The Ariel Atom is a road legal high performance sports car made by the Ariel Motor Company based in Crewkerne, Somerset, England and under licence in North America by TMI Autotech, Inc. at Virginia International Raceway in Alton, Virginia.
There have been seven Ariel Atom generations to date: Ariel Atom, Ariel Atom 2, Ariel Atom 3 (including the Ariel Atom 3 Mugen Limited Edition and Honda Racing Edition - of which only 1 was made) Ariel Atom 3.5, Ariel Atom 3S, Ariel Spec:Race Atom, and Ariel Atom 500 V8 Limited Edition (only 25 to be made). The current models are the Ariel Atom 3 (US), 3.5, the more powerful 3.5R, the 3S (US), the Spec:Race Atom (US), and the limited production Ariel Atom 500 V8 with a 500Â bhp (373Â kW; 507Â PS) V8 engine.
The Ariel Atom features a prominently visible chassis (i.e., an exoskeleton, no roof or windows, a small optional windscreen) and a drag coefficient of 0.40.
Design origins
The Atom began as a student project by Coventry University transport design student, Niki Smart. Known then as the LSC (Lightweight Sports Car), it was developed at the university in 1996 with input and funding from various automotive industry members, including British Steel and TWR. Ariel Motor Company boss Simon Saunders was a senior lecturer whose responsibility for the project was primarily as financial manager and design critic for Smart, whom he described as "The best all-round design student I've ever seen." The car was first shown publicly at the British International Motor Show at the NEC in Birmingham in October 1996.
Suspension
The Atom suspension setup was tuned by the engineers at Lotus. Edmunds "Inside Line" noted that "anyone who has driven a selection of Lotus-tuned cars, such as the Lotus Elise, the Aston Martin Vanquish and the Opel Speedster, will notice a common feel or signature, and it's replicated in the Atom."
The Atom’s suspension derives from single seat racing cars and is fully adjustable, requiring only a spanner/wrench. Both front and rear double unequal length wishbones and inboard, pushrod-operated dampers contribute to the Atom’s dynamic handling. Adjustable suspension rod ends feature inboard rubber/metal bushings to promote a more comfortable road-going ride. The front and rear Bilstein dampers are also adjustable. Stacked helper coil springs and main coil springs produce a low spring rate for minor deflections and a higher rate for large ones.
Acceleration
In 2005 Track and Race Car magazine published the results of a comprehensive test of a range of cars, from the Porsche 911 Carrera S, Ford GT, BMW M5 to the Caterham CSR 260. The supercharged Ariel Atom 2 won the 0â€"100â€"0 mph (0â€"161â€"0 km/h) test by a clear margin at 10.88 seconds, ahead of the Caterham CSR 260 (11.41) and the Ford GT in fourth (13.17).
The following year, the Atom won Autocar's 0â€"100 mph challenge as the new Ariel Atom 2 300 bhp supercharged edition achieved a time of 6.86 seconds, and then stopped from 100 in 3.8 seconds. At the National Exhibition Centre in Birmingham, the Atom broke the indoor speed record. The high gloss floor that the cars ran on was only 220 m (720 ft) long, with an open door at the end of the hall. The driver of the Atom launched in fourth gear and still had wheelspin until the car reached 70 mph (110 km/h) and started to get traction. The Atom was beaten only by a class nine Autograss car powered by a 2.0l Lexus-Toyota touring car engine which set the official indoor speed record, beating the previous record held by a Toyota F1 car driven by Top Gear's driver The Stig.
The Sunday Times measured the time taken for the Atom to accelerate from 0 to 60Â mph (97Â km/h) at 2.89 seconds, making it the world's third fastest accelerating production car then available, after the Bugatti Veyron's 2.46 seconds and the Ultima GTR at 2.6 seconds; the review was in 2005.
United States licensing
Brammo Motorsports of Ashland, Oregon signed a deal with Ariel Ltd to manufacture the Ariel Atom e in the US starting in late 2005. In the US the Atom 2 was available with the supercharged GM Ecotec engine, which was introduced in 2004 on the Saturn ION Red Line and is also used in the Chevrolet Cobalt SS. There was a limited run of 10 US-built Atom 2 cars in 2006-2007, which were powered by imported Honda K20As. Brammo Motorsports ceased production of the Atom in 2007 to focus on the manufacture of an electric motorcycle.
In January 2008, it was officially announced that licensed manufacturing of the new Ariel Atom 3, for the US market, would be undertaken by TMI AutoTech Inc (a specialty motorsports manufacturing company) at a purpose-built facility at Virginia International Raceway(VIR). Since 2008, all Atom 3 cars were powered by a Honda Civic Si Drivetrain. In January 2016, TMI AutoTech Inc moved from its 20,000Â ft/sq facility at VIR to a newly refurbished 60,000Â ft/sq building in South Boston, VA. To separate Ariel manufacturing from its thriving sublet manufacturing services, TMI AutoTech Inc started all Ariel brand manufacturing and marketing efforts under the Ariel North America name.
In 2011, VIR started the VIR Cup in which specialty designed track dedicated Ariel Atoms would compete in a series of races. This specially designed Atom was called the Spec:RaceAtom (SRA). The VIR Cup was managed and operated by the track club while TMI offered technical support for the race cars, the VIR Cup ended in late 2015.
Ariel Atom 500
Introduced in February 2008, the Ariel Atom 500 features a 500 horsepower 3.0 litre John Hartley-designed V8 engine, carbon fibre body panels and aerofoils, chromoly aerofoil wishbones, an integrated function steering wheel, Alcon four-piston brake calipers, and Dymag magnesium wheels. The engine weighs 90Â kg (198Â lb) and is coupled to a SADEV six-speed sequential gearbox to cope with the increased power over the Honda unit. During the development process the RS performance engine was replaced by a unit prepared by Hartley Enterprises giving the final production version of the 550Â kg (1,213Â lb) car 909Â bhp/tonne.
Ariel claims this variant will accelerate from 0-60Â mph in less than 2.3 seconds.
On 23 January 2011, the Atom 500 set the lap record around the Top Gear test track, with a time of 1:15.1, making it the fastest road-legal car to go around the track - a record that stood for just over two years, until the Pagani Huayra completed a lap in 1:13.8 on 27 January 2013.
Ariel Atom 3.5R
The Ariel Atom 3.5R is the upgraded version of the Ariel Atom producing 350Â bhp from a 1,998cc supercharged Honda engine which propels the 550Â kg car to 60Â mph in 2.6 seconds and to a top speed of 155Â mph (249.45Â km/h). In June 2014 a 3.5R was presented to Avon and Somerset Police, the force local to the Crewkerne factory, to support a local motorcycle safety initiative. It has pursuit lights and police livery.
Ariel Atom 3S
In October 2014, TMI AutoTech, Inc. announced the arrival of an all new Atom for the US market, the 3S. This turbocharged upgrade to the Ariel Atom 3 produces 365Â bhp and over 300Â lb/ft of torque, propelling it to 60Â mph in under 2.8 seconds.
Featuring an all-new cockpit adjustable traction control system, JRi adjustable dampers, and a choice of three transmissions (including a new SADEV 6-speed sequential race inspired gearbox with paddle shifters), each Ariel Atom 3S is hand built by TMI AutoTech at their facility at Virginia International Raceway.
Wrightspeed X1
The Ariel Atom was unofficially used by Wrightspeed as the base of a one-off prototype called the Wrightspeed X1, which is a proof of concept of the company's all-electric powertrain.
Atom Cup
In mid 2012 it was announced that for the first time in the UK, the Atom would have a dedicated single make race series called 'Atom Cup'. The series would feature on Jonathan Palmer's MSVR program of racing with eight race weekends featuring sixteen races. The cars were 245BHP naturally aspirated, 3.5 chassis with an MSA approved welded roll bar protection system. The standard suspension was replaced with Ohlins racing suspension. An FIA approved fire extinguisher system was also installed.
As part of the promotion for the series the Atom Cup team performed a 'flash mob' pitstop in central London. The footage was later uploaded to YouTube and went viral in motorsport circles.
Racing was close with most commentators and critics applauding the overtaking and fast paced action.
See also
- BAC Mono
- Caterham Cars
- Drakan Spyder
- KTM X-Bow
- Radical Sportscars
References
External links
- www.arielmotor.co.uk Ariel Motor Company website
- www.atomcup.co.uk Atom Cup website
- www.arielatom.com TMI AutoTech website