Saw an Ariel Atom today
 

It was driving down Hillcrest. From a distance, you can't see the driver because the seat is so low. Since it was cold, he was wearing a ski hat and goggles. :lol:

Cool car though.

:bustingup

:needpic:

Yup. There's a bunch of them in Texas. They're looking at forming a molecule (a regional Atom club).

That's awesome! :lol:

:ack:

:lol: They should form some compounds first and if that goes well, maybe a molecule too..

I drove the Cayman twice in 28 degree weather with no drivers' side window. First was right after the breakage, and they'd stolen my jacket & hat too. :irate: So I was a bit miserable until the car warmed up and kept the speeds down. Later I picked a body shop about 35 miles away and on a sunny cold afternoon (26F), drove there at my usual speeds on the NJTP with the window down (Ed. I mean absent). I had a hat & jacket. I didn't think of goggles but I almost needed them as my eyes watered a bit. I actually quite enjoyed that drive. :eeps:

If an atom owner brings a Porsche to a molecule, does that make it an ion? :lol:

They should form boron, isn't that a foul smelling gas?

I guess it is a cool car, I don't see the real use of it though other than to be trendy. :D

:?

The trendy thing was a joke. But really, what is the point of this car? Comparable stats can be obtained by driving something much cooler and much safer IMHO. The Z06 had the same 0-60 and is more practical IMHO. Its handling is no joke either. I would be afraid to race this amongst bigger vehicles and I'd be afraid to take it on the road so...

You obviously don't get it.

Let's leave it at that.

I think you have some youtubing to do... Much much cooler than a ferrari if you ask me.

Yeah, maybe.

I'd have an Atom (or something like it) anyday even if it were just for driving around on weekends, nevermind autox, or the track.

:stupid: Me, too. They are awesome cars that are stripped down to the bare essentials. I'd be like a street legal go-kart.

other than the whole "street legal" part (and don't forget that gokarts that are legal for karting racing leagues are only about $5k)

:dunno:

it's impossible to get one that is street legal in MA, don't know about other eastern seaboard states. i'd have to have a full stable of about six other cars before i pondered dropping $50k to get an atom that i couldn't even drive on the street.

i'm with dred on this one. just when i think i begin to understand it, i don't all over again.

I doubt that he is using it for commutes.

I just did a google search. This is probably it: http://www.focusfanatics.com/forum/s...d.php?t=111453

I'm trying to understand the appeal and I'm reading more about it today than I have in the past and I really do not get it.

I understand it fills a niche, but driving it on the street in California at least is a death wish. I ride motorcycles, so I can't dog people on that, but why buy this when you can buy a lighter, faster, quicker, better braking, and more maneuverable street bike for 12K that gets 60 mpg? It cannot possible be a safety issue. :D

I truly either do not understand this car, or understand it better than most.

Ultra-obsessed karters or richer folks with, like lemming said, 4 or 5 other vehicles are the only people I could imagine would actually purchase this.

sounds like you understand :dunno:

Maybe I'm just defensive then. Td acted like I was an idiot for saying it wasn't practical.

If you check out TopGear's vid, it is quicker and more nimble than a fast street bike.

A Z06 cannot touch an Atom in 0-60, but that's not the point. A Z06 can't touch an Atom around .. pretty much any racetrack, but that's not the point either.

I have a sportbike. In an ideal world where I could afford an Atom and lived in a state where I could register it, I would daily drive it (on days where rain was unlikely). Cars are too heavy. Lighter cars are more fun, even on the street. Sure, it's dangerous... many things that are fun are dangerous.

Sure, but not a new generation street bike like the Yamaha YFZ-R1. 12K stock - 180bhp@12,500 RPM. This thing is ~50K



Hey John V, I apologize if I read some faulty info, but isn't the Z06 and the Atom both ranked at 3.7 second 0-60? If not, I'd still have to ask if this car is really of use to anyone unless they were a karting freak or quite well off?

And FWIW...

I agree it would be fun If I had money/lenient state, but daily driving this thing would be impossible where I live. Gawkers and street walkers love to rip up stuff at my place of work.

No, the Atom is 2.8 seconds. :D

Holy crap.

At 2.95 your scrotum catches up to you. :lol:

Well now you're talking stock YFZ-R1 territory. Yeah that would be fun in more ways than one. Sucking up seat cushion even.

I'd prefer the $12K bike still, and have to stubbornly insist the atom is still not practical *to own* but holy shit, that would be fun.

C+D tested the 240hp Atom (the "medium" state of tune; not the slowest, not the fastest) did 0-60 in 3.0 while the Z06 did it in 3.6-3.7. IIRC.

The Atom couldn't possibly replace a sportbike for me. I'm not a karting freak. I just hate how heavy cars have become. Obviously $50k is a lot for a car that would have to stay parked a good portion of the time. I'm not nuts enough to think it's a "practical" vehicle. But I would absolutely drive the thing to work, for runs to the store when I didn't need much stuff, for day-trips, etc. It wouldn't be just a "toy" for me.

my only lodged complaint is that it's not street legal for any state that i would live in.

Where is it street legal, besides Texas?

i have no idea.

MA is pretty tough on cars and the only loophole that i know of are pre-1975 cars which can pass emissions without being tested. but the chassis has to be of the correct year.

which is interesting because factory five racing is IN massachusetts. and it's unclear whether or not the cars are street legal --sort of like BELtronics being Canadian but detectors being illegal in Canada?

i can see the appeal of the Atom, but as it is, with the current legal structure, i'd just opt for a lotus (as much as it pains me to admit this).

Well, my lust for one assumes (like I mentioned earlier) that I would be able to drive it around in the street.

well, if you and i live in teh same gated retirement community, we could drive atoms on the golf course.

i am unsure if getting into one is friendly to arthritic joints, though.

There are confirmed registrations in Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Oklahoma, Oregon, Texas, and Washington. Atoms are also registered in other states but the owners haven't posted that info on the forum.

That's the last straw. I've been looking for another reason to move to Colorado, and I think I've found it. :D

Where is yours registered? :scratch:

i'm guessing IL

Troublemaker :irate:

I'm currently working with NJ to register mine. NJ has a collector car program which exempts vehicles from safety and emission requirements, but NJ doesn't want to honor it, despite it being the law. I think the main problem is that nobody in the offices understands this.

: oops: