RE: Driven: Ariel Atom 245

RE: Driven: Ariel Atom 245

Friday 24th December 2010

Driven: Ariel Atom 245

We take Open Season to the extreme and find a car that doesn't even have bodywork


London. Not an Ariel's natural home
London. Not an Ariel's natural home
The funny thing about an Ariel Atom is that, despite it being an outrageously quick car (even without a supercharger bolted onto it), any journey in it will take far longer than you expect.

There are several reasons for this. Partly it is because, as with any car of this ilk, it takes so darn long to get settled in, strapped up and your belongings securely stowed. This is especially true in winter, when only the terminally foolish would venture forth without several layers of warm clothing, gloves, scarf and a hat.

Atom journeys are also lengthened because the ordinary British motorway is not a good place for an Atom. A combination of cold, incessant wind noise and the boredom of no bends will soon have you reaching for the road atlas to work out a more diverting route.

Sunshine doesn't always mean warmth...
Sunshine doesn't always mean warmth...
Most of all, however, trips in an Ariel Atom take so long simply because you want to make them longer. You find yourself going round empty roundabouts twice, daring yourself to push the throttle a little harder each time. Long straights are quite likely to be re-run so you can hear the gorgeous gargle of the 2.0-litre Honda K20 motor's free-breathing induction noises. And you will go out of your way to add interesting B-roads into your route so you can accelerate, brake and go through as many corners as possible.

It's just such an intoxicating experience on the road: raw, visceral, and above all involving in a way that even its supposed closest rivals can't match. A Radical or Lotus 2-Eleven might seem similarly hardcore, but both cars' bodywork actually detaches you a little from what's going on with the road beneath you. Those two are also a little too stiff and reliant on aerodynamics to match the fluidity that the Ariel's chassis provides. A Caterham gets a little closer, but then that car's nose-mounted motor denies it the sense of balance you get in the mid-engined Atom.


There's a skeletal beauty to the Atom, too. It's just about a decade since Ariel launched its car-without-a-body and the shape - which has stayed basically the same despite numerous mechanical and dynamic refinements - remains as unique and fresh today as it looked in 2001. There is simply nothing else quite like it, KTM X-Bow included.

The Atom is also the perfect showcase for Honda's wonderful 1998cc K20 i-vtec engine. It's a pretty magnificent motor in the Honda civic, but Ariel's work tweaking the fuel mapping, induction and exhaust has to be heard - and felt - to be believed. Ariel's ministrations push it from 198bhp to 245bhp, but what really marks it out as special is the noise it makes.

Gang member...
Gang member...
Not only does the vtec bit start to do its thing earlier (around 3000rpm) and for longer (up to 8600rpm rather than 8400rpm), but it's also louder, angrier and far more intoxicating than in any Honda. And it's right behind your left ear. I couldn't tell you what the exhaust sounds like, because once the revs start to climb the only noise you hear is induction. But it's so good that you really won't care.

Honda is also noted for its sweet-as-a-peach gearchanges, but in the past that hasn't quite translated into the Atom, which was stuck with an old rover shifter mechanism. Now, though, the Atom 3 uses a shifter mechanism from a Toyota MR2, and is now quite possibly the most snugly satisfying, easy-shifting gearbox I have had the pleasure to wiggle around in anger.

...or Atom driver?
...or Atom driver?
So the Atom is a pretty mega machine when it comes to pure driving thrills, but surely it's a bit cold in winter? Well, yes it is, to put it bluntly. But there is a remedy - spec your car with the optional 'Somerset' windscreen and, as well as looking slicker than the average Atom (we think), you'll be saved from the worst excesses of the buffeting of freezing winds. The other trick that Ariel offers is one that bikers have been using for years - electrically heated clothing and gloves. Add a helmet into the mix and you'll be snug as a bug in a, er, helmet.

I decided to forgo the helmet on the basis that I was far too manly, but the only other things missing that could have made me more protected from the weather would have been Perspex side screens.

Even with heated clothes, you will eventually get a bit chilly (especially without a helmet), but the crucial point is that you'll take that little bit longer to chill to the bone. Which is good, because you'll almost certainly have taken the long way round to wherever you're going.

Author
Discussion

Atom 3

Original Poster:

1,670 posts

180 months

Saturday 25th December 2010
quotequote all
Just wait till the weather warms up & the tyres really start to grip, then you'll find true motoring addiction. Well I have anyway smile

Happy Xmas all

D.

Edited by Atom 3 on Saturday 25th December 08:46

Cock Womble 7

29,908 posts

229 months

Saturday 25th December 2010
quotequote all
'Nuff respect to anyone driving an Atom in this weather. The Caterham's bad enough, but at least I've got a bit more protection from the elements.

Jasandjules

69,825 posts

228 months

Saturday 25th December 2010
quotequote all
Quite the mean machine those things. Perhaps one day I'll be mad enough to get one (how does someone pursuade the missus that it's Ok to go out in a car which is just a chassis though?).

justin220

5,331 posts

203 months

Saturday 25th December 2010
quotequote all
Atom with a windscreen? Meaning no helmet required?

Steve H

5,224 posts

194 months

Saturday 25th December 2010
quotequote all
Brilliant car and full marks to anyone who drives one year round but I'm struggling a bit with the idea that it is better balanced than a Caterham or that it's mid-engined confused

RobCrezz

7,892 posts

207 months

Saturday 25th December 2010
quotequote all
Steve H said:
Brilliant car and full marks to anyone who drives one year round but I'm struggling a bit with the idea that it is better balanced than a Caterham or that it's mid-engined confused
It is mid engined. Rear engined is when its behind the rear axel.smile

jontysafe

2,351 posts

177 months

Saturday 25th December 2010
quotequote all
Isn't this the stupidly expensive Mugen fettled one?

PascalBuyens

2,868 posts

281 months

Saturday 25th December 2010
quotequote all
justin220 said:
Atom with a windscreen? Meaning no helmet required?
Windscreen doesn't belong there at all, IMHO...

soad

32,829 posts

175 months

Saturday 25th December 2010
quotequote all
Perfect winter weather transport! biggrin

Stephanie Plum

2,776 posts

210 months

Saturday 25th December 2010
quotequote all
"Those two are also a little too stiff and reliant on aerodynamics to match the fluidity that the Ariel's chassis provides."

Sorry but what utter tut. A little too stiff? Try driving all three really quickly around a track and then see which ones come out on top. I like the Atom but the chassis is in a slightly different league to anything Lotus or Radical can come out with, and I don't mean for the better either.

Biker's Nemesis

38,534 posts

207 months

Saturday 25th December 2010
quotequote all
PascalBuyens said:
justin220 said:
Atom with a windscreen? Meaning no helmet required?
Windscreen doesn't belong there at all, IMHO...
I nearly suffocated as a passenger in an Atom last summer wearing a helmet without a visor.

Changed too a helmet with visor when I drove it, wasn't that impressed too be honest.

Maybe they're better on a track.

BlackPrince

1,271 posts

168 months

Monday 27th December 2010
quotequote all
So, Biker'sNemesis, it wasn't like yer R1 on 4 wheels then?

p1doc

3,111 posts

183 months

Monday 27th December 2010
quotequote all
brrrr comes to mind-i would not fancy an atom up here in aberdeenshire,it has been subzero for last 2 weeks down to -15,in an atom=frostbite lol
martin

British Beef

2,191 posts

164 months

Tuesday 28th December 2010
quotequote all
Ive seen a couple of these things up here around Aberdeen, but only during our 3 days of summer!!

Biker's Nemesis

38,534 posts

207 months

Tuesday 28th December 2010
quotequote all
BlackPrince said:
So, Biker'sNemesis, it wasn't like yer R1 on 4 wheels then?
No, not even a little bit.

hairykrishna

13,158 posts

202 months

Tuesday 28th December 2010
quotequote all
Stephanie Plum said:
"Those two are also a little too stiff and reliant on aerodynamics to match the fluidity that the Ariel's chassis provides."

Sorry but what utter tut. A little too stiff? Try driving all three really quickly around a track and then see which ones come out on top. I like the Atom but the chassis is in a slightly different league to anything Lotus or Radical can come out with, and I don't mean for the better either.
It did seem to be a polite way of saying the chassis is a bit floppy...

BILL PAYER

526 posts

178 months

Tuesday 28th December 2010
quotequote all
Biker's Nemesis said:
BlackPrince said:
So, Biker'sNemesis, it wasn't like yer R1 on 4 wheels then?
No, not even a little bit.
No and never will be.

simonrockman

6,843 posts

254 months

Tuesday 28th December 2010
quotequote all
Wrapping up warm is one thing but what do you wear on your feet? Do you put on big warm boots with no pedal feel or something trainer-like which will freeze?

Atom 3

Original Poster:

1,670 posts

180 months

Tuesday 28th December 2010
quotequote all
Imagine what you need to wear for warmth on a motorbike with fairing & you're on the right page.

Also don't like the windshield, yet on a nice day I drive with just sunglasses ... no need for helmet.

Re comparison with Bikes, well I've owned GSXR750's, ZX9R & 675 Daytona & have to say the Atom is the nearest thing to a bike, but on 4 wheels. I love the freedom of a motorbike, but on a warm dry day I always found the need to put on leathers, helmet etc a bit of a ball ache when I wanted to go for a quick blast. The thing I love about the Atom is on a warm day you can jump in with your normal clothes on, chuck some sunglasses on & off you go. The feeling of being exposed to the elements is great & I can only imagine this is what mad bikers in USA states, where no helmets are required, must feel like.

Hey, this car isn't for everyone & really is an expensive toy. You can get similar speeds from bikes at a quarter the price, but if you want to be on 4 wheels, a bit safer, not have to wear a helmet, then you really can't beat the buzz from this car.


HeMightBeBanned

617 posts

177 months

Tuesday 4th January 2011
quotequote all
So after reading some of the comments above, does the Atom handle badly? I have a rather heavily modified Elise (Nitrons, Honda engine, OZ wheels etc etc) so have that as my benchmark.

HMBB