Atom 2 275

[Mark A]

Can anyone give me any feedback on Atom 2 275 Supercharged V Atom 3 300 Supercharged. What are the difference in performance for road use mainly.

[John Scherrer]

The Atom 2 275 was an Atom 2 220 with a Jackson Racing Supercharger fitted.
Based on the Type R K20A Honda engine butfitted with an MBE ECU which made it particularly difficult if you wanted to do any engine tuning modifications.

They were quite rare and were pretty old school rough running with vibrations felt through the seat, rough idle, potential to spit flames and popping from the exhaust on throttle lift off/overrun.

Owners loved them though and some thought the introduction of the '3' was a bit of a comfortable dumming down.

There was also a 2 -300 ..

The Atom 3 - 300 was based on the Civic Type S R engine and was a 3-245 spec engine fitted with a Hondata ECU and Jackson Racing supercharger plus some cooling parts such as an additional electric water pump.
The vibrations, rough idling and popping/flames had gone and it was more comfortable to drive.

Both were manic performance - Think 0-60 in around 3 seconds for the 2-300 and 0-60 in around 2.9 seconds for the 3-300.

A 3-300 can be factory re-mapped to achieve 310 bhp.

[Peter255]

Can anyone give me any feedback on Atom 2 275 Supercharged V Atom 3 300 Supercharged. What are the difference in performance for road use mainly.

I loved my 2 300. It was the same as the 2 275 but with a different ECU. It was a great car. As has been said they are a bit harsher and less refined than the 3, but went like smoke! They are a little less stiff, but lighter for it. Engine bay chassis cracking is very common, but a relatively cheap fix. The 3 had a stiffer engine bay to address the issue.

If you track it they eat rear wheel bearings (they can be upgraded to 3 uprights and bearings but its not cheap).

I would expect the 2 275 to be 90% the same as a 2 300. If you've not driven an Atom it will be shockingly fast. My 2 300 was basically the same performance on the road as a 3 300, just a little more wild and twitchy if you really get the toe down.

If you can find a good Atom 2 don't discount it. Its obviously not quite as good as a Atom 3 (which was more developed). But the Atom 2 will be cheaper so arguably better value if you have a fixed budget. Speak to the Ariel factory about any cars you are interested in. They are all specialist machinery and factory servicing is recommended. They can confirm what they know about the specific car.

Avoid anything that has been an experience or hire car IMO unless VERY cheap.

Good luck

[Fastlane]

The Atom 3 - 300 was based on the Civic Type S engine

Probably a typo John, but the Atom 3 300 has the Type R engine, not the type S. Otherwise very interesting as I don't know much about the early Atoms.

[Mark A]

Thanks for your input and helpful info. I have found an Atom 2 275 Supercharged 7000 miles with good history. Wild and twitchy will suit me fine, the nearest thing to a motorbike. Sounds like a good collectors car for the furture.
Cheers to all

[John Scherrer]

Fastlane - Oops, not sure where that came from - Corrected above

Here's some more detail from a much earlier post

Ariel UK, Atom 3: Honda K20Z4 engine from the Euro Civic Type-R (FN2), balance shafts present
Ariel UK, Atom 2: Honda K20A engine from the JDM Civic Type-R (EP3), no balance shafts

[Fastlane]

Thanks for your input and helpful info. I have found an Atom 2 275 Supercharged 7000 miles with good history. Wild and twitchy will suit me fine, the nearest thing to a motorbike. Sounds like a good collectors car for the furture.
Cheers to all

Excellent, be sure to share details and photos when you get it.

Fastlane - Oops, not sure where that came from - Corrected above

No problem John. By the way, have you seen that your old 3 is for sale again:

https://www.pistonheads.com/buy/listing/10858593

[John Scherrer]

No, I hadn't seen it's up for sale - it was exported to Portugul.

Not a fan of the wrap it's had .. each to their own I guess.

[Anon]

They were quite rare and were pretty old school rough running with vibrations felt through the seat, rough idle, potential to spit flames and popping from the exhaust on throttle lift off/overrun.

[mention]John Scherrer[/mention]
Like Atom 4 then!

I've shared this before - this explains the popping I get all the time

a2fb81d1-5629-4024-935a-6e6f1ff1e32a.jpg (194.32 KiB) Viewed 368 times

[hamtt]

They were quite rare and were pretty old school rough running with vibrations felt through the seat, rough idle, potential to spit flames and popping from the exhaust on throttle lift off/overrun.

@John Scherrer
Like Atom 4 then!

I've shared this before - this explains the popping I get all the time
a2fb81d1-5629-4024-935a-6e6f1ff1e32a.jpg

The standard 4 exhaust quite regularly throws flames, the sports one doesn't.

[Corky]

They were quite rare and were pretty old school rough running with vibrations felt through the seat, rough idle, potential to spit flames and popping from the exhaust on throttle lift off/overrun.

@John Scherrer
Like Atom 4 then!

I've shared this before - this explains the popping I get all the time
a2fb81d1-5629-4024-935a-6e6f1ff1e32a.jpg

The standard 4 exhaust quite regularly throws flames, the sports one doesn't.

Sorry of topic, but how come, you would of thought it would flow the same but with less sound deadening.