The Ariel Atom on Top Gear

submitted by Sang on 07.30.2006 in Videos/Non-funny, Videos/TV/Movie Clips

The Ariel Atom is a high performance sports car made by the Ariel Motor Company based in Somerset, England. It is unusual in the respect that 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 engine and can reach speeds rivaling those of much more expensive automobiles. In the USA it is available with a supercharged GM Ecotec engine from the Cobalt SS. Although the top speed of approximately 140 mph is relatively tame compared to more exotic sports cars, the high power-to-weight ratio (approximately 500 bhp/ton) affords it incredible acceleration and control through corners.

The Ariel Atom has received great media interest, most recently when Jeremy Clarkson tested the Atom 2 on BBC television programm Top Gear, where it lapped their test track faster than a Porsche Carrera GT, and also creatively re-arranged Jeremy’s face because of the open canopy’s lack of wind protection.

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