2000s British Cars Archives - CARS // MOTORBIKES

Ariel Atom

In a way, the Ariel Atom was as close as a roadster gets to an F1 car. The lack of headlamps was a dead giveaway! There was not enough frontal area for such fripperies. Anyway, the Atom would be wasted at night. Far better to spend the running costs blitzing daylit open roads. Not that those costs would be too exorbitant. For sure, the Atom could have been filed under ‘pared-down’. It was first glimpsed at Birmingham’s British International Motor Show – in October, ’96. Production began in 2000. Eight more iterations of the Atom would follow. Enthusiasts are hoping for more!

Simplicity was key to the Atom. Read atomic particle simple. Ariel went back to basics – and bare-bone ones, at that. Its weight said it all. Even by stripped-down supercar standards, 1,005lb was light. And it was not just the dearth of standard headlights. The Atom’s ‘cabin’ was minimal, to say the least. Composite bucket seats were about it! Strapped into 4-point race harnesses, though, the two occupants were not going anywhere – except through high-speed bends. With single-seater-style suspension – tuned by Lotus – corners were a gimme.

There are, of course, limits to the Atom/F1 car comparison. It is true to say that a top speed of 150mph might be less than competitive down today’s straights. That was, though, from a 4-cylinder 2-litre engine – the i-VTEC – borrowed from the Japanese market Honda Civic Type R. Likewise, the original 220bhp may be considered down on power for a contemporary Formula One grid. That would, however, be increased to 245bhp with the Atom 2. And 350bhp was available from the supercharged Atom 3.5R. So, with adroit use of the 6-speed ‘box – also sourced from the Civic Type R – scaled-down GP driving was clearly on the cards. To be fair, Ariel Motor Company – based in Crewkerne, Somerset – comprised just seven staffers. The proverbial whip was cracked by boss Simon Saunders. In the past, he had worked at Aston-Martin and GM. Styling was by Niki Smart. At the time, he was studying transport design at Coventry University. British Steel and TWR were among the sponsors of the student-led project. Asking price for the Ariel Atom was £26,000. Not half bad – especially for owners with vivid imaginations. For, it would not be too far-fetched – on a sunny day, at a twisty track – to feel yourself capable of similar feats to drivers of, say, your average F1 car. Up and Atom, as it were!

TVR Sagaris

If you bought a TVR Sagaris new, you got a fiver change from £50K. It did not, though, come with any airs and graces attached. Built in Blackpool – on England’s NW coast – the Sagaris delivered no-frills performance – and plenty of it. No-frills, yes – but not no-thrills. A top speed of 175mph made sure of that.

A swift glance at the Sagaris spoke volumes. The transparent rear wing could not have been clearer … in terms of the car’s intent, that is. If you were still in doubt, an array of bonnet vents gave the game away. Does a road car really need to breathe so deeply, some might ask? Nikolai Smolenski – TVR’s new owner – obviously thought so. He was a young Russian oligarch – and not one for leaving things to chance. In the past, TVR had caught flak over build quality. To be fair, as a small manufacturer of exotic machinery, it was always a risk. Smolenski, then, opted to up the ante, reliability-wise. How much he succeeded is a moot point. Anyway, a sturdy roll-cage was duly installed – which took care of over-zealous pedal-prodders, at least!

Certainly, the Sagaris’ straight-six engine called for care. The all-aluminium unit was deceptively pretty. On top of a 406bhp output, it turned over 349lb/ft of torque. As a result, the Sagaris rocketed from 0-60 in 3.7s. 0-100 took just 8.1s. Figures like that mean precision engineering. With a bit of Northern grit thrown in, of course. After all, sports car development is no bowl of cherries! But, while the TVR Sagaris did not stand on ceremony, it was bespoke – not basic!

Ascari KZ1

The story of Ascari Cars – and the KZ1 – began in ’95. The firm was based in Dorset, England. It was named after Alberto Ascari – the first double F1 champion. The new enterprise had a single objective – to build a supercar. The result was the Ascari Ecosse. It was designed by Lee Noble – who would later start up his own supercar marque. The Ecosse was fast … as in, 200mph fast! Only 17 Ecosses, though, were sold. That was sufficient, however, to get the attention of Klaas Zwart – a Dutch business magnate. He subsequently bought Ascari. The company relocated – to Banbury, Oxfordshire. It is a region renowned for high-grade motorsport and its associated activities.

Released in ’03, the KZ1 was nominally a roadster. But, it had racing running through its finely-tuned veins. The beating heart of the car was a V8 engine. It had been transplanted from the BMW M5. Ascari’s engineers, however, hauled out 100 more horses from the standard saloon car unit. Asa result, output rose to 500bhp. The motor was mated to a 6-speed CIMA transmission. The chassis – sorted by ex-Lotus staff – was race-bred. The tub and body were cut from carbon-fibre. The KZ1 had a drag coefficient of just 0.35. Slippery stuff, indeed! Nonetheless, super-stiff ventilated discs stopped it on a sixpence.

Like its Ecosse predecessor, the KZ1 topped out at 200mph. 0-60 arrived in 3.8s. 0-100, in 8.3. As you would expect, stats like that set you back £235,000. But, you also got a leather and polished-aluminium cockpit, for your outlay. And air conditioning. Plus – last but not least – access to your own purpose-built test-track. As a KZ1 owner, Race Resort Ascari was at your disposal. CEO Klaas Zwart built it for his own private use … and for those who purchased his products. Zwart’s custom design ‘borrowed’ corners from the world’s finest circuits – and shifted them to Spain. Perfect, then, for putting your new KZ1 through its paces. Alberto Ascari would surely have approved!

Noble M15

When it came to machines like the M15, Noble’s sports car credo was simple. Let the driver do the driving! That was in sharp contrast to many other manufacturers – who were happy to let gizmos have half the input. To Lee Noble, half the input meant half the fun! Founded in ’99, his firm shot straight out of the automotive blocks. The Noble M10 – released the same year – did 170mph. And with a normally aspirated engine! Its light plastic bodywork was key to that speed. The Noble M12 moved things up another gear. Its turbocharged Ford motor was really more racer, than roadster. Time to throttle back a tad.

The M15 was launched in 2006. Pundits – Top Gear amongst them – praised its performance. 185mph was on tap – with 0-60 coming up in 3.4s. The twin turbocharged Ford Duratec engine made 455bhp. And the power was smoothly delivered. As Lee Noble had clarified – his cars were about the total driving experience. The M15’s motor was mounted longitudinally. That evened out weight distribution – helping handling. The M15’s purposeful poise was propped up by a space-frame chassis. Topping things off was an integral rollcage.

The M15’s cabin was more than comfortable. There were electric windows – and sat-nav. Traction control and ABS, too. Did that border on computerised hand-holding? Possibly … but, then, Noble did have a duty to protect its customers! And their wallets, for that matter. By supercar standards, the M15 came cheap. £74,950 was loose change compared with some of its peers!