With most modern sports cars, 100mph feels like 50 and 50 feels like 25. The
Ariel Atom is the exact opposite: 50 feels like 100 and 100 feels like 200.
With the Atom, it actually feels like the car is entertainment more than
transportation. In most modern cars the only real entertainment is in the
entertainment system. With this, the entertainment is in the driving of the
car. You’re engaged with the car. You feel like you’re an extension of the
car. It’s sort of the opposite of all the cars with paddle-shifters and all
that stuff.
I’ve had my Atom for a few months now. I love it. It’s actually my favourite
car in terms of driving. How many cars do you know where you can see not
only the front wheel turning from the inside, but actually see the brake pad
gripping the calliper? It’s a bit like driving a cutaway model; there’s a
great sort of visceral thrill to driving the car.
Nothing gives you a sense of speed like the Atom. Gambling is too expensive, I
don’t drink and I don’t want to cheat on my wife, so speed is my only
release. In the short time I have had the Atom I have tried to break it —
but can’t. And even if it did break, fixing it would not be too bad. Another
of the great things about the Atom is its value for money, unlike so many
supercars.
A friend of mine has a Porsche Carrera GT. He came round a corner and brushed
a wheel on the kerb. It’s something we have all done, I am sure. The
difference is, his little brush with the kerb cost him $138,000. All he did
was brush a wheel but the wheel damaged the carbon-fibre chassis tub and
that’s what it costs to fix.
I’ve turned up at a couple of functions in it. When they had the unveiling of
the new Bugatti Veyron in Beverly Hills I pulled up in this, because to me
it’s the exact opposite of the Veyron. It does everything the Veyron does in
its own sort of way. It’s extremely fast like the Veyron but without the
additional 4,300lb.
Being in show business, one is a bit of a show-off anyway, and it was fun to
watch people look at a car that costs a million three, then go, “Hey what’s
that?”, and have the whole crowd come over and look at a car that’s worth
$35,000.
I took Tom Cruise for a ride in it and Tom Cruise really, really liked it. Tom
is a real car guy and motorcycle guy and has his own fighter plane. He truly
appreciated it.
The Atom links two of my favourite car-producing nations. The US and Britain.
I was only 12 when the most celebrated Anglo-American hybrid — the Cobra —
came out. The mix of British chassis and American muscle blended beautifully.
I might have missed that opportunity, but now a modern mix of British handling
and American power has been created, I was determined to be the first off
the block.
The Atom has been made in Britain for a while but now it is also being made in
the US, in Oregon by Brammo. They have been using the Honda engine, which is
excellent, but had been looking at a GM powerplant. I called GM and told
them about the car, suggesting it would be a wonderful showcase for them.
They sent over an engine, the 2 litre Ecotec, for Brammo to install and it
seems to work really well.
I think the GM guys really enjoyed working on the project. The engine makes
some wonderful noises — certainly very different to its use in the Chevy
Cobalt. It is supercharged and really torquey. The power is getting close to
300 horse, which in a car as light as the Atom is amazing. It feels as quick
as anything I have but is also one of the few cars I have that I don’t care
how fast 60 comes up. It is fun at almost any speed. The Saab gearbox is
fantastic — just click, click click. It works perfectly.
I take no credit for getting the Ecotec engine into the Atom. It made me
think, though. When I was a kid, Elvis Presley was the cool guy and Pat
Boone was the square guy. But Pat Boone had a deal with Chevy where every
year they’d give him a Corvette and a station wagon. I thought, well, I’m an
Elvis man, but that’s a pretty good deal. I thought wouldn’t it be cool to
one day talk to the head guys at GM and make suggestions. Now I have.
The closest car I have to the Atom is my Rocket, which is also British and was
designed by Gordon Murray. The Rocket is a little bit lighter and revs
higher, and strange as it may seem the Rocket is a bit more civilised. You
can actually drive the Rocket in the rain and not get wet because of the
all-enveloping body; it goes over you and around you. But the Rocket is a
bit more skittish because it’s so much lighter. With this you get a lot more
tyre on the ground and you have a lot more torque. It’s like they always
say: horsepower sells cars but torque wins races.
The Atom reminds me of some of the great minimalist British sports cars like
the Frogeye Sprite or Elan. In fact, I think if Colin Chapman was still
alive this is the kind of car he would be designing.
The fact it weighs under a ton will be a novelty for many younger drivers who
come from a generation that is not used to small lightweight sports cars —
maybe with the exception of the Mazda MX-5. It will be a revelation to them,
if only because you not only get a great sense of speed but also get great
gas mileage.
Here also is a car with no power assist, no power steering. It is just you, a
great chassis and a torquey engine.
I think of it as the Shelby Cobra for the new millennium. You will ask, why
not just buy a Cobra? Well, a million dollars for a car seems silly to me,
especially when you can buy a car that can do everything a million dollar
car can do for a fraction of the price. Plus it’s actually more fun to
drive. I’ve got a McLaren F1 but I can’t drive it as really intended because
any mistake at all costs you your house. Whereas the Atom, let’s say you
blew up the motor when you revved it to 12000 and a rod went through the
side, well you go down to your Chevy dealer and get a brand new motor for
what, maybe $5,500? And you can start all over again. That’s sort of the
great bit about it: if it’s a Chevy you can fix it with a hammer.
My friend Rowan Atkinson said he did not really like the Atom but I have it
for all the reasons he did not. There are so many new sensations for us as
humans and speed is still a relatively new one. Put a baby in a dark room
and it will cry but put it in a fast car and it will giggle its head off. We
love speed. It’s the most fun you can have by yourself without doing the
obvious. There’s nothing I love more than taking it for a run through the
hills and having a great time.
The reaction from people on the street has been crazy. They see the car and
then they see me driving it. Except now they don’t know it is me driving it.
I tried wearing just sunglasses when driving the Atom until a friend who has
one told me he had a bolt flick up and take a chunk out of the roll bar. It
could have been his head. From now on I’ll keep my helmet on. Which
considering the Atom is actually a four-wheel motorbike is not a bad thing.
Vital statistics
Model Ariel Atom 2
Engine 1998cc, four cylinders
Power 300bhp @ 7200rpm
Torque 245 lb ft @ 4400rpm
Transmission Six-speed manual
Fuel 32mpg (estimated combined)
CO2 n/a
Acceleration 0-60mph: 2.7sec
Top speed 155mph
Price From £24,000
Rating Five stars (Out of five)
Verdict Cheap and cheerful thrills
