In the first episode (excluding the Nepal Special) of Series 28 that aired on January 26, 2020, Top Gear reviewed the Ariel Atom 4, and after Chris Harris had its way with it, it was the Stig’s turn to put it through its paces against the clock.
However, that lap didn’t do justice to the car, as the test track was very wet, so the Atom 4 posted a very modest time of 1:25.3. As a result, it was slower than the Alfa Romeo 4C, BMW 1M Coupe and M135i to name but a few, so the team decided to give it another chance.
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At the end of the new run, the clock stopped at 1:16.0, which means that the Atom 4 is the13th quickest car at the Top Gear test track (for road-legal production cars on road-legal tires), matching the Mercedes-AMG GT R’s time. The Porsche 991 GT3 RS was one tenth of a second slower, the McLaren MP4-12C was two tenths of a second slower, and the Aventador and Bugatti Veyron Super Sport completed the course in 1:16.5 and 1:16.8 respectively.
The Atom 4 is powered by a 2.0-liter turbo-four, sourced from the Honda Civic Type R, developing 320 HP (325 PS / 239 kW) and 310 lb-ft (420 Nm) of torque, connected to a six-speed manual transmission. From 0 to 60 mph (0-96 km/h), it needs 2.8 seconds and can max out at 162 mph (261 km/h).
In the United States, it has an MSRP of $74,750, and can be ordered with the $7,995 Performance Package that increases the output to 350 HP, $1,295 upgraded brakes ($495 more for the track compound pads), $2,395 adjustable suspension ($8,995 for the Ohlins TTX), $395 quick-release steering wheel and other things.
Correction: A previous version of this article wrongly stated that the Atom 4 was the fifth fastest car to lap the Top Gear track, when in fact it was the 13th. We apologize for the mistake as we got duped by this page on Top Gear. The most recently updated is this one here.