RE: Ariel Atom 160 | PH Auction Block

[Water Fairy]

Seems great value to me. Would love an Atom of any flavour.

Avoid an Atom 2? Grow some hairs on yer chest!

[Fastlane]

jasonrobertson86 said:

Ok ok we get it, you love your atom, great. Disagree 'run out of talent', they are very tricky on the limit in my opinion. If you are a talented driving god, this doesn't apply to you.

Really? Just admit that you made a daft statement and that you don't like being pulled up on it.

"avoid" FFS...

[MDifficult]

jasonrobertson86 said:

Ok ok we get it, you love your atom, great. Disagree 'run out of talent', they are very tricky on the limit in my opinion. If you are a talented driving god, this doesn't apply to you.

I’m very far from a driving God, but have had lots of fun doing plenty of trackdays wet and dry in my Atom 3 without incident. What am I doing wrong?



‘Avoid’

[hughcam]

jasonrobertson86 said:

The earlier ones are much harder to drive / control. Evidenced by the amount smashed on trackdays (ive seen a lot)

I love pistonheads mainly from the daft comments I read. Arghhh AVOID

[jasonrobertson86]

MDifficult said:

I’m very far from a driving God, but have had lots of fun doing plenty of trackdays wet and dry in my Atom 3 without incident. What am I doing wrong?



‘Avoid’

Driving too slowly

[VR6 Eug]

I've driven an Atom 270 at the top gear track, and that was immense! The acceleration was incredible and raw, The instructor only let's you drive in 5th gear, but that was more than enough to see off a DB9 up the straight!
After my 5 laps, I paid £30 for 3 laps with a pro driver in the Atom, and I know I haven't got the balls to brake that late! Fantastic experience.

[g7jhp]

Main downside of an Atom is the lack of usability and need for a helmet.

It makes a Caterham look practical.

Personally at £20k most would choose a 7 or Elise and have as much fun more of the time.

[Fastlane]

g7jhp said:

Main downside of an Atom is the lack of usability and need for a helmet.

It makes a Caterham look practical.

Personally at £20k most would choose a 7 or Elise and have as much fun more of the time.

I've had 2 VX220s and a Westfield, and now an Atom. I reckon you'd be having much more fun in an Atom, but less often. It's the reason I have an Atom - not being able to use it more makes it more of an occasion.

[Flanners]

VR6 Eug said:

I've driven an Atom 270 at the top gear track, and that was immense! The acceleration was incredible and raw, The instructor only let's you drive in 5th gear, but that was more than enough to see off a DB9 up the straight!
After my 5 laps, I paid £30 for 3 laps with a pro driver in the Atom, and I know I haven't got the balls to brake that late! Fantastic experience.

Me too! I have had Superbikes since the early 90's until today GSXRs R1s etc the Ariel Atom totally blew me away, as you say even in 5th the acceleration was absolutely mind bending on 4 wheels, the whine of the supercharger was awesome too.....it left me feeling exhausted and blown away after 5 laps....it blew everything else off the track...a totally visceral experience. I would have one in place of my VX220 (for basic pure thrills driving) in the garage for sure..........£20K is do-able for this example.....£45-60K for some; for the 500 odd miles a year I would do in it is not.

Edited by Flanners on Wednesday 22 May 09:05

[RSstuff]

Flanners said:

Me too! I have had Superbikes since the early 90's until today GSXRs R1s etc the Ariel Atom totally blew me away, as you say even in 5th the acceleration was absolutely mind bending on 4 wheels, the whine of the supercharger was awesome too.....it left me feeling exhausted and blown away after 5 laps....it blew everything else off the track...a totally visceral experience. I would have one in place of my VX220 (for basic pure thrills driving) in the garage for sure..........£20K is do-able for this example.....£45-60K for some; for the 500 odd miles a year I would do in it is not.

A late BMW S1000RR weighs under 200kg and has over 200 bhp. Stick some decent tyres on it, and I don't see an Atom blowing it off the track.

[Flanners]

Nor do I, thing is it was at the Top Gear Track on an 'experience' day with cars only so no such comparison. Even so you would need to be a very skilled rider to beat the Atom round such a track

Edited by Flanners on Wednesday 22 May 18:47

[spikeyhead]

I've given a lot of passenger rides round the top gear track in a supercharged Atom.

One was to a biker in once piece leathers with significant scuffs on the knee protectors. The said before that their bike would be much quicker than the Atom. After wards they said they'd be slightly quicker accelerating, but would be massively outbraked and out cornered.

...and I'm not that much of a driving god

[MDifficult]

I’ve owned Superbikes and have the Atom.

I’d say bikes just about have the legs on acceleration and massively on top speed, but braking and cornering on anything remotely tight and the bike wouldn’t see which way the Atom went.

I’d also say, the Atom often feels faster because you’re much closer to the ground, in the same way that a go kart feels a lot faster than a road car even though it’s not.

[RSstuff]

MDifficult said:

I’d say bikes just about have the legs on acceleration and massively on top speed, but braking and cornering on anything remotely tight and the bike wouldn’t see which way the Atom went.

The Atom wouldn't see which way a late superbike went around the IOM TT course. I wouldn't want to go very fast around there in/on either though.

[MDifficult]

RSstuff said:

The Atom wouldn't see which way a late superbike went around the IOM TT course. I wouldn't want to go very fast around there in/on either though.

Yup, I’d agree on both counts! Lots of straights and high speed sweeping corners are all to the bike’s advantages. Very few big braking moments, mid or low speed corners at the TT. They’re there - but they’re a very small % of the lap as a whole. It’s why it’s the most thrilling place to watch bikes.

Anyway, the bike vs car ‘thing’ has been done to death on PH. It’s horses for courses and both give a thrill in different ways. Irrespective of actual performance though, on a normal road at 60mph, an Atom ‘feels’ so much faster and more exciting than a superbike because your arse is 3 inches from the floor and your eyes are a meter closer to the ground. 60mph on a big bike feels like 40mph. 60mph in an Atom feels like 140!