Mark Walton meets the latest Ariel Atom
It was set to be a titanic battle: in the red corner, the new Ariel Atom 4, a feisty insect of a car with a two-inch windscreen; and in the blue corner, Storm Gareth, a deep low-pressure area approaching from the Atlantic, described by the Sun newspaper as ‘a colossal 2000-milewide mega-storm bringing snow and 90mph blizzards!!!’.
Yes, unfortunately for me, Sod’s Law had conspired with the laws of nature to schedule Gareth’s arrival on the very day that Ariel had prepared an Atom 4 for me. Brimmed with fuel, raring to go, everything was in place – everything except a roof. Or windscreen wipers. Or side panels. Still, it had a two-inch windscreen.
As I arrive at Ariel’s factory in Somerset, sheets of rain thrash in the wind like a scene from one of those American news reports about a hurricane landing in Florida. ‘Are you sure you want to go out today?’ asks Tom Siebart, general manager of Ariel, as I shake his hand. ‘The conditions are atrocious.’
‘Oh yes, no problem, I’ll be fine,’ I reply with a smile. But then the look in Tom’s eye intensifies. ‘No, I mean – are you really sure it’s a good idea?’ he asks.
A momentary pause, as I read the situation. Bless – Tom’s obviously concerned about my wellbeing, he doesn’t want to see me have an accident or… ‘I just don’t want you to give us a bad review,’ he adds quickly.
Ah. I see.
I do get his point. Because I’ve driven an Atom in the rain before, and it’s like staring into the jet of a high-pressure fire hose. Even wearing a full-face helmet, there’s a danger of cold water being rammed so far up your nose, you dribble for days afterward. ‘People don’t tend to enjoy it in this kind of weather,’ Tom tells me. I look at the Ariel in the workshop. Little more than knee high, it’s visibly wider than Atoms 1, 2 and 3, but the new car retains that iconic, arched spaceframe that lends it so much potency, like the stored-up energy of a drawn bow. Then I look outside. Then I look at the Atom. Then I look outside. Bugger it, let Gareth do his worst – I want to drive.
So I climb in and Tom gives me a quick run through the new instrument binnacle and the cool new toggle switches. One of the rotary dials is for the turbo boost – the Atom is now powered by Honda’s latest turbo
Type R engine. It’s good for 320bhp, meaning a power-to-weight ratio of 538bhp per tonne.
Helmet on, garage door up and out we go. The wind is incredible, and I
, notice it passes straight through the car’s skeleton but my head is rocked by the gusts. Needless to say I start with the turbo set at 1, but the Atom is still effortless in its overtaking, casually slicing past trac with a lightly squeezed throttle. Standing water is tricky, but where the road is properly drained the car feels rock solid. The ride, thanks to new suspension, is a magical blend of stiffness and compliance, communicating the surface details without feeling harsh or jolting. Likewise the steering – a slightly slower rack combines accuracy with a new composure. Soon I have the turbo up to 3.
As I splash through puddles, water cascades off the front tyres, and if the steering is turned that flow is directed straight in through the side of the car. By now the black plastic floor is filling up like a bathtub, a centimetre of water flowing back and forth every time I accelerate or brake. There is a drainage hole – I briefly wonder if I should solve that riddle, about whether water goes anti-clockwise round a plughole if you’re going clockwise round a roundabout in the northern hemisphere.
After driving for over an hour, it’s time to turn back. My hands are numb with cold, water has seeped into my waterproof oversuit, the foam in my helmet is drenched, but I’m still reluctant to hand this amazing car back. The Atom 4 is a magnificent achievement for such a small team: more resolved and cohesive than before, it’s a work of madness and genius in equal measure. Hard luck, Gareth – in this contest, the Atom 4 is a knockout.
Mark Walton and Ariel go way back; check out his 2008 review of the Atom 3 300 on our website