We're as tired of waiting as you are, so we're all ears with ideas on how to make it happen quicker.
Flush with cash & looking for a new toy or experienced in importing & compliancing of vehicles? Whatever you're thinking, we want to hear from you about what we can do to help speed things up a little, because just like you, we're itching to get out hands on an Ariel Atom and it's not getting here soon enough.
And with the Aussie dollar cranking along hopefully the price tag won't look as scary.
Tuesday, December 11, 2007
Tired of waiting for an Ariel Atom?
Friday, June 22, 2007
Video clips
Ariel Atoms in Australia - anyone interested? Well, to get things started, we've all seen truck-loads of video clips of the Ariel Atom featuring in lots of different tv shows & home videos, so to save everyone the hassle of having to trek around the internet to find them all I thought we'd put them all in 1 place for easy access. I've included a few clips below, but welcome anyone to send us or add clips you've seen around the place that are worth a look (not just any clip of someone driving one into a parking bay), and of course let us know which ones you rate.
Here are a few to get the juices flowing
Feel free to also check out the following link to see if any new Ariel Atom clips have been added to YouTube recently. YouTube Ariel Atom clips
Ariel Atom pics
So you probably know what the Ariel Atom looks like, but just in case you want a better idea, here are a couple of pics you may or may not have come across before.
Feel free to add your 2 cents worth & let us know about any other pics out there which are worth a look so we can include them too.
Such an amazing looking machine - how could you not want one?
Got one or been in one? C'mon, share.
Are you lucky enough to have one or have been in one? Fill us with envy & rage by sharing all the details/pics/videos with us. Don't spare a detail, and be honest, no-one likes a phoney.
Other sites for Ariel Atom stuff
In case you're not aware, we're not the only website on the internet with info about the Ariel Atom, so in an attempt to give visitors as much information as possible, we thought we'd provide a list of other sites which also have info on the Ariel Atom.
Free free to let us know where else people can find further info on the Ariel Atom.
www.arielmotor.co.uk - The parent company in the UK who started all this - thankyou.
www.arielatom.com - The US company also now producing the Ariel Atom
www.openwheelers.com.au - Company involved with compliance & sales in Oz & NZ
Ariel Atom Reviews
If you're here (and you obviously are) then hopefully you're in agreeance that the Ariel Atom is an absolute dream-machine and the sooner you can get your hands on one, the better. Well it seems that a lot of other people out there feel the same way, including people who know a thing or 2 about performance cars, so we thought we'd share some reviews with you & encourage you to post other reviews about what other people are saying.
We thought it'd be fitting to start by finding out what the always entertaining Jeremy Clarkson had to say.
In a word, gobsmacking!
Back in April I drove the new Aston Martin DB9 all the way to Monte Carlo and decided it was perfect. I loved every single part of every single detail, so I wrote a rave review, gave it five stars and toyed with the idea of actually buying one. But then along came a car magazine whose findings were rather different. They drove the DB9 on mountain roads, where they claimed it felt “leaden” and “floaty”. They said it flexed and crashed over bumps and speculated that it had been rushed into production before it was actually finished.
To make matters worse, this was Evo Magazine, whose road testers are talented and manly. So, alarmed that I’d perhaps missed something on my 900-mile motorway jaunt, I decided to put a DB9 on the track and see what’s what when you really let rip. I began with the traction control device turned on, and almost immediately I could see that the chaps at Evo had a point. The whole car seemed to squirm in the corners. There was no poise, no delicacy, and with the back-end tied down by an electronic straitjacket the front was all over the shop. But traction control always does this to a car, so I pushed the button to turn it off . . . and nothing happened. So I pushed it again, a bit harder, and with a slight sucking noise the whole caboodle disappeared into the dashboard. This was annoying, but worse was to come, because, having fished it out with a handy pair of artery forceps, I couldn’t believe my eyes. Instead of it being a simple switch, a device that connects two wires when you push it and disengages them when you push it again, there was a whole circuit board in there and two locating stubs the size of human hairs. It looked like the kind of thing you might find in an ECG machine, or a space probe.
So, with a lot of a harrumphing, I left the job of reassembling it with an assistant and climbed into the car — the Ariel Atom. None of the buttons could possibly go wrong in this car because — apart from the one used to start it — it doesn’t have any. Mind you, it has no bodywork either. Those tubes you see are its chassis, so what we have here is the world’s first exoskeletal car. A sort of beetle-cum-Pompidou Centre. What we have here is also a lesson in how cars work, because as you drive along you can actually see the mechanical parts moving around. From the driver’s seat you can see the steering system, the brakes, the inside of the wheels and the double-wishbone suspension absorbing the bumps. What you cannot see are the wasps and the bees, until you smash into them at 90mph. Also, because there is no mirror, you can’t see yourself, which means you have no idea what the hurricane is doing to your face. As you can see from the pictures, it’s doing quite a lot. After only a few minutes my normally florid complexion had begun to resemble Florida. And you know what? I didn’t care because this car — if you can call it that — is motoring nirvana.
Because there is no bodywork (actually, because there is no anything) it weighs less than 500kg, which in automotive terms is an ounce. It makes a Lotus Elise look like Terry Wogan. You could fit such a thing with the engine from a motorised pepper grinder and it would go like Apollo 8, but in fact it uses the VTEC motor from a Honda Civic. And not the weedy 190bhp unit from the Type R either, but a full Japanese-spec version with 220bhp. So that means you’ re getting 440bhp per tonne, and that’s about 100 more than you get from a Lamborghini Murciélago. Obviously it has lousy aerodynamics, so the top speed is around 135mph, but the time it takes to achieve this is simply mind-boggling: 0-60mph, for instance, is dealt with in just 3.5sec. If that sounds scary, they’re working on a supercharged version that won’t ripple your face so much as tear it off. We’re talking motorbike performance here, and real motorbike thrills. But because the Atom has four wheels it won’t fall over when you leave it alone, you don’t have to wear a helmet, and rubber fetish clothes are not de rigueur.
Of course, when I first drove the Atom it was a lovely sunny day. The thermometer was nudging 80F and I was on a track, kissing the apexes perfectly because I could actually see the point where the wheel touches the road, and holding power slides until I was bored with them. Honestly, I felt like a toddler who’s just seen his first zoo animal. But the acid test would come on the road, so I tweaked the suspension to make it a bit softer — you only need a spanner — and ventured into the real world.
Because the Atom looks like a racing car, it seems at home on the track, but in a village it causes people to drop their shopping. And out in the countryside it is every bit as much fun as the photographs suggest. It is Absolut motoring at its frenzied best. Maybe the front’s a little bit floaty and maybe the brakes could be a touch more powerful. And maybe I should have put on a full-face helmet because running into a cloud of dust kicked up by a passing juggernaut at 60mph really hurts. But with the engine air intake trying to suck my left ear off, and the wind wreaking Jamaica-style havoc with my hair, I kept bursting into spontaneous laughter. You would too.
Of course you wouldn’t want to have a crash because this car has never had any impact tests carried out. Thanks to Britain’s unique Single Vehicle Approval system, small car firms can bypass all the European Union regulations, and that’s why we have so many such firms in this country. Ariel is one of the smallest. Started up in Somerset four years ago by a former teacher, it has only seven employees who make just 30 cars a year. Don’t worry, though, about buying a car from something that isn’t even big enough to be labelled a cottage industry. The engine and gearbox come straight from Honda and are bolted in place, so it’s extremely unlikely they’ll go wrong. And you can’t worry about the trim falling off or squeaking, because there isn’t any. It really is just a chassis, an engine, four wheels and a surprisingly comfortable plastic seat. Oh, and a front-mounted boot that is easily big enough for a small bread roll. The only really complex part, it seems, is the adjustable suspension. But as it’s supplied by Bilstein, you don’t have to worry about that, either.
I think the best thing about this car, though, is the way it looks. It’s as cool as a Philippe Starck juicer, as tempting as any of the brushed aluminium toys you find in an airport gadget shop. But unlike rechargeable underwater currency converters, I doubt you’d ever be bored with what it can do. In terms of sheer thrills, the Atom is easily a match for the Porsche Carrera GT, and that makes its £19,999 starting price (for the 160bhp version) look almost ludicrously low. That’s yet another reason why I have no hesitation in giving the Atom five stars. Which brings me back to the DB9, one of the few others to have been awarded this accolade. With its computerised traction control switch repaired using Blu-Tack and gaffer tape, I turned off the electronic nanny and set off once again. Compared with the Atom, it felt huge and stodgy, but against other leather-lined luxury expresses it was magical. I honestly do not know what Evo is on about, because with the back-end freed up it was transformed into a growling, balanced, grand-touring wonder car. I still think it’s perfect, but after my introduction to one-cal motoring, I do wish it was just a little bit simpler.
VITAL STATISTICS
Model: Ariel Atom 2 (220bhp)
Engine type: Four-cylinder, 1998ccV12, 5935cc
Power: 220bhp @ 8200rpm
Torque: 145lb ft @ 6100rpm
Transmission: Six-speed manual, rear-wheel drive
Acceleration: 0-60mph: 3.5sec (estimated)
Top speed: 135mph
Tyres: (front) 195/50 R15, (rear) 225/45 R16
Fuel: 27mpg (estimated)
Weight: under 500k
Price: £24,000
Verdict: A blast of fresh air - motoring at its frenzied best
(Source: Sunday Times, September 19th, 2004. Jeremy Clarkson. http://driving.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/driving/jeremy_clarkson/article483857.ece)
How badly do you want it? (and what would you do to get it?)
We come across a lot of people who communicate pretty intensely, their desire to get their hands on an Ariel Atom, so we thought we'd put it out there to find out just how badly you want one & what you would do (or think you might do) to get your hands on one.
Don't think you're alone - we're so keen to get one on the road that I'm pretty sure I'd sell the advertising rights for every part of my body if I thought it'd get me one sooner.
So what would you do?
ArielAtom.com.au begins
Well it's been a long time coming, but we're finally here - ArielAtom.com.au now has something more than just a holding page. ArielAtom.com.au
Now the all-important question I'm sure everyone wants to know is "when will it be street-legal in Australia?" (and maybe also "how much will it cost?")
Unfortunately we can't give you concrete answers to either of those questions, however we can tell you that recent developments have progressed things along & compliance is now much closer than it was 2 months ago. Having said that, don't expect to see it at your local performance car dealer in the next few months.
Rest assured, as soon as we have an update on timing & costs, we'll let you know about it on this site so check back regularly to keep up to date with what's going on.
Now, the purpose of this site in not only to keep you posted on when it'll be here so you can finally drive the car of your dreams, we're also hoping it'll be a place where obsessed fans can cometo check out anything & everything to do with the Ariel Atom. Over the next few weeks we'll be adding more videos, pics, reviews & lots more stuff so we'd love for you to register your details so we can keep you up to date with everything, but also add your 2 cents worth.
If you've got something you think we should include - videos, pics, reviews, anything, drop us a line at mail@arielatom.com.au
Anyhow, enough from us - browse, enjoy, contribute.
Thursday, March 22, 2007
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