No other nation is as obsessed with weight saving as we Brits are. Lotus coined the ‘simplify, then add lightness’ mantra and has used it to great effect both on and off the racetrack, while Caterham has managed to keep the Seven formula going for over half a century and shows no signs of stopping. Sure, you’ll never find them with sonorous engines and most will shake your fillings out, but there aren’t many cars that’ll get you from point A to B faster - and with a bigger bug-blasted grin on your face - than a lightweight British sports car.
And they don’t come more exhilarating than the Ariel Atom. Hard to believe it’s been around for as long as it has because the Atom looks just as extreme and otherworldly as it did when the covers came off the prototype nearly 30 years ago. It’s said the Atom was conceived as a modern-day take on the Seven, with the concept of weight saving being taken to the absolute extreme with an exposed tubular chassis with some suspension components bolted to it, a pair of seats, some wheels and an engine at the back. So effective is the Atom recipe that Ariel has not dramatically altered it for the best part of three decades.
When the production car arrived in 1999 it was powered by a Rover K-Series engine with 190hp, which was in charge of pushing along somewhere in the region of 550kg. From then on the Atom range has been powered by a series of Honda engines, aside from the utterly loony 500 that received a bespoke V8. The first Honda-powered car arrived in 2003, with the Atom 2 featuring the K20A engine from the EP3 Honda Civic Type R, while a bonkers supercharged version arrived shortly after with 300hp. If that all sounded a bit much, Ariel offered a slightly less intimidating model called the 160 - much like the one you see here.
In place of the standard Atom 2’s Type R engine, the entry-level car received the 160hp 2.0-litre engine from the Civic Type S and five manual speeds to play with instead of the usual six. It’s still a K20A engine, mind, and needs to be revved right up to 6,800rpm to get everything the motor’s got to give. Interestingly, peak torque of 132lb ft is only 6lb ft shy of the Type R engine and is available much lower down the rev range at 4,000rpm. Despite the drop in power, the 160 was capable of hitting 62mph from rest in under five seconds which, with the absence of a windscreen, should still mess your face up Clarkson-style.
Meanwhile, the chassis hardware remained top drawer, only with some components scaled back to match the lower power output. The Alcon brakes dropped from four to two-piston callipers, while the inboard Bilstein dampers were non-adjustable (more on that in a bit) and set up for a more road-focused ride. What resulted was an Atom that, according to those who drove it, felt just as thrilling as the full-fat version, only with some of the base car’s more brutal characteristics dialled back a bit.
However, this particularly 160 has some very tasty mods plucked from Ariel’s parts bin, including the bell cranks and adjustable Bilstein suspension from the Atom 3, all of which were fitted by the sports car maker itself. The car also comes with new Alcon brakes up front and a ‘competition’ setup at the rear, so it’s primed and ready for the summer months ahead. It's a wonderful looking thing too, and all the more tempting with a guide price of £19,000 - £20,000. Where it’ll end up when the auction closes next Friday is anyone’s guess, but better get yourself registered to bid so you’re in with a shot of coming out on top. It is track day season, after all…
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