Pussy Galore

By DAVID HASSALL
BRITISH sportscar specialist Ariel’s
next model promises to be the fastestaccelerating
production car in the
world – and will cost more than three times as
much as the iconic Atom 300.
Ariel’s website last month revealed that the V8-
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Ariel Atom 500 //
Up and Atom!
engined Atom 500 would cost “at least £100,000”
($A203,000) and be released “shortly”, but that
production will be limited to just 25 units.
Power will come from a normally-aspirated
3.0-litre V8 engine developing 500 brake
horsepower (373kW), enabling the Atom 500 to
race from rest to 100km/h in about 2.5 seconds.
The four-valve V8 ‘atmo’ engine has a narrow
75-degree V angle to ensure it has the compact
dimensions necessary to fit it behind the driver
in an east-west configuration. Ariel also claims
that the engine has a unique camshaft drive
arrangement to reduce engine size and weight.
The 500 started life as a one-off project
Ariel goes ballistic and claims title of
the world’s fastest production car
with Russell Savory’s RS Developments in
2007 using the Savory-designed 2.4-litre
supercharged five-valve alloy V8 that is
now fitted to the recently-announced and
conceptually-similar Caterham Seven Levante,
which is priced at £115,000 ($A233,000).
However, Ariel’s new production V8 has
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