No excess fat allowed
by Jackie Liu
photography by Henry Z. DeKuyper
Many enthusiast cars can learn a lesson or two from the bare-bones Ariel Atom 2. Designed purely for all-out performance, it's a road-legal race car-nothing more than a tubular space frame and an engine. Not even the basic Lotus Elise has anything on this.
A dependable 2.0-liter, Ecotec four-cylinder LSJ engine powers this particular Atom, owned by Michael Kim of Bothell, Washington. Normally found in the Cobalt SS Supercharged and the Saturn Ion Red Line, the engine is rated at 205bhp and 200lb-ft of torque. Its Eaton M62 Roots-type supercharger helps provide brisk acceleration and endows this lightweight with an amazing power-to-weight ratio of 7.1 pounds per hp. The 2007 Porsche 911 GT3, which is fast, has a roof, more heft and more power, hurls its track-bred ass through a circuit with a less advantageous 7.4 power-to-weight ratio. Puts things into perspective, doesn't it?
The blown engine utilizes a stock GM five-speed manual transmission to transmit that power. Estimated zero-to-60mph times for this engine and car combination are about 2.8 to three seconds flat-plenty thrilling in a open-cockpit car that threatens to shower the driver with road debris.
Performance cars have never been faster, safer or more capable, but, to their detriment, an overkill of convenience has been built into today's roadrunners. Cup holders, navigation systems, high wattage audio systems, air conditioning, sunroofs, center console storage bins, LED mood lights, 12 airbags and heated seats all add extra mass, and it's this chubbiness that meddles with the enthusiast driver equation.
When car companies conduct focus group studies to determine the direction of a future product, even a performance vehicle, they query existing owners of current and competing models. Naturally, this exercise will yield a design direction to produce a vehicle that is better handling, more powerful, quieter inside, and offering convenience found mainly on galactic star destroyers.
Although the thirst for convenience stops just short of adding a personal masseuse to the options list, new cars swell in curb weight to cater to the growing legions of enthusiast pansies who enjoy a macchiato on the way to the track. Hell, the current Honda Civic is almost as big as the Accord from a decade ago. The consumer who wants it all fails to recognize that the most rewarding drives can often be had in vehicles that give less.
Kim's Ariel Atom 2 weighs a slender 1450 pounds. To put that into perspective, a Lancer Evolution IX has more than twice the bulk. The Datsun 510 (another minimalist car from the pre-cup holder and roll-your-windows-down-for-air-conditioning era) weighs about 2000 pounds, yet offers barely enough collision protection to survive the average parking lot boo-boo. To be successful, lightness must be designed in.
The Atom's menu of mechanical specifications reads like a wish list, brimming with bona fide race car technology, design and construction (not the kind of pirated marketing BS that suggests 'real race car engineering' by association). The vehicle's construction features a strong and highly visible skeleton frame comprised of steel tubing-hand-welded by torch-wielding sorcerers with race car building experience. This frame provides excellent suspension performance and also a high degree of collision protection for the two occupants. True to its track-day mission, the Atom relies on an unequal length double wishbone suspension for both front the rear. Adjustable outboard rod ends and pushrod-actuated adjustable Koni coilovers allow owners to dial in the ideal circuit set-up. Other track-oriented features include a fast 1.5 turn-to-turn steering ratio, a quick-release steering wheel, cockpit-adjustable front and rear brake bias, adjustable alloy pedals, and a ram air intake system.
It also has a staggered wheel and tire set-up with lightweight Team Dynamics Pro Race 15-inch wheels up front and 17-inchers at the rear. The wheels are shod with Yokohama AVS ES100 tires on the street and with stickier Yokohama Advan A048 R-compound rubber for the track.
Clear Lexan side panels were added to help protect the driver from rain, rocks, road chips, and flying dirt. Lightweight composite bodywork and fender panels help produce race car aerodynamics at speed, while sufficiently spare to lend the vehicle its nude aggression. Kim wisely added a roll bar option from Brammo Motorsports, the Ariel Atom 2's North American manufacturer and distributor.
Custom built for far less than half the price of a Porsche 911 GT3, this Atom took around nine months to complete, and its owner manages to take it out for spin once a month or so. This seems fair, since it probably takes at least that much time for the smile to wear off whenever he gets behind the wheel.