Ariel Atom 4 review

Ariel expects to start deliveries of the Atom 4 next spring. The spec is still being finalised, our car wearing such tasty items as a sports exhaust (single central exit instead of two, which looks brilliantly symmetric), uprated AP Racing brakes (tremendous stopping power) and gorgeous carbon wheels. Motorsport-spec traction control will be available, as well as the three-mode power setting and a whole host of extra bits.

Entry price is £39,975 and Ariel has 120 orders to fulfil already – that’s not far short of two years production. It’s also aiming to have the car fully type-approved, making export sales much easier.

Economy? Well, there’s a 40-litre fuel tank and into which I poured 27 litres after 160 miles of mixed driving, including bashing around Salisbury Plain, an evening drive through Bath and Bristol and a night shot along the M4. So that’s near enough 27mpg.

Anything else worth considering? The Caterham 620S is the obvious one, being a tamer superfast Caterham than the 620R, but it’s nothing like as finessed as the Atom – although it does have a roof and a bigger boot. The BAC Mono is way more extreme, the Elemental RP1 or Vuhl 05 are probably the cars that come closest. And remember the KTM X-Bow? That had the same sort of approach, but the execution was never right.