So the Atom is going to be terrifying, right? Not according to the blokes at Ariel, who say they’ve made it perfectly driveable. We’ll see.
What’s it like?
Absurd, of course; but, quite seriously, the V8 is as tame and docile as Ariel claims – should you want it to be.
It idles a touch lumpily, but throttle response is manageable. The low speed ride was also a touch grumbly on our test version but the engine pulls cleanly at all revs. You do this for a while – at least, I did – because you want to get used to it; you want to feel comfortable before you unleash the full 800-plus bhp per tonne.
You need the clutch to pull away but, thereafter, so long as you’ve got around 10 per cent of throttle applied, you can leave the left pedal alone and pull through a super-fast, super-smooth upshift via the diddy, carbonfibre paddles behind the gearlever.
And when you do give the Atom V8 the beans? Really, there’s nothing else quite like it. It’s a cliché to say a car is ‘superbike fast’ – even for very quick road cars like a Murciélago or the Atom 300. Bikes weigh so little they’ll also have an acceleration advantage. Except here; the Atom is a car that will show even a proper bike its tailpipes, not just in braking or cornering, but in straight-line acceleration, too.
Ariel hopes the Atom V8 will reach 0-60mph in comfortably under 2.5sec and 100mph in 5.4; and I believe it. First gear runs to over 60mph and upshifts are just stupendously fast – there’s no noticeable let-up in torque to the wheels; you’d swear it was a twin-clutch gearbox if you didn’t know better. The noise (it has a flat-plane crank) is electrifying, too. Gearing has recently been changed to make the top speed 170mph, at which point the V8 will run on its limiter.
I drove the Atom V8 on Millbrook’s hill course, which is a superb closed circuit and pretty representative of a British B-road.
We haven’t had the chance to throw the Atom V8 down a very long straight yet, but we will. By gum, we will.
Even around the hill route, though, the Atom puts down a whole new set of parameters of what I thought a road car could do. You can only use full throttle for the odd burst – a few seconds here, half a second there, but it flings itself out of corners at a pace I didn’t think was imaginable.
Traction is very strong. At the moment it’s set up to understeer until the front tyres are warmed through – and on a skippy road surface, stopping frequently for pictures and video, the fronts never get truly hot. The rears do, because with every run to 10,500rpm (where it makes peak power) they’re converting 475bhp into forward motion.
Suspension geometry is largely unchanged from the Atom 300 (though you’ll note aerofoil-section wishbones). Springs and dampers are multi-stage and multi-way adjustable; firmer here than on the 300. Ariel says the 300 is a road car that’s good on a track. The V8 is a track-biased car that’s pretty handy on the road.
Around the hill route, then, it’s agile, nimble, with lovely unassisted steering and a limit that’s governed predominantly by the front end and the fact that the suspension is a little firm for bumpier Tarmac. On an extended run on a track you could warm through the front tyres and exploit the adjustability.
As it is now, you run to where the front grip runs out, then get back on the power to straighten the line; and get blown away, yet again, by the performance.
Join the debate
sputnik
Re: Ariel Atom V8
"As soon as the opportunity arises, we’ll put the Atom V8 through a full Autocar road test. Expect fireworks" Autocar I hope it's a dry day when the opportunity arises, 0 - 62mph I'd say 2.2 seconds seeing you do not have to change gear! I am curious to know what will happen to this cars amazing engine/gearbox combo after the 25 production cars are made?
Submariner Redux
Re: Ariel Atom V8
Stunning. I know you don't generally get involved with track-based stuff but when you do get to figure one properly it would be fascinating to put it on a circuit against some modern competition machinery. From the power to weight ratio, a modern F3 car would not see which way this went in a straight line, but would the additional downforce and slicks of the F3 car bring it back into contention around somewhere like Donington or Cadwell Park?
geed
Re: Ariel Atom V8
video Autocar, video when you test please!
Dan McNeil v2
Re: Ariel Atom V8
Autocar - would be very interested to see this car go being chased by the Caterham R500 on the "twisty track" (as you did with the Clio and Focus recently).
michael knight
Re: Ariel Atom V8
[quote geed]
video Autocar, video when you test please!
[/quote] +1!robbcape
Re: Ariel Atom V8
[quote Submariner Redux]a modern F3 car would not see which way this went in a straight line,[/quote]
Surely they would see that the Ariel had just gone in a straight line?
"Which way did it go?"
"Look, straight up there"
'Oh, right, got it"
jelly7961
Re: Ariel Atom V8
[quote geed]video Autocar, video when you test please![/quote]
+ 2 And make sure the microphone is turned on!March1
Re: Ariel Atom V8
Another vote for video please!
RobHardy
Re: Ariel Atom V8
A superbike has way clear of 700hp/tonne, Most 1 litre bikes have near 1:1 power to weights! Amazing acheivement though. Would love to see a video of one.
Welsh Wizard
Re: Ariel Atom V8
Bits of ironmongery flying in (very fast) close formation.....................
Pages
Add your comment