Ariel Atom V8 to Cost 120,000 Pounds

Keeping true to his promise made earlier this year, when the new 3.0l V8 Atom was announced, Atom chief Simon Saunders indeed set the price for the new car in the 100,000 – 130,000 range. The car will cost 120,000 pounds, as Autocar says, with orders for 19 out of the 25 to be ever built already placed.

The limited edition Atom will be powered, as said, by a 3.0l hand-assembled V8, capable of delivering around 500 hp (that's about 1,000 hp/ton). The unit will be lighter than the current Honda sourced engine as it will weight, according to Atom, less than 90 kg.

The engine uses new cam arrangement, to allow for both the reduced weight and the lowered position of the engine. It will be paired with a Sadev 6-speed sequential gearbox, which will allow it to sprint from naught to the proverbial 60 in no more than 2.5 seconds. Back in May, when the engine was first presented, the builder was also considering the addition of a paddle shift version.

As said, the new Atom will only get a limited run of 25 units. With 19 of them already sold, as Piston Heads say, the car will surely turn out to be a great investment for the builder. Unfortunately for those who already placed the orders, they will not get the car sooner than the end of 2010, as production is scheduled to begin sometimes in the second half of 2010.