|
|
|
|
Brian Konoske
|
|
driver Steve Levy | 6/14/2007 | c16 | photo by: Brian Konoske
|
ARIEL ATOM
K20 POWERED GROUND MISSILE
"You’ve all seen Star Wars. I’m talking original Star Wars, Episode IV,
on the big screen. When the Millenium Falcon jumps to light
speed—that’s the Atom hurling itself forward..."
A while back I got the chance to take the amazing Ariel Atom for a drive following an interview with Atom owner and GM West Coast Design Studio boss, Frank Saucedo. After our interview Frank asked me if I wanted a ride. Sure! I’d even brought a helmet in case. As he’d warned me previously, it was kind of essential. A large gouge in the car’s frame tube just left of the air intake from a flying bolt during a morning commute (yes, Frank drives this car to work!) is a testament to this. I was just expecting a passenger’s impression, then he got out of the drivers seat and said, “Don’t bend it!”
I was actually a little nervous. The apprehension mounted as Frank cinched down the four-point harnesses almost to the point that I couldn’t breathe. Rolling off in second gear downhill on the stretch of Mulholland Highway between the infamous “Gallery” and biker hangout the Rock Store, I took it real easy. Just tickling the gas brought instant forward motion. All the controls fell to hand and feet very naturally. The sense of openness wasn’t unnerving as I expected. There is some security from the frame tubes surrounding you, yet you can see where the front wheels are and so place the car precisely.
Turning the car was merely a thought. See where you want to go, drop inside hand slightly, you are on line. Amazing. The precision is, and this is a grossly overused term but completely true here, go-kart like. The best part though is when you gas it. My initial tentative dipping into the loud pedal was scary. The lack of weight means that all you do is think throttle and dive forward. That’s without even letting the K20C rev high enough for the VTEC to kick in. The throttle is like a rheostat. How far and fast you move forward is directly proportionate to how far and fast you move your foot. Imagine you are a creature small enough to get a ride on the back of a cockroach as it is scurries away when the lights go on and I think you are close to how the Atom feels jumping forward. It,s not like a sport bike. Even under full acceleration, a hyper sport bike doesn’t feel like it’s trying to get away from underneath you. The Atom does. The total lack of inertia is just plain weird in this day and age of 3000-pound plus cars. And again I’m not even talking about under full throttle. That’s a whole different animal.
Waiting for a group of serious looking sport bike riders to pass by, I then made a U-turn at a turn out. The car’s lack of weight meant I could crawl around in second gear. Pointed back up the hill, I goosed it. The Atom just plain exploded forward. The next couple of miles on this twisty stretch of road I know very well are forever etched in my driving memory. The Atom literally becomes a part of you. Think and it happens. Look and you go there. Steering feel and weight is as perfect as any engineer or driver could wish for. The howl of the airbox at your right ear as the 220hp VTEC kicks in is hair-raising. You’ve all seen Star Wars. I’m talking original Star Wars, Episode IV, on the big screen. When the Millenium Falcon jumps to light speed—that’s the Atom hurling itself forward on a canyon road surrounded by trees and sheer rock. There is one straight on this stretch where I was comfortable enough to give the Atom its full head. I took a quick glance at the Stack gauge as I got off the gas for the next turn and saw the needle tickling between 80 and 90 mph. The best I’ve seen at that point in anything else including the C16 350whp STI is probably 65 maybe 70. Supercharger? 300hp? This car does not need it. You better be showing your race license when ticking that option!
I left the car in third gear most of the way up, just throttle and braking it. The light weight of the Atom combined with the wide and high rev range of the VTEC Honda motor were nicely matched. The cross over to VTEC became addictive, but addictive in a scare-the-crap-out-of-myself-and–let’s-do-it-again kind of way. Handling was impeccable. As Frank had described, the car was totally neutral. I braked a little late into one turn and all I got was the faintest front tire scrub before railing the turn like it had an asphalt berm. The G forces I was pulling on even these slowish tight turns were unlike any street car I’ve driven. I was actually getting breathless and breaking a sweat. And I could tell I wasn’t even getting into it. As I entered the second to last turn of my run up the hill I came up on the group of leathered up bikers dropping their knees into the next hairpin. I’d caught up with them! Man, I want one!
The Atom is now available in the US through Brammo Motorsports, an Oregon automotive engineering company with experience importing and building Ultimas and Lola T70 replicas.
|
Brian Konoske | 
Brian Konoske | 
Brian Konoske | 
Brian Konoske | |
|
|
| COMMENTS |
|
|
On
|
 |
|
|