Ariel Atom Price Guide

The Ariel Atom is one of the most extreme road-legal cars ever built. No doors, no roof, no windscreen, and an exposed tubular spaceframe that makes it look like the designer forgot to fit the body panels. It accelerates faster than a Ferrari Enzo and costs a fraction of the price.

The Car

Designed by Niki Smart as a university project and put into production by the Ariel Motor Company in Crewkerne, Somerset, from 2000. The Atom uses a tubular steel exoskeleton chassis with no bodywork — the structure is the aesthetic. Engine options have ranged from Honda Civic Type R and Accord units to the supercharged 2.0-litre K20 producing 310bhp in the Atom 3.5R and the turbocharged 2.0-litre Honda unit in the Atom 4 producing 320bhp. Kerb weight is around 550kg, giving a power-to-weight ratio that embarrasses supercars. The Atom V8, with a 3.0-litre engine built from two Suzuki Hayabusa motorcycle units, produced 500bhp and was genuinely terrifying.

Buying

Atoms are hand-built in Somerset and hold their value well. The Honda engines are robust and well-supported. The tubular chassis should be inspected for accident damage and corrosion, particularly on cars that have been used in the wet. The driving experience is completely unlike any other road car — the absence of a windscreen means you feel every sensation directly. The Nomad is Ariel’s off-road counterpart, applying the same philosophy to rough terrain.