Supercar performance for under UKP20,000

It's had rave reviews from Formula 1 drivers, the most prestigious motoring journals in the world have lavished superlatives on the vehicle and in a recent track shoot-out, it wasted the world's fastest roadcars lapping more than three seconds a lap faster than a Porsche 911 GT3, a Noble M12R, a Pagani Zonda and a Lamborghini Murcielago. And it is road registerable! Whatsmore, you can put one on the road for under UKP20,000.

The secret to the Atom 2 is in the chassis and minimalist approach. As the company's literature says, "if you don't NEED it, it's not there." This approach has enabled the company to put a car on the road at a staggering 456 kilograms. There's no doors, no screen and no roof at that weight, but the pay-off comes when the standard Honda 2.0 litre i-VTEC engine starts pushing it around - acceleration is astounding, even when you've read the previously published stories.

http://www.arielmotor.co.uk/04/press.htm

The Atom 2 is powered by the Honda 2.0 litre i-VTEC engine from the Civic Type-R. It develops around 220 bhp in standard form. Coupled with the Honda 6-speed gearbox and limited size slip differential Atom 2 can deliver bullet proof performance whether for road or racing.

To complement and extract the most from the Honda engine a new Ariel 4 into 2 into 1 tubular manifold and rear box is combined with an all new sealed ram air system. In dyno tests nearly 240 bhp has been seen from standard engines with the ability to easily tune to 280 bhp without major changes or strengthening to the engine. The use of Honda power and transmission in the Atom 2 not only gives a staggering 500 bhp per tonne in track form, without the need for any tuning work, but also offers the benefits of reliability.