WRONG it's a v8 (2 hyabusa motors combined)

[cavaderblood]

@VersusModeADR It's not right below you anymore :D

[mrsides89]

you guys know theres a V8 model with anengine simular to an F1 car

[thatnigga54]

ill get the N/A k20a atom, then ship the motor to skunk2...they make that little motor rev more 11k rpm and make like 350hp wow wow wow pure race spec

[daedalx]

The windshield seals the deal for me.

[ChromatiCHD]

I actually saw the warehouse where they build these at VIR

[bombaroobuddy]

A vehicle is something used to transport goods and/or service for profit. Traveling on a public thoroughfare is still a US Constitutionally guaranteed right.

If it is an automobile and NOT registered as a vehicle than it does not need to be "Driven" by a "Driver" with a "Driver license" but may be used as transportation according to our Bill of Rights.

Anything other than that, such as insisting upon payment prior to being 'ALLOWED' to exercise your right to travel is unconstitutional tyranny.

[MrJtizzlef]

these are around 29,000 dollars. crx is 1800 lbs. swap in a k20 and save 20,000 dollars. boost it. Honda motors are just as fast in honda cars as anything else.

[SumFknGuy]

@MrJtizzlef crx are front wheel drive and looks like ass when compared to this. this is a purpose built car, that handles like a race car should. Not a converted econo-car.

[untouchabledriver87]

@MrJtizzlef Except it's wrong wheel drive, looks like a UFO, and handles like crap.? lol Trust me, I had a boosted '97 EK 4-door. Dumped 15k into it, and still with 398whp and 405ft/lbs tq, it still couldn't out-perform my 240SX w/ 350rwhp/328ft/lbs TQ. Weight was close, the Civic dialed in at 2318lbs and the 240SX at 2249lbs. Just FWD isn't a good performance platform. Yes, they have great potential, but when you get big HP, you just can't put it down. :( I'll stick with my 240 now. :) hehe

[AmericanStig]

omg, i want, i want, i want!!!!!

[titan371]

so if i have one of this type of cars in the US will i be able to drive this car as my normal daily car and be registered ???

[aqinthe]

@titan371 I think so. I have seen them on the road in California, and that is one of the strictest states when it comes to vehicles.

[alterbr33d]

@aqinthe

I have seen one of these driving in Washington state down I-5.

[aqinthe]

@alterbr33d There must be an Ariel Atom club near by were I live because I see them every once in a while and they are usually in a group. I have never driven one but they look like great fun.

[Vallecrash]

I beleive the main issue at getting that thing registered in the States is the lack of "airbags deploying differently depending on if the passengers have their seatbelts on or not" which no country but the USA enforce - because it's complete and total bullshit. Why don't they just force everyone in every State to drive with a seatbelt and allow great machines like this to be registered as a regular car?

[adamslurch71]

@Vallecrash You can, I got one about a year ago, no problem getting it registered.

[TheValKBawz]

@adamslurch71 Because it's a kit car that enjoys special rights? If you're surprised about the different username - I don't use the other account anymore.

[adamslurch71]

@TheValKBawz Well I live in AZ so that means you can register damn near anything, I have seen dune buggies, sand rails, and all sorts of other things legally registered. It all depends on where you live, I pay about $600 a year for insurance, and can drive it where ever and when ever I please.

[TheValKBawz]

@adamslurch71 Congrats btw. Nice choice. ;)

[DocSicnarf]

@Vallecrash because that's not politically correct. You should know that here in the states there are many groups of bored people looking for shit to complain about. Modern civilization does not weed out the weak and weak minded people nature would normally take care of. So in return we have these talentless, mindless people that try to lower the bar on everything so they feel normal and useful. America has become fool proofed in every way.

[marshknute]

@Vallecrash I don't understand US car safety laws. A car like the Atom is considered unsafe b/c it doesn't meet safety standards, and yet I can buy a Harley Davidson without issue. If the US laws don't allow cars like the Caterham and Ariel to be road legal, then they should also ban motorcycles. If I get rear-ended in an Atom, at least I won't fall off of it.

[TheValKBawz]

@marshknute Things get even weirder when you look at ATVs with a roll cage / roof and possibly even seat belts ;-)

[stevefordfreak]

your an idiot if you think your integra is that light-with you and a drivetrain its easily over 2000 pounds

[fidgetingfinch]

Try at least 2,500 pounds. Probably closer to 3,000.

[alterbr33d]

My (I did not buy or choose) 2003 Chevy Cavalier 4-door weights 2,670Lbs, and that vehicle is not too different. 2.5x more than an Atom with less then half the power, and worse gear ratios. 19.5Lbs per HP.

[aqinthe]

@alterbr33d I'm sorry. I owned a Cavalier once. It never broke down on me but that is about the only good thing I can say about it. the heater didn't work and it had graa growing out of the carpet.

[marek0086]

integra is about 2500 kerb weight

[lik3s2spoog3]

@stevefordfreak its actually around 2800 lbs.... for a four seater car, yeah i do think thats pretty light. so i guess i am an idiot. you win.

[Ehal256]

oh god terrible interlacing. awesome clip, but those artefacts are killing my eyes :(

[Liist]

I think for average drivers like us, it's better to get a Caterham if you want a pure driving experience. They're much cheaper, less likely to kill you, and are much easier to get street legal.

[surlybikes13]

300 hp. same as stock sti. though the sti weighs 3500 lbs

[soulsonicinc]

i love impreza's but an atom would eat an sti

also these are legal in the uk, i cant wait to see the v8 version of the atom

[AlmashyD]

I've watched these cars at VIR and they run with the best of them. Talk price all you want but there's a ton of technology and safety built into these cars. You can't go as fast as these with anything near this price.

[mrgoodcat8x56r]

god i love that tack, i do track days there on my bike. and i really think id have more fun in that.

[hotneo7]

$85K? WTF?! no way...got a friend who has the one from Brammo Motors in Oregon for way less than that...with optional extras too.

[darksideguy]

part of it is the new company and the use of a honda motor rather than the ecotec engine used by brammo

[Juic3y72]

almost seems like you could make one of these at home... probably not as great, but get a big go cart frame, get some wielding materials and plop a motor cycle engine on it, and if your skilled, boost it =D. that would be kinda fun lol

[Ry51an]

85k and it runs the quarter mile with a 2010 LP670-4 SV.....so lets run this comparison The Atom outruns the Lambo to 60 by a tenth, to 100 by 8 tenths. and costs $370,000 less. Given the Atom only goes 155 (claimed) and the Lambo will do 209-213 (claimed) where do you have that you can go that fast?!

[Towelman20]

good point their but i can sure bet you that bareley anyone could catch you in an ariel atom 3 and when you think about the ariel atom is a hige bargin with a price tag of only 85k theirs bareley anything that will out run it and the lp670 sv isnt all that light for a light wieght track foccused supercar and the ariel atom is just totally amzing very few cars at the same price will deliver as much performance combined with driveing exitement as the ariel atom that beats most 300k supercars

[lik3s2spoog3]

my acura integra weighs the same... now all i need is the k20 and new suspenton.. haha

[Towelman20]

eehhhhhhh no and i get rather anoyed at people with more afordable modded family cars that think it will walk over other sports cars.oh yes and light wieght european track cars handle trillion s of times better than modded jap sports cars plus their a hell of alot faster a blitz supra goess around nurburgring in 7.49 and a donkervoort d8 rs goess around nurburgring in 7.14 in terms of cars that handle well euroupe is head and shoulders above japan.

[lik3s2spoog3]

first off i didnt say it would walk all over anything... second its a 91 acura integra its not a family car... and third to say european track cars handle better and are a "hell of alot better" is kinda stupid. theres no way to actually tell. you might like them better but thats ur personal prefrence...

[miike12345]

@lik3s2spoog3 'and third to say european track cars handle better and are a "hell of alot better" is kinda stupid. theres no way to actually tell'

Bahahaha I can't believe anyone would even consider suggesting a 91 acura would be even near an atom!!! Your intelligence is reflected in your choice of cars

[lik3s2spoog3]

and ih yeah btw read the discription ... it has a honda power train.. lol

[Garglemesh91]

it's still a front wheel drive pos

[Garglemesh91]

good luck finding the right suspenton

[TheLateRiser]

they used to be wayyyy cheaper.

[TheLateRiser]

they only mess with the best. honda ftw

[ncsugray90]

lol, or the smallest, you know, whichever.jk

[TheLateRiser]

????

[ncsugray90]

yeah, for some reason when i reply to a comment, it doesnt put my response under that comment, my bad for the confusion

[TheLateRiser]

no worries.

[xplicitrealityxx]

its a supercharged honda type R motor

[manniefresh3000]

go kart on steroids

[sirgir101]

civics get good gas milage *COUGH COUGH*

[moaski]

You would choose a GM power plant over a race-proven, bullet-proof Honda...no way dude! Believe me when I say that you're the only one.

[moaski]

'i doubt your the only one to think the civic engine is bulletproof,' too. Thanks.

[moaski]

First, if you can afford a $65k + track car, I think you'll be able to afford some gas. Second, it doesn't need more torque since it only weighs 1,388 pounds. It already does 0-60 in 2.9 seconds even with having to shift. More torque and it wouldn't be able to hook up. Plus that Cobalt engine would blow a head gasket being driven like this. Sorry about your plans.

[monkeyman8644]

why would you even mention fuel economy, this thing is a racecar that is 85000 dollars

[monkeyman8644]

So you would be driving like the guy in the video on the streets? I doubt it. You would get pretty good fuel economy on the street even if you drive fast.

[Graptor660r]

looks like sandrail

[marxb]

street legal in the uk. i heard that they are not legal in some parts of the usa because of the strict safety laws there. i think they are worried about people having a mishap on a highway or something that will almost certainly end in death and be followed by a massive lawsuit. just not worth the grief. also i seen that the usa version is havin GM parts instead of honda and this is apparently not quite as good?

[ncsugray90]

have you SEEN the exoskeleton on that thing? short of any flying debris, i think the driver would be a-ok if they got in a wreck with that thing

[benjaminlately]

They were street legal before I wonder why they aren't now. anyone know?

[monkeyman8644]

they should put a rx8 rotary engine in it and turbo it

[bugablue]

why?

[monkeyman8644]

It would be lighter and more powerful

[mbig13]

yea ok but when it brakes whos gunna fix it?

[monkeyman8644]

when ever something goes wrong with a rotary engine it is something small, that a dealership could fix for you, and if you put it in yourself you probably know how to fix it, considering how hard it would be since this car is mid/rear engine car, and an rx8 is front engine, a caterham 7 is a much better car to drop a rotary engine in because the engine sits in front of you, more like a rx8, sorry for the stupid idea, i was just thinking of how to make a really fast car faster

[moaski]

Too bad the RX-8's rotary burns through a quart of oil every 1000 miles.

[monkeyman8644]

if you bought this car I dont think you would care, considering it is not even street legal, it would be more powerful and faster. I know plenty about the rx8 engine, and dont care about its problems, especially since I was talking about putting it in a go-kart

[ATCRyderX]

awesome

[roxas765x]

The Atom has much better styling than the Caterham 7

[psychedelicfunkymonk]

hi guys, performance-wise, which is better: the caterham 7, or the ariel atom? with similar specs and such i suppose? thanks! :)

[Guitarking40]

Atom

[kubomon17]

if i remember right, the atom was quicker around the top gear test track than the caterham...but the caterham is slighly cheaper.

[IanRossDavies]

test the R500 caterham! what a car!

[privatepadilla]

I probably buy the entry level model, and soup it up. Interesting review none-the-less

[PrintNameHere]

SOUP it up? Looks like someone watched too much fast and the furious, fag./

[privatepadilla]

I dont watch racing movies, assh4t canuck...

[firesquare16]

wicked!

[oOoironhideoOo]

to expensive .. but nice specs ..

[MadBadVoodo]

Five Stars!!

[CrialCrial]

This is sick, but i'd settle for a caterham..

[CSIS25]

Yeah same with me, i would rather the Caterham, i never though i would like the cars with the open top. when i was younger i hated every thing about them cars but now they look fun to drive

[SPFIREHAWK2]

They are grown-ups go-carts...that will smash out most supercars...

[CSIS25]

yeah i agree

[Yoda8232]

What not street legal?! This isn't going to work then as most people don't buy cars only for track use.

[davidfx16gts]

Love the Ariel!

[devildriver024]

i'd rather have a deronda