2011 Ariel Atom V8 First Drive

We've been among the first to strap ourselves into the 2011 Ariel Atom V8, a 469-horsepower thrill machine that promises the ability to blip to 60 mph in 2.6 seconds. Sheesh, what's the damned hurry?

We drove a 2005 Ariel Atom with a 220-hp supercharged Honda four-cylinder engine back in 2005 and it was a real eye-opener. Then we tested another Ariel Atom in 2008 with a customer-tuned, 375-hp supercharged Honda inline-4 and it did zero to 60 mph in 2.8 seconds.

With performance like that, who needs a Nissan GT-R or Porsche 911 GT2 RS?

At around the size of a large go-kart and weighing about 1,350 pounds (a little more than an adolescent hippo) in this British street-legal version, the Ariel Atom V8 makes us hope that our driving skills are in top form, since we plan to get as close as we can to the car's Vmax of 170 mph, the damp asphalt here on the 2.2-mile Chobham Test Track Race Circuit notwithstanding.

Low Mass; Not for the Masses
The 2011 Ariel Atom V8 weighs exactly 1,433 pounds with us in it and ready to go onto the track, the V8 pulsing through its ceramic-coated racing exhaust. To draw comparisons that might create even more awe, consider that the weight-to-power ratio for the Ariel Atom V8 is just under 3.1 pounds per horse, which makes it about equal to that of the Bugatti Veyron 16.4 and twice as good as a Ferrari Enzo.

Of course, each of those supercars has real bodywork and fenders, not to mention a roof and all the safety gear possible. In comparison, the Atom V8 has Ariel's customary, bronze-welded multitubular space frame (looking like a piece of deconstructionist art), a hard shell of a seat, a five-point racing harness, a fire extinguisher and whatever helmet you brung.

Due to the Atom V8's perfect expression of the whole track car thing, it could probably sell in greater volume in the U.S. than the 25 cars that Ariel has planned, but perhaps the estimated price of $190,000 makes this the right volume. The company says 23 cars have already been sold in Britain, though deliveries don't start until early 2011.

Settling In
The original Ariel Atom — now in its third generation and carrying a 296-hp supercharged 2.0-liter Honda inline-4 usually seen in the Honda Civic Type R — really is just plain fun to fling around with abandon, but the Atom V8 gives us pause before launch. This compact, 3.0-liter 75-degree V8 looks so small sitting there behind us in its golden powder-coated cage, yet it makes 469 hp and revs clear to 10,500 rpm, courtesy of Hartley Enterprises, an engine builder in Wisconsin, of all places.

Once you drive the Atom V8, you suddenly understand and appreciate the delicacy of downforce.

Snugly belted into the fixed fiberglass seat by the five-point harness, we flick the ignition switch and then press the starter button with the car in Neutral. The engine revs and there's the telltale sound of a spinning box of rocks from back in the transmission area.

Though the six-speed, Sadev automated manual transmission is shifted via paddles on the steering wheel, there is a clutch pedal to hold down when launching into 1st. While snapping up or down through gears, though, you keep the engine twisting harder than 2,500 rpm so the clutch pedal can be happily ignored. We ease right into it, sometimes rolling away without any throttle at all and other times getting quick and feathery on the clutch pedal while feeding in throttle — basically just like our times in a Porsche Carrera GT way back when.

Long story short, you get used to how to make the magic happen pretty quickly.

On the Edge
As we've suggested, a day spent lapping a racetrack again and again in the 2011 Ariel Atom V8 is a day well spent. After a whole series of thoroughly intoxicating and blindingly quick 2.2-mile laps — and this in the damp — we were purely envious of the 25 lucky owners-to-be. Not only do they get a gold powder-coated cagey-style racer, but they get a thrill ride that has no rival when it comes to engineering commitment and joy addiction.

Between mastering the launch into 1st gear and then indulging in the clutchless upshifts and downshifts, it takes nearly no time at all to crack a broad smile. On most of our laps, we never even touched the outstanding, competition-grade Alcon brakes.

The Atom's customary racing-style pushrod suspension with three-way adjustable dampers and four-way spring preload is in place here on the Atom V8, and the front and rear carbon-fiber wings that are optional for the four-cylinder Atom 3 are standard equipment. The wings are even adjustable, offering a 12-degree range in front and 16-degree range in the rear. You know when Formula 1 drivers blather on about the various downforce levels needed for a specific track? Once you drive the Atom V8, you suddenly understand all of it and appreciate the delicacy of downforce at these speeds.

Nimble, Quick
A few laps in, the exposure to the elements becomes purely exhilarating as we search eagerly for the V8's five-figure redline (it started life as a motorcycle-style power plant). Fastest speed on this day is 145 mph along the Chobham circuit's longest straight, as we just touch 5th gear on this former airfield and proving ground for tanks. The shifts themselves happen faster and smoother than ticks of a stopwatch — 40-millisecond upshifts and 50-millisecond downshifts.

There is only one moment coming onto the circuit's main straight where we open the throttle in 3rd gear a little too soon over the damp and sometimes muddy pavement and oversteer ensues. We countersteer quickly and stay light on the throttle, and everything rights itself immediately. And then we're back on it. No telling what would have happened with the Race version of the Ariel Atom V8, which produces 493 hp and 284 pound-feet of torque and brings 200 mph within reach.

Over the course of the day, the rheostat-controlled stability control seldom intervened, as the 205/50ZR15 front and 245/45ZR16 rear Toyo Proxes R888 tires did the job without losing grip, although slicks are available as an option.

North American Atoms
The 2011 Ariel Atom comes from Britain, where the Ariel Motor Company began long ago with motorcycles. All 25 examples of the 2011 Ariel Atom V8 allocated for America are due to be built in the company's facility in Crewkerne, United Kingdom. Between mid-2005 and early 2008, the North American contract to build and adapt Ariel Atoms lay with Brammo Motorsports in Oregon. Nowadays, the commission falls to TMI AutoTech in Virginia for all Honda-powered Atoms, which are effectively the same as the U.K.-built Atoms.

When the talk turns to pure thrill rides, well, you can't find anything with the kind of purity you get in the 2011 Ariel Atom.

The manufacturer provided Edmunds this vehicle for the purposes of evaluation.