Ariel Atom 500 V8

This is now officially our best car. :D

Looks insane, bet it goes like it too! Well I'll be off to find out where I can buy a track day with one. :D
 
Mother of God!
 
Holy fuck.
 
:w00t::w00t: MAGNIFICENTLY INSANE :D

I must say though, unless it has some trick super traction control system (which I don't think it has) it will wheelspin like a m****r f****r, in the first 3 gears at least.
 
That's totally cool!
Bring it in Top Gear please! :w00t:
 
O.M.G.! The Caterham looks really old fashioned 1940s, you don't like old fashioned do you!?

Don't be silly. The Caterham, to me anyway, looks better hands down.

caterham_007o.jpg


Not too much "really old fashioned 1940s" about that, is there? ;)
 
Not much od fasioned and a lot of bad ass stealth black style. Big wings don't do it for me looks wise.

Plus, like I said, the seats look more comfortable in the caterham, I mean look at the atoms, they look like sold plastic back breakers! :D
 
So, who's going to go buy lottery tickets with me? Because if I win, I'm buying both :D

then spending the next 12 months at driving schools before touching the cars
 
For the people wondering how this will handle in relation to the Caparo...I don't think its really a contest. Just based on watching the track tests on Top Gear, it seems like the Atom's chassis is much more balanced and well put together. The turn-in is much sharper and there's more grip, whereas the Caparo has a chassis that puts a much larger emphasis on slippery aerodynamics combined with downforce at speed to allow it to corner, which of course backfires when it understeers massively when it's going too slow.

The one other thing is that the chassis are so different. The Caparo's is a carbon-fiber/aluminum honeycomb monocoque, while the Atom's is mostly steel tubing (obviously :p). I think that would mean that the Caparo, although very light even with bodywork and a closed cockpit, would be overly stiff and not have enough flex to allow all four wheels to grip as much as possible. Since the Atom uses steel tubing, the body is much more flexible and forgiving.

The amazing thing is that even with the heavier material in the body, the Atom is still just as light, since it has no bodywork and an open cockpit.

Anyway, I would definetly take this new one over the Caparo any day (if only just for the price), and it looks SO much more current than the Caterham, which looks like it just came out of the 50s :p
 
For the people wondering how this will handle in relation to the Caparo...I don't think its really a contest. Just based on watching the track tests on Top Gear, it seems like the Atom's chassis is much more balanced and well put together. The turn-in is much sharper and there's more grip, whereas the Caparo has a chassis that puts a much larger emphasis on slippery aerodynamics combined with downforce at speed to allow it to corner, which of course backfires when it understeers massively when it's going too slow.

The one other thing is that the chassis are so different. The Caparo's is a carbon-fiber/aluminum honeycomb monocoque, while the Atom's is mostly steel tubing (obviously :p). I think that would mean that the Caparo, although very light even with bodywork and a closed cockpit, would be overly stiff and not have enough flex to allow all four wheels to grip as much as possible. Since the Atom uses steel tubing, the body is much more flexible and forgiving.

The amazing thing is that even with the heavier material in the body, the Atom is still just as light, since it has no bodywork and an open cockpit.

Anyway, I would definetly take this new one over the Caparo any day (if only just for the price), and it looks SO much more current than the Caterham, which looks like it just came out of the 50s :p

You're right. It's not much of a contest...the Caparo will dominate. :p

But seriously, why does the Caparo handle so crappy at low speeds.....no downforce, right? And why might that be? Ultra-light weight coupled to ultra-high powered motor.

Now, isn't the Atom basically the same thing? It's very light, and very powerful. Granted, they did add a huge wing in the back and some other aero mods to the body...but what...exactly, will make the atom handle so much "better" than the Caparo at "low speed" cornering....? Both cars claim over 1000hp/tonne. And with that high of a power to weight ratio, I think all three of these (caterham, atom, caparo) will handle more or less in a similar fashion with the caterham and the atom being more forgiving than the caparo, of course.

But I'm having a hard time trying to wrap my brain around the idea that the Atom/Caterham would somehow magically handle alot better than the Caparo.

Hell, if anything, get a proper driver (aka the Stig, not Clarkson lol) behind the Caparo and drive that properly and then it's truly no contest! :cool:
 
Where's that MOTHER OF GOD pic when you need it?

this thread is so full of awesome it hurts
 
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