Ariel Atom 4 unveiled at Goodwood

The Ariel Atom 4 has been revealed at the Goodwood Festival of Speed. It is the fourth generation of the high-performance Atom sportscar that was launched in 1999. The all-new version has been entirely rebuilt from the ground up and is the fastest standard version yet. It gets a new chassis, suspension, brakes and body.

The Atom 4 will achieve 0-100kph in 2.8sec, matching its BAC Mono rival, and 0-161kph in 6.8sec. Priced from £39,975 (approximately Rs 35.92 lakh), its deliveries will start in spring 2019.

The Atom 4 uses the latest Honda Type R turbo engine delivering 324hp and 420Nm of torque, and gets a new chassis, suspension, steering, brakes and bodywork with “significant aerodynamic improvements”, according to Ariel, as well as new seating and instrumentation.

The basis of the Atom 4 is a new tubular chassis, built in-house, which features larger-diameter main and diagonal tubes than previous Atoms. The chassis also promises more interior space and leg room and has been proven to exceed the demands of a full-frontal 50kph barrier impact, seatbelt and rear impact test, said Ariel.

There is a larger fuel tank than before, giving a road range of 483km. The model sits on 16-inch front and 17-inch rear wheels. Multi-spoke alloy wheels are standard but there is also the option of full carbon wheels for the first time. There is also a new, larger braking set-up to accommodate the Atom’s extra power.