On the hunt

[woza]

New user - thanks for allowing me in!

Having had 4 Lotus' over the past 10 years, I have always fancied an Atom and today have sold my Evora S and want to put an Atom in the garage!

First question, is there somewhere that someone has a list of all the different variants and engines....?

Thanks,

Woza.

[wasp]

It usually starts with a budget, then a look on Pistonheads will give you an idea of what they go for.

Different cars will have options based on how much road/track use the previous owner expected to do. There's no point in paying for loads of options that you don't actually want, but if you intend to track it then you'll want uprated brakes and suspension as a minimum, plus a baffled sump. After that it's fundamentally shiny stuff.

The Factory are very good with calls about specific cars and they are brilliant at servicing the cars (and v reasonable too!)

It's also worth remembering that they don't really depreciate either, so when the time comes to change, you'll see most of your money back if you've cared for it.

Good luck with your search.

Cheers,
Stu

[phil4]

Hi, not really... but the good news is there aren't that many.

Atom 1 - very few around
Atom 2 - still some reasonably priced.
Atom 3 - loads
Atom 3.5 - The outgoing one, lots.
Atom 4 - long waiting list.

There was also a 3.5R, which was a 3.5 with more power and all the trimmings.
And a Mugen Atom, of which there were 10, and they were NA specials.
Finally of the specials, the V8, there's one for sale at £198,000 at the moment.

Going back to the above list, from the Atom 2 onwards (until the Atom 4) had the option of a Supercharger, so for example you'll see these as either an Atom 3 SC, or an Atom 3 300, Atom 3.5 310 or similar.

The options list for Atoms was and still is "extensive", everything from a locking fuel cap, to the aforementioned supercharger.

If you start at https://www.arielmotor.co.uk/used/used/ you'll start to see what I mean.

The first atom there is an Atom 3, with supercharger. If you click read more, the 245Bhp 6-speed is the base car... everything else then listed was an option extra, and now forms the spec of the car.

I'm no suggesting you have to buy from Ariel, but if you don't it's a good idea to phone them about any car you're thinking of buying second hand, as they can tell you about it's history and what they know about it.

[GraemeW]

theres also a summary of most of the cars on the Ariel website here (ignore the early stuff. Scroll to the atoms)....

https://www.arielmotor.co.uk/ariel/history/

If you buying second hand you probably be looking at a 2, 3 or 3.5 All with Honda 2.0l VTEC engines (although a small number were supplied til 2.4l engines as well)

Atom 2: I think came came with 160 or 220 bhp Normally aspirated or 300bhp supercharged

Atom 3: 245 NA or 300 Charged

Atom 3.5: 245 NA or 310 Charged. A special model came out the 3.5R with 350bhp charged

[GraemeW]

theres also quite a bit of info on some of the online reviews by EVO, Autocar, etc which describe the merits of different cars. I found these quite useful when I was looking to buy a few years ago

[Peter255]

Not quite Graeme.

Atom 2's were:

160 NA type S engine
220 NA type R engine
245 NA type R engine with Hondata ECU
275 s/c type R engine
300 s/c type R engine with Hondata ECU.

IMO supercharged is the way to go for the additional power across the rev range and the s/c noise which is utterly addictive. Just ask anyone who has retrofitted a charger to their car!

Ensure the car has solid history, preferably with Ariel and the right options. Every Atom is different and better brakes, suspension etc make a difference, but it comes down to how you want to use the car.

I would avoid ex-cup (race) cars as they have had a hard life and their relatively low mileage is not reflective of the wear and tear they have suffered on track (and often damage).

Atoms are reliable, but do need regular maintenance. Many parts are semi-consumable and need to be checked and replaced as they wear. Its a specialist machine and you DO NOT want a failure at high speed. Suspension joints for example have a limited life. However brakes and clutches last ages unless you are a drag fanatic!

Good luck with your search. I know a good car for sale too if your intersted.

[woza]

Thanks for all the responses chaps. Very helpful. I have seen your car Peter - how easy is it to change the colour of the panels? Assume they are removable and plastic? I am a sucker for orange....

[Peter255]

Thanks for all the responses chaps. Very helpful. I have seen your car Peter - how easy is it to change the colour of the panels? Assume they are removable and plastic? I am a sucker for orange....

Panels are non-structural fiber glass (or optional costly carbon fiber). They are removed in seconds via a few fastners and can be sprayed or wrapped by anyone very simply. It very common for people to swap the colour or even have a few sets of panels so they can mix things up! This is a fun aspect of ownership as you can change colour so easily.

FYI there are in total 3 coloured panel pieces that are easily removed and re-painted / wrapped. The nose cone, and the inner and outer engine air scoops. The other fiber glass parts are usually black (they can all be painted, but it is rare on UK cars).