Ariel Atom 500 V8 first details
May 28, 2009 by George Skentzos
Ariel Motors has released the first details surrounding its highly anticipated Atom 500 which promises to be one of the fastest, if not the fastest, production car ever made.
It will use a specially developed 3.0-litre normally aspirated V8 engine weighing less than 90 kilograms which should return a staggering power to weight ratio of around 1000bhp per tonne.
The engine uses a compact 75 degree V arrangement with 4 valves per cylinder and a unique cam drive arrangement to further reduce engine size and weight.
Power is sent to the rear wheels via a Sadev six-speed sequential gearbox operated through a manual shift, although a paddle shift option is also in development.
Performance is expected to be roughly on par with the Bugatti Veyron – and claim no other car can make – with a zero to 100km/h time of around 2.5 seconds and zero to 160km/h appearing in less than six seconds.
“Our aim is to build the ultimate road legal track day car,” said Simon Saunders, Director Of Ariel. “Our motto has always been go fast – have fun and the Atom V8 is certainly going to do that.”
The Atom 500 will be equally capable in the hands of both amateur and professional drivers with adjustable traction and launch control as well as programmable settings for different conditions providing a flexible safety net.
Along with the significant boost in power, it will also feature new suspension and brakes specific to the 500, aero package and many Atom options as standard.
While pricing is yet to be announced, nearly half of the special limited edition run of 25 vehicles have already been sold.
Print it: 
A go-kart on steriods!
Dunno about a go-cart on styeriod but the engine certainly is. Reckon we’re onto a Top Gear Lap winner for this forthcoming (June 9) series. My Bid is 1mn 16.3secs.
this is cool i would love to have one a gokart look is new it just would suck during the winter
How is that thing going to be street legal?
Toxic – these silly looking things are street legal in the UK. However they are not legal in Australia. There is a joker in Melbourne’s East that has been trying to import and legalise these things to Australian standards for the past 5 – 10 years with no such luck.
mature age mobile self termination kit.
0 to 6 feet under appears in less than 3 days.
The minds of mad scientists on crack and acid couldn’t have come up with anything more mental and capable as this.
I love these guys, they create lunatic vehicles that are hard and brutal to the core.
Wonder if that is the Aussie designed Hallam V8? That motor has very similar description and outputs and will be fitted to upcoming ‘Skelter’ models as featured in Wheels this month.
The Skelter has gone very close to winning Targa Tassie in recent years, plus numerous other rallies.
The Atom V8 would be mental!
Automotive Perfection par excellence.
I remember watching Top Gear video when Jeremy Clarkson was test driving Ariel Atom but not too sure which model that was. I couldn’t resist laugh when I saw his wave face resulted from brutal acceleration of Ariel Atom. I wonder if this Ariel Atom 500 with V8 engine would tear his face off? It’s better for him to wear helmet.
I want one. Can’t wait for the speed comparisons with a Veyron.
Sorry for the late response, have been busy trying to contact my bank manager to arrange the funds……. :-( would definatley love one even if it could be only club / special even egistered for hill climbs and track days…..
Mental!!
I just want one!!!!!
Between the front and rear wings and that intake sticking up over the seats it looks like a mini F1 car.
I bet it’s an absolutely mental drive too.
I think the Veyron would be a little more easy to live with day to day than this thing :p Would still be awesome fun though!
to the lameoids who question how such a car could be road legal and saying its just something for people to kill themselfs in, this car is intended as a track car, Ariel make no bones about this, this is not a road car, even though it is legal in the UK, its a track car pure and simple. It’s designed for people who love open wheel race cars and want to have a bit of that experience, and mate what an experience!
That’s insane, I love it !
Next step is AWD ?
Faster than a North Korean missile.
Wait untill some P plater takes one out for a spin while dads on holidays, there’ll be wreckage embedded in the moon.
If Bernie Eccleston is looking at reducing costs in F1 then he should consider making the teams use these
Swampdawg? AWD? In such a pure car like the Atom? Well thats one way to ruin it i guess…
how can I get one of those engines for my kingswood ?
So you say that it would not throw a wild oversteer or understeer in the wet with that immense power to weight ratio and warp speed factor Richo?
Good way to ruin a good idea I suppose.
I would love to see a racing category based on these.
Would love to see the price, surely cant be that expensive in relation to similar open wheelers, let alone other sub 4 second cars
Pam,
There are plenty of RWD open wheelers out there that have similar 0-100 times, and they dont seem to have the wild under or oversteer that you talk of
Siiiiiiiiiiiickkkkkk!!!!!!
Although don’t expect to see one here……….. ever!
“Wait untill some P plater takes one out for a spin while dads on holidays, there’ll be wreckage embedded in the moon. ” excellent :)
I can’t believe the other atom only has a 2.0ltr Honda engine. Doesn’t seem to matter what they do with the atom even the X1 EV version is nutta fast!!
This is the closest thing to a F1 us mere mortals will ever get a chance to drive. Some smart nut should use these in a racing class pre-V8 supercar races.
I wonder when they’ll do a V10 version… :P
Andrew M Says:
May 28th, 2009 at 9:59 pm
Pam,
There are plenty of RWD open wheelers out there that have similar 0-100 times, and they dont seem to have the wild under or oversteer that you talk of
Andrew, I drive in the real world where the roads are very slippery when it rains after a dry spell, there are pot holes, rough / irregular road surfaces, varying cambers, some of my favourite corners are heavily shaded all year round etc.
I don’t see any of that on the almost clinical Top Gear test tracks for example. I drive a Morgan Plus 8 that requires driving, not falling asleep within like some lame 4cyl automatic Daewoo heap.
Quote ” I drive a Morgan Plus 8 that requires driving, not falling asleep within like some lame 4cyl automatic Daewoo heap.”
Well I guess that depends on whats in it !