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The Ariel Atom is a high performance sports car made by Ariel vehicles based in Somerset, England . It is unusual in the respect that the Chassis ''is'' the body, and therefore lacks a roof, windows and other features commonly found on road cars. It is available with a range of engines; the top of the range being a supercharged Honda Civic Type-R engine and can reach speeds rivaling those of much more expensive automobiles. In the USA it is available with a supercharged GM Ecotech engine from the Cobalt SS. Although the top speed of approximately 140mph is relatively tame compared to more exotic sports cars, the high power-to-weight ratio (approximately 500bhp/ton) affords it incredible acceleration and control through corners. The Ariel Atom has received great media interest, most recently when (1:19.0). The car is featured in the video game Project Gotham Racing 2 for the Xbox console, Project Gotham Racing 3 for the Xbox 360 console and TOCA Racedriver 3 for the PC, Xbox and PS2. Brammo Motorsports of Ashland, Oregon have signed a deal with Ariel to manufacture the Atom in the USA. Facts: 0-60 mph acceleration: 3.5 sec. (2.9 for supercharged version) Top Speed: 140 mph (155 mph supercharged) Power: 220bhp (300bhp supercharged) Weight: 456kg Gearbox: 6-speed manual close ratio + reverse Price: GBP£29,000 EUR€43,000 USD$52,000 CAD$60,000 SUSPENSION The Atom’s suspension is derived from single seat racecars and fully adjustable, requiring only a wrench. Both front and rear double unequal length wishbones and inboard, pushrod operated dampers, contribute to the Atom’s dynamic racecar handling characteristics. Adjustable suspension rod ends feature inboard rubber/metal bushes to promote a more comfortable road-going ride. The front and rear Bilstein dampers are also adjustable. ACCELERATION In an issue of Track and Race Car magazine, a comprehensive test was performed on a range of cars, from the Porsche 911 Carrera S , 550bhp Ford GT , BMW M5 to the Caterham CSR 260 track day car. The Supercharged Ariel Atom 1 won the 2005 0-100-0 mph test by a clear margin, reaching 100mph and then stopping in 10.88 seconds, ahead of the Caterham CSR 260 (11.41) and the Ford GT in 4th (13.17). The following year, they won Autocar 's 0-100mph challenge with the new Ariel Atom 2 300bhp Supercharged edition achieving a time of 6.86 seconds, and then stopping from 100 in 3.8 seconds. The British newspaper The Sunday Times measured its average acceleration from 0 to 60 at 2.91 seconds, making it the world's 2nd fastest accelerating production car available today after the $1.3 million Bugatti Veyron which reaches 0 to 60 in 2.5 seconds and has a top speed of 253 mph (407 km/h). However, as the Bugatti Veyron is around 25 times more expensive, the two cars aren't really comparable. EXTERNAL LINKS
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