Ariel Project Car
Discussion
Hi all 
I have been interested in the Atom's since the first K series model. I was looking for the nearest thing to a road legal F1 car when I started my automotive quest. Excellent power to weight and proper handling was what I was after. Now I am after a track day car, which I will be able to use on the road at a later date.
The Atom 2 with the excellent Honda engine has motivated me more and I am especially interested in the supercharged version. I am a big fan of Japanese engines, and their build quality and tolerances are second to none.
However, I have a project in mind and I am interested to know if it is possible to buy a new rolling chassis from Ariel? I have tried to contact them all day on Friday, but all I got was an automated system. I presume that they are away early for the Easter break, and hoping for some decent weather to get the Ariels out in. So I have a few questions to the Ariel Collective, if that's ok:
1) Has anyone on here bought a rolling chassis from the factory or does anyone know of one for sale privately?
2) The chassis is a work of art. Does anyone know what power it can handle?
3) Can anyone comment on a 300hp 'ish Atom, does anyone own one and if so, how twitchy is the car under hard acceleration?
4) Is traction a big problem with the standard rims / tyres?
5) Do you suffer 'heat-wash' from the engine behind you when the car is standing still? (at the lights etc).
I have a really interesting project, and I am going to have both the time and the money to do it, which is very rare. Any other info greatly received.
Simon
I have been interested in the Atom's since the first K series model. I was looking for the nearest thing to a road legal F1 car when I started my automotive quest. Excellent power to weight and proper handling was what I was after. Now I am after a track day car, which I will be able to use on the road at a later date.
The Atom 2 with the excellent Honda engine has motivated me more and I am especially interested in the supercharged version. I am a big fan of Japanese engines, and their build quality and tolerances are second to none.
However, I have a project in mind and I am interested to know if it is possible to buy a new rolling chassis from Ariel? I have tried to contact them all day on Friday, but all I got was an automated system. I presume that they are away early for the Easter break, and hoping for some decent weather to get the Ariels out in. So I have a few questions to the Ariel Collective, if that's ok:
1) Has anyone on here bought a rolling chassis from the factory or does anyone know of one for sale privately?
2) The chassis is a work of art. Does anyone know what power it can handle?
3) Can anyone comment on a 300hp 'ish Atom, does anyone own one and if so, how twitchy is the car under hard acceleration?
4) Is traction a big problem with the standard rims / tyres?
5) Do you suffer 'heat-wash' from the engine behind you when the car is standing still? (at the lights etc).
I have a really interesting project, and I am going to have both the time and the money to do it, which is very rare. Any other info greatly received.
Simon
ultimasimon said:
I am after a track day car, which I will be able to use on the road at a later date.
600 bhp per tonne is waaaaay too much for a road car!
I think your best best is to go to Crewkerne and drive the stock Atom II. It'll blow you away and you'll decide you don't need to spend all that money on your project!
Then again, if you really 'need' the power, then plump for the supercharged one - I think that gets close to your target bhp.
Personally, I'm perfectly happy with my 165bhp K series, but that's the beauty of cars - everyone has a different ideal!
I believe that Simon will be attending the RMA day at Bedford on April 24th. You could try and blag a passenger ticket through Simon S... then you could try it for yourself.
hi simon i bought the first supercharged atom,producing around 280 BHP dispite what people are saying it is fine on the road and makes a great whirrrrrrrling sound as you excelerate.simon at ariel still has the car at the moment becouse it had to go back due to 2 blocked injectors bit annoying only had the car 2 days however he has promised it back on friday so let you know more then.
Thanks for the replys gents. Steve: The blown version sounds very interesting. Don't be dis-heartened as yours is the first one, these minor teething problems are expected when pioneering in engineering. I would be very excited about getting that car back 
Many people here have indicated that the standard performance is very good, the mk2 version is better and it would naturally follow that the supercharged incarnation tops that as well.
For those that hadn't looked at my profile, I have an Ultima GTR 2000 at present, and I originally bought this car as I wanted to get the nearest thing to that of an F1 car, in terms of power to weight anyway.
Someone here has indicated that 600 hp per tonne is too much for a road car. Well, the Ulltima has 700+hp per tonne and is a road car, but it would seem that what ever power you have, you soon 'get used to it'. The Ult does 0-60 in about 3 secs so the performance is very similar to that of the Atom.
Here is my project, please tell me what you think? This is what I have in mind:
There is a company called Holeshot Racing they currently hold the UK Land Speed record on a motorcycle, as they build racing engines. They can build a 550 hp at the wheels, motor for about £7k. See here for details. As much as I have not been interested in West-field type cars propelled by bike engines, the combination of the Ariel being lighter than them, and coupled with the monster 1500cc engine from the Huyabusa which weighs considerably less (85kg's with all ancilleries) than any of the Atom's production car engines, it does make sense. This of course comes complete with a six-speed sequential gearbox - very nice.
Not so along ago in Formula 1, we had either 3 litre n/a or 1.5 litre with forced induction. Here is a chance to have a car with similar weight, and similar power and charactoristics, but without the necessary engine rebuilds that the F1 car suffered evry race.
In the Atom, the power to weight would be well in excess of 1000hp per tonne
, so you can see why I am excited about it. To those of you that ride performance motorcycles, you are accustomed to this power to weight performance. For those of you that didn't ride performance bikes, I expect the first run in an Atom was 'interesting' 
I am not expecting the factory to be excited about it, nor for them to jump into production with it, but I want to build one for myself as a one off track tool. The factory have picked up on what excellent engineers the Japanese engine builders are, and I think the big Suzuki engine is in the same class. After all, the Atom is just a 4 wheeled motorcycle isn't it, what do you all think?
Edited for sp and to add smilees
>> Edited by ultimasimon on Sunday 11th April 13:11
Many people here have indicated that the standard performance is very good, the mk2 version is better and it would naturally follow that the supercharged incarnation tops that as well.
For those that hadn't looked at my profile, I have an Ultima GTR 2000 at present, and I originally bought this car as I wanted to get the nearest thing to that of an F1 car, in terms of power to weight anyway.
Someone here has indicated that 600 hp per tonne is too much for a road car. Well, the Ulltima has 700+hp per tonne and is a road car, but it would seem that what ever power you have, you soon 'get used to it'. The Ult does 0-60 in about 3 secs so the performance is very similar to that of the Atom.
Here is my project, please tell me what you think? This is what I have in mind:
There is a company called Holeshot Racing they currently hold the UK Land Speed record on a motorcycle, as they build racing engines. They can build a 550 hp at the wheels, motor for about £7k. See here for details. As much as I have not been interested in West-field type cars propelled by bike engines, the combination of the Ariel being lighter than them, and coupled with the monster 1500cc engine from the Huyabusa which weighs considerably less (85kg's with all ancilleries) than any of the Atom's production car engines, it does make sense. This of course comes complete with a six-speed sequential gearbox - very nice.
Not so along ago in Formula 1, we had either 3 litre n/a or 1.5 litre with forced induction. Here is a chance to have a car with similar weight, and similar power and charactoristics, but without the necessary engine rebuilds that the F1 car suffered evry race.
In the Atom, the power to weight would be well in excess of 1000hp per tonne
, so you can see why I am excited about it. To those of you that ride performance motorcycles, you are accustomed to this power to weight performance. For those of you that didn't ride performance bikes, I expect the first run in an Atom was 'interesting' I am not expecting the factory to be excited about it, nor for them to jump into production with it, but I want to build one for myself as a one off track tool. The factory have picked up on what excellent engineers the Japanese engine builders are, and I think the big Suzuki engine is in the same class. After all, the Atom is just a 4 wheeled motorcycle isn't it, what do you all think?
Edited for sp and to add smilees
>> Edited by ultimasimon on Sunday 11th April 13:11
Simon,
Very good idea if you want powerfull accelerations, but how many times wih an engine of 300hp/liter ?
I'm affraid of the engine liability, in particular if you use it for track-days.
Concerning the Atom itself, i'm sure that there is no problem to accept such power, with not to much torque, i think.
Keep us informed,
Jean-Pascal
Very good idea if you want powerfull accelerations, but how many times wih an engine of 300hp/liter ?
I'm affraid of the engine liability, in particular if you use it for track-days.
Concerning the Atom itself, i'm sure that there is no problem to accept such power, with not to much torque, i think.
Keep us informed,
Jean-Pascal
Bruce Fielding said:
Simon S is VERY disparaging of bike-engined cars for all the ussual reasons.
I honestly don't think that the Atom is the right car for this project. If you want a single seater, why not buy one?
Keep the Ultima as the shopping car!
Hi Bruce, your post does come over a tad negative. The Atom is exactly what I want for this project, as its a dual seater and not a single seater which is exactly what I don't want. The Atom provides an excellent training platform as it has two seats.
It's marginally lighter than the Caterfields, has a much better chassis and doesn't have silly extras like heaters etc which I don't need. It is a bespoke road-legal track day car. I don't know what all the fuss is over bike engined cars that you say Simon is so strongly against, but I will find out for myself when I speak to him on Tuesday. After all he will either sell me a chassis or not - it's business, that's all.
I do not enjoy the company of the radical brigade, and neither do I wish to go down the route of radicals. Pureley and simply I am an adrenaline junkie who is just trying to put together a project of my own, using an Atom chassis and a 550 hp motor, which at present, Ariel cannot offer me. If I wanted to buy a radical I would. My engineering skills are more than adequate to engineer such a project. On the Ultima forum there is a great deal of engineering discussed, primarily as the Ultima is a self build car. Clearly the Atom is a completely different kettle of fish, as it is sold ready built, and all you have to do is drive it. I am not saying for one instance that there is anything wrong with the Atom in any form, but I just want to build a quality car which meets the 550hp / under 500kgs criteria, and the Atom is the only car that interests me.
I am not trying to out-do anyone else, I am not interested in having the fastest Atom etc, it's merely an engineering quest that I seek to fulfil for my own ends. The Atom is so so different from anything else it just deserves that engine.
On the subject of bike engined cars, there are no performance bikes with 1500cc on the market, so as Holeshot Racing say, it is a small car engine anyway. Just more powerful, smaller and lighter.
Finally, you mentioned using the Ultima as a shopping car
Clearly you have never been in one? There is about as much stowage inside the cabin as there is in an Atom, and with no power steering you have to be Arnold Schwarzenegger to park in in Sainsburys; providing that it did not have any ramps Plus you always have an audience of at least 30 people when you return to the car, and the instant celebrity status is not something that I was prepared for or am even now. At least you can hide an Atom below the other cars rooflines. Hope this clears things up, everything hinges on the call to the factory. Will keep you all posted.
Simon, the adrenaline junkie.
I didn't mean to come across as negative, Simon - that's the trouble with type over speech!
The bike-engined debate is complex, but basically it's about robustness and built-for-purpose issues. If you're really serious about this, then I wouldn't stress the 'bike engine' thing to Simon. He's passion-driven, not coin-operated, so the 'business' argument won't wash and he's really not keen on bike engines. If he feels like like it, he might just let you buy one, if he's in a good mood!
As for engineering expertise - if any of us were spanner virgins before we bought an Atom, our cherry has very definitely been plucked with the car - Atom owners are pretty much the development team!
I think you should do it! There are few enough Atom owners without wishing to put anyone off owning one! I really do hope you get your project sorted with the Atom chassis.
And yes, I was kidding about the shopping car. Although I have been in an Ultima and I found it INFINITELY more practical than an Atom - the baked beans don't fly out through the side of the car on roundabouts for one thing! And you can't leave an Atom in a Sainsbury's car park at all - unless you chain it to a lamp post through the chassis and take the steering wheel with you!
Incidentally, if you think you'll get noticed less in an Atom, I think you might have a small surprise coming
The bike-engined debate is complex, but basically it's about robustness and built-for-purpose issues. If you're really serious about this, then I wouldn't stress the 'bike engine' thing to Simon. He's passion-driven, not coin-operated, so the 'business' argument won't wash and he's really not keen on bike engines. If he feels like like it, he might just let you buy one, if he's in a good mood!
As for engineering expertise - if any of us were spanner virgins before we bought an Atom, our cherry has very definitely been plucked with the car - Atom owners are pretty much the development team!
I think you should do it! There are few enough Atom owners without wishing to put anyone off owning one! I really do hope you get your project sorted with the Atom chassis.
And yes, I was kidding about the shopping car. Although I have been in an Ultima and I found it INFINITELY more practical than an Atom - the baked beans don't fly out through the side of the car on roundabouts for one thing! And you can't leave an Atom in a Sainsbury's car park at all - unless you chain it to a lamp post through the chassis and take the steering wheel with you!
Incidentally, if you think you'll get noticed less in an Atom, I think you might have a small surprise coming
Hi simon, I had a dream as well, It nearly cost me my life ! I had nearly reached the magical 1000 hp/tonne mark ,when the casing of the final drive train failed,I rolled the car three times and went 100 yds on the roll bars upside down into the on coming traffic,extremly scary.
Please do take care,and can I have a go when you build it Ha Ha !!
Please do take care,and can I have a go when you build it Ha Ha !!
Bruce: I fully understand the text / speech concept as there is no body talk involved, so most things can be taken both way - silly me. If you have an idea which is not mainstream it is bound to cause eyebrows to be raised and maybe I should have been more sensitive as the Atom is a new develpoment, and I most certainly do not want to imply that there is anything wrong with it. As for the development thing, as an Ultima owner I am aware of the owner-developer thing, although the Atom is a much newer toy and has a lot more exciting development ahead, whereas Ultima have mostly finished.
Mark: I share your views, and I am glad you managed to 'walk away' from your ordeal. It would see that we are both lucky from previous encounters. I was run over by a 16 wheeler which left my bike totally flattened - a very lucky escape. I do believe however, that when it's your time it's your time. It remains to see which vehicle I may be when it is my time
As for the project, I shall ring ye factory of projectiles tomorrow morning and will let you know of the outcome. I shall just play it by ear, as I want to be honest and upfront from the start.
Cheers Simon
Mark: I share your views, and I am glad you managed to 'walk away' from your ordeal. It would see that we are both lucky from previous encounters. I was run over by a 16 wheeler which left my bike totally flattened - a very lucky escape. I do believe however, that when it's your time it's your time. It remains to see which vehicle I may be when it is my time
As for the project, I shall ring ye factory of projectiles tomorrow morning and will let you know of the outcome. I shall just play it by ear, as I want to be honest and upfront from the start.
Cheers Simon
Wow, this is a quiet forum No one has posted anything for days.
Just a short update; I have today, spoken with Simon Saunders about the possibility of building my project. What a nice chap. I am awaiting some information from the factory which is being sent out by post, and then is all hinges on some small details that have to be sorted with Quaife for the transfer box, and then it looks like all systems are go
No one has posted anything for days. Just a short update; I have today, spoken with Simon Saunders about the possibility of building my project. What a nice chap. I am awaiting some information from the factory which is being sent out by post, and then is all hinges on some small details that have to be sorted with Quaife for the transfer box, and then it looks like all systems are go
Simon,
Quiet forum, yes. Reason : not a lot of different people (about 6 or 7 regular), a real "club" here !
Good thing if Simon is Ok to sell you an Atom basis.
Question for every body : can someone mail me a copy of the Autocar new test 0-100mph-0, perhaps no Ariel in this test, but still interesting for me.
Thank you very much.
Jean-Pascal
Quiet forum, yes. Reason : not a lot of different people (about 6 or 7 regular), a real "club" here !
Good thing if Simon is Ok to sell you an Atom basis.
Question for every body : can someone mail me a copy of the Autocar new test 0-100mph-0, perhaps no Ariel in this test, but still interesting for me.
Thank you very much.
Jean-Pascal
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