Ariel Atom

 

 

 

Specifications

VEHICLE TYPE:

mid-engine, rear-wheel-drive, 2-passenger, 2-door roadster

ESTIMATED BASE PRICE:

$31,890 (base price: $24,438)

ENGINE TYPE:

DOHC 16-valve 4-in-line, aluminum block and head,

Rover engine-control system with port fuel injection

Displacement: 110 cu in, 1795cc
Power: 118 bhp @ 5500 rpm
Torque: 122 lb-ft @ 3000 rpm

TRANSMISSION: 
5-speed manual

DIMENSIONS:
Wheelbase: 92.3 in
Length: 134.3 in
Width: 70.8 Height: 47.0 in
Curb weight: 1150 lb

MANUFACTURER'S PERFORMANCE RATINGS:
Zero to 60 mph: 5.0 sec
Zero to 100 mph: 16.2 sec
Standing 1/4-mile: 14.0 sec @ 95 mph

Load your mental blender with one Formula Ford single-seat racer, a Ducati Monster sport bike, a dollop of creativity, and a dash of fine British heritage. Top off with sheer audacity. Stir vigorously. What emerges is the Ariel Atom, a savory sweet concocted by Britain's prolific alternative-car chefs.

The mere existence of a car boiled down to the bare essence, one that trumps a Corvette's power-to-weight ratio, compels investigation. To taste-test this car/bike confection, we journeyed to the southwestern reaches of England where creator Simon Saunders conceived the Atom to help level out the peaks and valleys in his Automotive Dynamics, Limited, design business. 

Slipping into the cockpit for a buzz of the hedgerows surrounding Saunders's shop and studio in North Perrott, Somerset, our cordial tour guide and chaperone explained his less-is-more design philosophy. "I decided there might be some interest in a new sports car that wasn't another Lotus 7 or Cobra copy. My idea is to take existing solutions and make them work without reinventing the wheel. So the entire powertrain and the majority of the brake system is straight out of the MGF, the mid-engined sports car built and sold by Rover

"The Atom has no doors because making doors work properly is a tremendous engineering exercise. As a small manufacturer, I sought ways to sidestep such problems instead of confronting them. Leaving off the doors, the heater, the stereo system, and other nonessentials are minus points that become plusses to those who grasp what we're up to." 

On first sight, the Atom seems about 10 percent larger than expectations that were prompted by a gander at Saunders's Web site (www.arielmotor.co.uk). As to its size, it's a Boxster with a three-foot tail bob. To mount up, you step over the thigh-high frame onto the seat and then slither legs beneath the racy steering wheel. Scuffing the upholstery or wrinkling the carpet isn't a problem because those items are nonexistent. Infinite head room and ample leg and elbow room counter any subliminal parrot-in-a-cage phobia.

Car and bike cues bombard the senses. The clatter of a 1795cc, 118-horsepower Rover K-series four-cylinder engine a few inches behind one's head and the Momo steering wheel shout "Car!" but the bike side of the Atom's personality commands equal attention. What you'll need for any out-of-the-neighborhood drive are a helmet, a face shield, and gloves. The courageously exposed mechanical gear and the exoskeletal space frame are exactly what you'd expect from a designer who began his career 25 years ago at the Norton bikeworks. Saunders chose the Ariel name for its instant recognition -- in England. Ariel is the proud, but defunct, British firm associated with the original pneumatic tire, bicycles, and motor vehicles with two, three, and four wheels, including the famous Square Four motorcycle

The combination of 118 horsepower, abundant low-end torque, and an 1150-pound curb weight does wonders for the libido, even with the two of us aboard. Brush the gas and you're gone. Shifting down for corners is optional, mainly serving as tach-needle tickler and engine-noise booster. Steering is more mental activity than arm exercise, thanks to the 1.5-turn lock-to-lock gear that's in plain sight just ahead of the toes and a sticky 15-inch, 50-series Michelin at each corner. When the sharply crowned road kinks or crests, the Atom tracks like a cruise missile locked to the landscape. Subtle variations in thumb pressure keep the aim locked on a distant point on the horizon when the hedgerows run straight and true. The rocker-arm suspension systems use metal-to-metal pivots at the wheel end and combination metal-and-rubber bushings at the chassis end to good effect. Even without seat padding or sound deadening, harshness and road noise are never annoying. Roll and pitch are other nonissues.

The Atom's see-through construction acts as a coarse filter for sensory stimuli. There's nothing quite like having your sinuses supercharged with essence of British dairy farm. The molded-fiberglass nose cone does an admirable job of splitting the wind so you never feel weather-beaten or go-kart vulnerable, but wind whistling up my pant leg is one experience I've had in neither car nor bike. From the cockpit, there's a clear view of the live front wheel spindles. High standards of craftsmanship are evident in the truss structure's neatly filleted silicon-bronze welds and its clear-over-silver powder coating

A few observations did enter our gripe register. The shifter is too long and positioned too far rearward, and there's a lack of suspension action over bumps. Resilience feels equally divided among tire-sidewall flex, chassis twist, and suspension travel. In response to complaints of a brake pedal that's hard to modulate, Saunders explains that pads installed for racetrack testing are less than ideal on the road. When it's necessary to back up to complete a U-turn, he acknowledges that the Atom's racing-type rack-and-pinion gear lacks the tight lock available in any ordinary car. Rigid powertrain mounts send tremors through the structure that cause panels to buzz and screech at their resonant frequencies.

At this stage in its gestation, the Atom is one part track racer, one part road car, and not optimized for either task. Dialing it in to suit specific needs is the owner's responsibility, facilitated by a pricing structure that begins at the British equivalent of $24,438 for a bare-bones track model, then climbs quickly as attached lights, larger wheels and tires, a close-ratio gearbox, a hotted-up engine, and other options are added. Figure $45,000 for a 187-hp Atom with a full complement of accessories.

Having spent more than half of his 46 years as a motor-industry designer, Saunders has an extensive network of chums willing to help get this project off the ground. The critical work required of the suspension geometry, structural analysis, and electronic instrument cluster were farmed out to appropriate experts such as Jordan Formula 1 engineer Niki Smart. Where possible, major components -- such as the elegant Tilton Engineering control-pedal and master-cylinder assembly -- are well-proven shelf items. Frame manufacturing and assembly are handled by contractors. Saunders notes, "I've seen too many manufacturers start big and go bust, so my plan is to start small and grow." So far, Ariel Motor Company's staff consists of Saunders and his assistant, Jonathan Howe.

The car we drove is the third prototype (No. 2 was wrapped around a utility pole by a journalistic indiscretion). Thirty orders for the car from around the globe have been received. The inevitable kit version of the Atom will follow but not, according to Saunders, until his budding enterprise has successfully produced 50 complete cars to stabilize the design; to date, he's shipped a half-dozen cars. Visions of Atoms as driver-training cars and one-marque racers dance in his head.

Apprehensive of our reputation for complex safety and emissions regulations, Saunders has no immediate plans to stretch his limited resources all the way to the New World. But he wouldn't mind hearing from a Yank with the right combination of entrepreneurial spirit and bureaucratic experience. 

If you're that Yank, tell Saunders you discovered the Atom here. And that we have first dibs on a comprehensive track test in this country. 

Ariel Motor Company, Limited,

Manor Buildings,

North Perrott,

Crewkerne, Somerset,

England TA18 7ST

 44-1460- 78817

 www.arielmotor.co.uk

 http://www.caranddriver.com/reviews/2001-ariel-atom-road-test-review