Ariel Atom

The Ariel Atom is a high performance sports car made by the Ariel Motor Company based in Somerset, England and under license also by Brammo Motorsports in the United States. There have been three Ariel Atom incarnations to date: Ariel Atom, Ariel Atom 2 and Ariel Atom 3. The most current is the Ariel Atom 3, which is also the most powerful of the three. Ariel has also announced a RS Performance model, with a bike derived 500hp V8.

The Ariel Atom is unusual in that it is exoskeletal—the chassis is the body— and therefore lacks a roof, windows and other features commonly found on road cars. It is available with a range of engines, the top of the range being a supercharged Honda Civic Type-R K20 and a supercharged 2.0 litre, 300 hp (220 kW) GM Ecotec engine. With each of these engines it can achieve acceleration rivaling that of much more expensive automobiles. Although the top speed of approximately 140-150 mph is relatively tame compared to more exotic sports cars, the high power-to-weight ratio (approximately 500 bhp/ton, or 650 bhp/ton supercharged) affords it incredible acceleration and the low weight provides excellent control through corners.

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