Purchasing a Honda-powered performance car is a smart idea, as not only can you gain access to a nice chunk of power, but you can trust it not to detonate due to Honda’s legendary reliability record. Vehicles like the 2024 Honda Civic Type R combine 300+ raging horsepower with a taut and agile chassis, as well as practicality that makes it viable as an everyday driver.
Related How The Honda K-Series Became The Most Reliable Honda Engine Ever Made
The K Series is one of the most reliable engines ever built. Tuners love it, and it’s at the heart of many engine swaps.
For some, though, this isn’t enough. To get the most powerful Honda-powered production car on sale, you’ll be relegated to using it on track days only. This is the story of one of the craziest track vehicles ever made.
Every Honda-powered production car was considered for this piece, and all technical data utilized throughout was sourced via trusted providers like the vehicle manufacturer.
Related 9 Hardcore Street-Legal Track Cars
These cars don’t need a trailer to get to the track.
The Ariel Atom Has Undergone Extensive Development Over The Years
The Ariel Atom could very well have never happened if it wasn’t for the efforts of Simon Saunders, who dreamed of bringing a modern-day version of the iconic Lotus 7 to fruition. With the help of vehicle designer Niki Smart, the pair struggled to be taken seriously by every manufacturer they approached with their idea and plans. They eventually started their own company in 1991, and in 1996 came up with a vehicle called the Lightweight Sports Car.
Essentially just a bare chassis on wheels, the car turned heads when it debuted at that year’s British Motor Show. Following this, the company was renamed Ariel, after the British engineering company that built all kinds of two- and four-wheeled vehicles between 1871 and 1977. Following a further few years of development, the first Ariel Atom was put into production in 2000.
Discussion What are the best new sports cars that won’t bankrupt you?
At under $30k, the 2024 Toyota GR86 is one of the best affordable sports cars, as is the closely related Subaru BRZ and the fellow Japanese icon, the Mazda MX-5 Miata. The new Ford Mustang also has plenty of performance and style at just over $30k.
Featuring a 1.8-liter Rover K-Series engine, which was available in 120-, 160-, and 190-hp forms, the Atom was unlike anything else on the road. It had no interior comforts, no doors, or any other kind of body panel. There wasn’t even a windshield, so a helmet or goggles were needed to prevent bug projectiles from taking your eyes out. A follow-up, named the Atom 2, was launched in 2003, and was the model that kicked off the company’s long partnership with Honda.
Add CarBuzz to your Google News feed.
A bulletproof 220-hp K20 four-cylinder unit was used, which helped boost its pace even further. The power was sent to the rear wheels via a six-speed gearbox, and due to its ultra-low weight figure of 1,349 pounds, it could blast to 60 mph in just 3.5 seconds. Considering its relatively low power output, and finely tuned chassis and suspension, the Atom proved popular with driving enthusiasts. It’s arguably most famous though for nearly tearing Jeremy Clarkson’s face clean off when he tested it on Top Gear back in 2005, the Brit testing the 300-hp supercharged version of the car released that year.
The Ariel 4R Is A Hardcore Version Of An Already Hardened Sports Car
Spin the clock forward to today, and the Atom has seen many evolutions that have helped enhance its performance even further. The Atom 4 made its debut in 2018 and was launched the year after, the car getting the latest turbocharged 2.0-liter Honda K20C1 engine utilized in the 2017 FK8 Civic Type R. This meant 321 hp and 310 lb-ft of torque was on tap, though the extra grunt was only a side piece to the most important developments.
2010 Ariel Atom 500 Specifications
Engine
Turbocharged 2.0-liter I4
Power
400 hp
Torque
369 lb-ft
0-60 mph
2.7 seconds
A stiffer titanium chassis was introduced, which was made tougher and more rigid by using bigger tubes. The suspension geometry was also revised to improve its squat and dive characteristics, while the aerodynamics were also completely overhauled. Having never used computational fluid dynamics (CFD) to evaluate the aero before, Ariel’s engineers found the air box had been directing the air away from the rear wing on the previous Atom, making it useless. Following a redesign to the airbox and rear end of the car, these issues were rectified, and the aero surfaces could perform to their full potential on the 4.
Related Ariel Hipercar EV Has 1,180 HP, AWD, And A Range-Extending Jet Turbine
‘Hipercar’ stands for HIgh PERformance CArbon Reduction.
The 4R Turns The Dial Up To 11
And that’s how we get to the Atom 4R, which takes all the elements of the revolutionary Atom 4 and further pushes the envelope. Ariel revised the cooling setup and introduced a new intercooler so that it could run the K20C1 even harder, with overall cooling increased by 55% compared to the standard Atom 4. Power therefore rockets up to 400 hp and torque to 368 lb-ft. A new Quaife six-speed sequential gearbox was also brought to the party to further improve acceleration, while adjustable Ohlins dampers and springs were combined with the standard Ariel pushrod suspension setup to improve handling even further. New aluminum uprights, which feature aero-designed wishbones and pushrods, help to not only reduce weight, but drag too.
Related The 10 Most Reliable Honda Engine Families Ever Produced
Engine masters Honda makes everything from high-revving V-TECs to boat, plane, power generator, and motorcycle engines.
The most obvious change to the 4R is its aggressive aerodynamic package, featuring a new front splitter and rear wing. Again designed using CFD, the components add around 240 pounds of downforce to the vehicle when traveling at just 70 mph, affording it significantly more grip in high-speed corners. The 4R also gets a set of uprated carbon ceramic brakes, which reduces fading under heavy use. These are combined with carbon fiber wheels, these components shaving 57 pounds off the total weight of the vehicle.
The Atom 4R Can’t Be Used On American Roads
The result of these upgrades is a 0-60 mph time of 2.7 seconds, though the immense cornering speeds it can carry, as well as how late it can brake into a corner, are its real talents. For those looking to electrify their commutes to work, though, you’ll have to make do with the standard Atom. The 4R is illegal to use on normal roads in the US, and is actually classified as an ‘off-road vehicle’ by American law.
This doesn’t mean you can go off-road with it, of course; the brand’s Nomad model is more suitable for that, should you so desire. You can use the 4R only use it on non-public roads, such as racetracks. This is because the Atom 4R hasn’t undergone crash testing to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration standard, meaning it isn’t allowed to be used on normal roads, nor does it have a compulsory windshield. Completing crash testing can be expensive for smaller-volume manufacturers such as Ariel, so it decided to offer the 4R as a track-only car in the states.
Still, given the levels of performance the car is capable of, you could only experience a fraction of them on the road anyway.
There Is Also A V8-Powered Atom
Should the 400-hp Atom 4R already sound extreme enough, then you’d better stay away from the Atom 500. Released in 2010, the 500 came equipped with a 500-hp 3.0-liter V8 powerplant designed by independent engine builders John Hartley Enterprises by combining two Suzuki Hayabusa superbike engines. When combined with a curb weight of just 1,213 pounds, the Atom 500 had a power-per-tonne rating of 900 hp. This allowed it to accelerate to 60 mph in just 2.3 seconds, making it the fastest Atom ever built.
2010 Ariel Atom 500 Specifications
Engine
3.0-liter V8
Power
500 hp
Torque
284 lb-ft
0-60 mph
2.3 seconds
To deal with the extra power of the V8, the 500 was also graced with an uprated Sadev six-speed sequential transmission. Like its younger 4R sibling, the 500 was treated to a significantly developed aero package to help keep it pinned to the road at high speed, while its body panels were constructed from carbon fiber to help make its inane weight figure a reality.
Related Ariel Willing To Build ‘Sub-Atomic’ Sports Car
The Ariel Atom has evolved from the low-powered, lightweight sports car it once was – but Ariel is willing to fix that.
Only 25 examples of the 500 were ever built, but it illustrated just what Ariel was capable of when faced with an engine that was twice as powerful as the ones featured in standard Atoms.
Sources:
Ariel
.