The all-new Ariel Atom: have some fun on the Sunday spin
If your Ariel Atom 3.5 is starting to feel a little out of date, you’re in luck. The car maker has revealed the fourth-generation Atom for 2018, and it is due to make its debut at this year’s Goodwood Festival of Speed. The new Atom 4 is the fastest version yet of one of our favourite cars, says Vijay Pattni on Top Gear. Although it looks much the same, it’s actually a completely new car from the ground up.
The bodywork is a refinement of the trademark Atom shape, with an emphasis on improved aerodynamics, says James Brodie in Auto Express. Drag has been reduced, according to Ariel, and there’s also a fresh nose-cone, a new engine cover and a tweaked aero-screen spanning the width of the dashboard.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Engineers set out to create a car with less body roll, less dive and a better all-round ride, says Safet Satara on Top Speed. They added “beefier wheels”, new suspension components and optional Ohlins dampers. The result is an “all-new cornering experience” that is “sharper and edgier” than ever before. Slotted inside the Atom 4 is a new engine, too, says Pattni. And it’s a good one – the 2.0 litre, 320bhp four-cylinder i-VTEC turbo from the new Honda Civic Type R. “It’s faster than before, and indeed faster than ever.” It’ll do 0-60mph in 2.8 seconds and 0-100mph in 6.8 seconds.
The Ariel is more for a bit of fun on a Sunday drive than anything else, says Satara. Now it will take you further, and in more comfort, than before. Low-weight, high-power, rear-wheel-drive, and a manual transmission. “What can possibly go wrong?”
Price: from £39,975; 0-62mph: 6.8 seconds; Engine: 2.0-litre VTEC four-cylinder; Torque: 310 lb ft
This article was originally published in MoneyWeek
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
Sport on TV guide: Christmas 2022 and New Year listings
Speed Read Enjoy a feast of sporting action with football, darts, rugby union, racing, NFL and NBA
By Mike Starling Published
-
House of the Dragon: what to expect from the Game of Thrones prequel
Speed Read Ten-part series, set 200 years before GoT, will show the incestuous decline of Targaryen
By Chas Newkey-Burden Published
-
One in 20 young Americans identify as trans or non-binary
Speed Read New research suggests that 44% of US adults know someone who is transgender
By The Week Staff Published
-
The Turner Prize 2022: a ‘vintage’ shortlist?
Speed Read All four artists look towards ‘growth, revival and reinvention’ in their work
By The Week Staff Last updated
-
What’s on TV this Christmas? The best holiday television
Speed Read From films and documentaries to musicals for all the family
By The Week Staff Published
-
Coco vision: up close to Chanel opticals
Speed Read Parisian luxury house adds opticals to digital offering
By The Week Staff Published
-
Abba returns: how the Swedish supergroup and their ‘Abba-tars’ are taking a chance on a reunion
Speed Read From next May, digital avatars of the foursome will be performing concerts in east London
By The Week Staff Published
-
‘Turning down her smut setting’: how Nigella Lawson is cleaning up her recipes
Speed Read Last week, the TV cook announced she was axing the word ‘slut’ from her recipe for Slut Red Raspberries in Chardonnay Jelly
By The Week Staff Published