

This engine provides pretty impressive performance in its natural home of a Civic, so it is hard to imagine what it will be like sitting in a vehicle that weighs less than half the weight of a Civic. The kit is designed to utilize a Honda K20A engine and transmission. What the new owner will need to bring to the party to complete this car, apart from labor, is an engine, transmission, exhaust system, brakes, wheels, and tires, along with springs and shocks. The items include a gas tank, seats, pedals, master cylinder, lights, turn signals, and mirrors. Apart from an engine, transmission, and a few minor items, everything that you need to complete the kit is there. The chassis has been powder-coated in silver, and fiberglass panels are also included, just waiting for you to paint them in your choice of color. It is unclear what sort of tubing is used, but a close inspection indicates that all of the welds seem to be of good quality. Your starting point for this kit is a tubular chassis. The kit is located in Houston, Texas, and is listed for sale here on eBay. You can park what looks like a nicely made kit in your workshop for a BIN price of $11,000.

This Altra is a reproduction of the Ariel Atom, and the owner makes it abundantly clear that not only isn’t it an Atom, but it is part of the conditions of sale that the new owner does not attempt to represent it as such. The venerable VW Bug used to be the most common basis for a kit, but it is now possible to buy impressive kits from a variety of manufacturers. Using a slightly detuned version of supercharged-K24 engine found in the Atom 3.5, producing 290bhp, the Nomad dispatches 0-62mph in 3.1sec.Over the decades, the kit car scene has become increasingly more sophisticated, and the performance levels have also increased enormously. It won’t match the Atom for speed on road or track, but is capable on both and prioritises fun. Despite its hatchback origins it performs well on track, with a limited-slip differential, huge grip reserves and a strong turbocharged 2.0-litre engine that develops 316bhp and 295lb ft of torque.Īlongside the Atom, Ariel offer the Nomad, a bare-bones off-roader that looks Dakar-ready. The Honda Civic Type R can’t come close to the Atom in raw performance terms, but has track credentials and the Nurburgring stamp of approval. 0-62mph is dealt with in 3.9sec, over a second slower than the Atom, but the trade-off is a car that you could use everyday – according to Lotus. Like the Atom it’s supercharged, developing 243bhp from a 1.8-litre four-cylinder engine. The £46k Lotus Elise 250 Cup is a stripped back Elise that is fantastic on the road and surprisingly friendly on track. But stick with it and the Atom is much more driveable than you first imagine and once you learn to work with the Porsche 911-like weight distribution and be brave with the throttle, it’s incredibly rewarding. The Atom’s handling has always taken a while to get used to, feeling fairly wild and intimidating to start with.
#Ariel atom v8 manual
It contines to be mated to a convetional H-pattern six-speed manual gearbox. The supercharged Honda Civic Type R sourced 2-litre engine also gets a bit more power (up to 310bhp), but given the 3’s already eye-watering ability in that department, it seems like the most incidental of the upgrades. Instead of the large, bug-eyed headlamps that used to sit back up towards the wing mirrors, the 3.5 gets two neat rows of three bulbs further down its nose.
#Ariel atom v8 update
Perhaps the most obvious update is the lights. The big one-piece seats have also been made a little stiffer.
The 3.5 also gets the carbon-surrounded digital dash from the V8, which looks very smart, and the nose panel has been subtly changed with a crease now running down the middle. Most of the chassis changes are things that Ariel learnt while building the wild Ariel Atom V8, with new suspension pick-up points and bracing around the engine all helping to make the chassis stiffer. > Ariel Nomad review Technical highlights? Ariel couldn’t call it Atom 4 because a whole new integer only appears when the engine changes, but nevertheless there has been a raft of small upgrades aiming to make this supercharged model the best one yet.
