Despite producing one of the most formidable trackday racers, the Atom 2, Somerset based Ariel Motor Company were still not satisfied. The promise of KTM launching their X-Bow concept as a street-legal racer was all it took to get the people at Ariel rolling their sleeves up and playing with bits of carbon fibre.
The third generation Atom may look just like it’s predecessor but Ariel assure us that radical changes have been made. Indeed both the chassis and engine are new components. Every tube of the Atom’s skeletal frame has been revised. The result is a car with an additional 60mm in width and 100mm more elbow room. The new chassis also has the option of 10-way adjustable dampers allowing the owner to ‘dial-in’ their desired balance of response and roadholding.
The engine is still a Honda iVTEC but is the new two-litre unit used in the latest Civic Type R. As before it will be available in both normally aspirated and supercharged forms giving up to 300bhp. The main benefit of the new engine being an improved low-end response.
Visually the clues to the update are small windscreens to cut down the wind buffeting and an a return to twin exhaust pipes.
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