The New Ariel Atom Has A 316bhp Civic Type R Turbo Engine
The car you see here may look like any other Ariel Atom on first glance, but don’t be fooled. It’s the Atom 4, and it’s an entirely new car.
That gorgeous exposed tubular space frame chassis is a fresh design that’s stiffer than the one it replaces, the suspension has been overhauled with new geometry, the aero balance has been tweaked, and it’s now packing a different engine.
Gone is the old Honda K20Z VTEC engine - previously available in N/A and supercharged forms in the Atom - replaced with the turbocharged K20C borrowed from the FK8 Civic Type R. It’s been fitted with an Ariel ECU, and it develops 316bhp. Launch control and traction control are optional, and you’ll be able to alter the boost pressure if you want it. Which should make rainy track days a little less terrifying.
Want some stats? Of course you do. You’re looking at 0-60mph in 2.8 seconds, while 100mph from rest is dispatched in a dizzying 6.8 seconds. Sufficiently fast, we’d say.
The starting price is £39,975, but it’s possible to inflate that price quite dramatically. Along with the aforementioned launch control/TC options, you can also spec better brakes, Ohlins dampers to replace the standard-fit Bilstein shocks, and carbonfibre body panels.
If you don’t have that kind of money and/or would like to avoid destroying your face with every prod of the accelerator pedal, you could just settle for watching the car at the Goodwood Festival of Speed this weekend, where it’ll be making its public debut.
Via Top Gear
Comments
McLaren said the new war is with weight. Shoving 300+ horsepower in some left over scaffolding they found on a farm in Somerset seems to tick that box.
VTEC go-kart
But where is the wing
Probably in an optional aero package
VTEC!
Just wait for the next V8 one
I quess it’s going to have 2.4 liter f1 v8
Needs a LS model
Clarkson if he was to drive it
Somehow this reminds me of the V8 rocking chair they did on old new TopGear
Just wait until some nutcase tunes this to 500hp+
Or swaps it with a V8 constructed out of 2 Kawasaki H2R engines
No need, knowing Ariel they will make a V8 version of this with around that output (if not more)
Words cannot describe how badly I want to own one of these!
If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.