Ariel Atom 500 V8
March 3, 2008 by George Skentzos
The Ariel Atom is already a potent road-going track weapon with its Honda-sourced supercharged powerplant, however Ariel has unveiled the Atom 500 V8 which takes road-legal performance to phenomenal levels.
The new 2.4-litre high-revving V8 engine develops 500bhp (373kW) at a screaming 10,000rpm, giving the Atom 500 a power-to-weight ratio almost double that of the Bugatti Veyron, or over 745kW per tonne.
“For a few customers the Atom 500 will be the ultimate expression of lightweight performance and represents the outer limits of what is achievable in a road registered car.”
The V8 powerplant is mated to a 6 speed sequential Sadev gearbox, featuring a flatshift capability and paddle shift with manual override as well as launch and traction controls.
The Atom 500 will debut with a distinctive colour scheme, and is set to go into limited production with pricing to be announced at a later date.
Print it: 
Having just driven the Veyron, it’s hard to imagine much going faster than it.
But hats off to Ariel – they’ve managed to do just that.
Time for another trip to England, I’d say….
Seems the Veyron is the benchmark,hey it would be fun to see Clarkson driving this one.I imagine he would look about 20 years younger at top speed in this.
Karl your back ? All Supercard out……speed druggie you.
I think the only words for this car would be OH MY GOD!!
Who could imaging driving a car that fast, seeing Clarkson drive the Honda-powered version of the Atom was fun enough now Ariel have made it a lot quicker.
Good luck to them I say.
hahaha,yep Mick he looked like a dog at 100ks with its head out the window.
Holy hell.
373kw. Thats more than the 7 litre W427 that holden so proudly released. Uhhh..
2 seater!
I don’t think there would be many willing passengers
but highly suitable for the CIA’s next instrument of legal torture…
KC Says:
March 3rd, 2008 at 12:27 pm
Holy hell.
373kw. Thats more than the 7 litre W427 that holden so proudly released. Uhhh..
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All that power comes at the cost of torque. And you would really need to rev its guts out to get it moving. Not the sort of car you would want to drive in peak hour traffic.
this thing wouldnt need to much torque to more it considing its less the 1000kgs….
^It is supercharged according to other sites.
May not not need to rev it that much to access the torque.
interesting if the power will to the ground or not
“Having just driven the Veyron, it’s hard to imagine much going faster than it.”
Uhh top fuel dragster…, probably experiencing that anything is a cakewalk.
Peak torque is 407Nm, but at what point?
Too quick!
Read about this car on the Top Gear website and it can go from 0-60mph in just under 2.5 seconds.
Too quick? naaaa no such thing!
CRIKEY GEE WHIZ….if Clarkson got in this and drove it at 10,000rpm in top gear he would come out looking 20yrs older when done as would have the heeby geebie shakes!
WOO HOOO this would scream quick.
2.4lt V8 with that much power. Gee makes Holden and Ford, etc seem old hat ordinary. Love it heaps!
How long will that engine last for, two laps round the top gear track then off the road for an engine rebuild!!
And it BRITISH. GREAT!!!
So where do the golf clubs go?
“CRIKEY GEE WHIZ….if Clarkson got in this and drove it at 10,000rpm in top gear he would come out looking 20yrs older when done as would have the heeby geebie shakes!”
haha when he tested the previous Atom you should see his face anyway ahah all flapping and pancake looking! incapable of saying one word when he was gunning it!
Hey Captain…….who wants golf?
This definitely could pull the skin off a rice pudding…..along with satisfying a few other urges I have at the moment….
Even though it might have low torque, at 500kgs, who needs a whole lot of torque. I wonder if NASA has ordered any of these cars to be used in their training of astronauts. You know? to see how they handle “G” forces.
GIVE IT TO THE STIG!
Is this the “Hayabusa” V8 as featured in the Kneeslider website?
Insane has a new name, it is ATOM.
I think i peed myself!
Road going F-1 car at a incredibly affordable price… wonder if it would cost under 100K to own one.. hrmm
i doubt it, the 2.0L supercharged one costs 30,000 Pounds roughly $65 Aus dollars
This could be the greenest supercar to date.
2.4ltr producing 373kw (500hp)….that’s crazy!!
That’s it, I want one :)
Electric Atom supercar 3 times greener than Prius
you gota see this!
youtube.com/watch?v=oVV9azx4OBA
Here’s a new vehicle for an open-wheeler motorsport category.
Err Isnt the electric atom full electric whereas the Prius is Hybrid.
Joober Says:
“Uhh top fuel dragster…, probably experiencing that anything is a cakewalk.”
Joober, I was talking about cars that can actually negotiate corners…
Amazing! Why governments don’t give incentives for more efficient vehicles, like these (perhaps the lower spec versions) is beyond me. They claim the environment is overwhelmed by CO2 & other gasses yet do not encourage light weight, strong (and obviously fast) vehicles. Its safer than a motorbike, more efficient than any conventional car and could be very cost effective if mass produced. Come on all you governments, this is the way of the future!
500BHP from a 2.4 litre V8… on a 500kg car!! I really, REALLY want one now. *cries*
Not sure it would be that different to the 4 pot screamer. Just wish we could buy it here.
why not put a small block 400 super charged in it?