The most powerful 4-cylinder production car powered by Honda is not registered for road use in America

Purchasing a Honda-powered performance car is a smart idea because not only do you get access to a decent dose of power, but you also have the confidence that it won’t explode due to Honda’s legendary reliability record. Vehicles like the 2024 Honda Civic Type R combine a whopping 300 horsepower with a tight and agile chassis as well as practicality that makes it useful as a daily driver.

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However, for some this is not enough. To get the most powerful Honda-powered production car for sale, you must only use it on track days. This is the story of one of the craziest tracked vehicles ever built.

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The Ariel Atom has undergone extensive development over the years

Without the efforts of Simon Saunders, who dreamed of creating a modern version of the legendary Lotus 7, the Ariel Atom may well never have been created. With the help of vehicle designer Niki Smart, the two fought to be taken seriously by every manufacturer they approached with their ideas and plans. They finally founded their own company in 1991 and developed a vehicle called the Lightweight Sports Car in 1996.

Essentially just a bare chassis on wheels, the car caused a stir when it debuted at that year’s British Motor Show. The company was subsequently renamed Ariel, after the British engineering company that built all types of two- and four-wheeled vehicles between 1871 and 1977. After further years of development, the first Ariel Atom went into production in 2000.

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Equipped with a 1.8 liter Rover K-series engine, available in 120, 160 and 190 horsepower versions, the Atom was unlike anything else on the road. There was no interior, no doors or any other type of bodywork. There wasn’t even a windshield, so a helmet or goggles were required to prevent bug bullets from obliterating your eyes. A successor model called the Atom 2 was launched in 2003 and was the model that began the company’s long partnership with Honda.

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A bulletproof 220 hp K20 four-cylinder was used, which increased the speed even further. Power was transferred to the rear wheels via a six-speed transmission and its extremely low weight of 1,349 pounds allowed it to accelerate to 60 mph in just 3.5 seconds. Given its relatively low power and finely tuned chassis and suspension, the Atom proved popular with driving enthusiasts. But it’s probably best known for nearly blowing Jeremy Clarkson’s face off when he tested it on Top Gear in 2005. The Brit tested the 300 hp supercharged version of the car released this year.

The Ariel 4R is a hardcore version of an already proven sports car

Fast forward the clock to today, and the Atom has seen many developments that have helped increase its performance even further. The Atom 4 made its debut in 2018 and was released a year later. The car received the latest turbocharged 2.0-liter Honda K20C1 engine used in the 2017 FK8 Civic Type R. This meant 321 hp and 310 lb-ft of torque were available, although the extra grunt was just a side effect of the key developments.

A stiffer titanium chassis was introduced, made stronger and stiffer through the use of larger tubes. The suspension geometry has also been revised to improve squat and dive characteristics, while the aerodynamics have also been completely revised. Because Ariel engineers had never used computational fluid dynamics (CFD) to evaluate aerodynamics before, they discovered that the airbox on the previous Atom had directed air away from the rear wing, rendering it unusable. After a redesign of the airbox and rear of the car, these issues were resolved and the aero surfaces on the 4 were able to reach their full potential.

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The 4R turns the dial to 11

And so we come to the Atom 4R, which takes all the elements of the revolutionary Atom 4 and pushes the boundaries even further. Ariel redesigned the cooling system and introduced a new intercooler to make the K20C1 run even more powerfully. Overall cooling has been increased by 55% compared to the standard Atom 4. This increases the power to up to 400 hp and the torque to 368 lb-ft. A new Quaife six-speed sequential gearbox was also brought to further improve acceleration, while adjustable Öhlins dampers and springs were combined with the standard Ariel pushrod suspension to further improve handling. New aluminum steering knuckles with aerodynamically designed wishbones and pushrods not only help reduce weight, but also reduce air resistance.

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The most obvious change to the 4R is its aggressive aerodynamic package with a new front splitter and rear wing. The components, again developed using CFD, increase the vehicle’s downforce by around 240 pounds at speeds of just 70 miles per hour, providing significantly more grip in fast corners. The 4R also features a set of upgraded carbon ceramic brakes that reduce fade under heavy use. In combination with carbon fiber wheels, these components reduce the overall weight of the vehicle by 23 kilograms.

The Atom 4R cannot be used on American roads

The result of these improvements is a 0-60 mph time of 2.7 seconds, although the huge cornering speeds it can achieve, as well as how late it can brake into a corner, are its real talents. However, if you want to electrify your way to work, you will have to make do with the standard Atom. The use of the 4R on normal roads in the United States is illegal and is actually classified as an “off-road vehicle” under American law.

Of course, that doesn’t mean you can drive it off-road; The brand’s Nomad model is better for this if you so desire. You can only use the 4R on non-public roads, such as racetracks. This is because the Atom 4R has not been crash tested to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration standard, meaning it cannot be used on normal roads nor does it have a mandatory windshield. Conducting crash tests can be costly for small-volume manufacturers like Ariel, so they decided to offer the 4R in the States as a track-only car.

However, given the performance the car is capable of, you could only experience a fraction of it on the road anyway.

There is also a V8-powered Atom

If the 400 hp Atom 4R sounds extreme enough, then you’re better off staying away from the Atom 500. Launched in 2010, the 500 featured a 500 horsepower 3.0-liter V8 powerplant developed by independent engine builder John Hartley Enterprises by combining two Suzuki Hayabusa superbike engines. Combined with a curb weight of just 1,213 pounds, the Atom 500 had an output per ton of 900 horsepower. This allowed it to accelerate to 60 miles per hour in just 2.3 seconds, making it the fastest Atom ever built.

To accommodate the V8’s additional power, the 500 was also equipped with an improved Sadev six-speed sequential gearbox. Like its younger 4R brother, the 500 was fitted with a significantly advanced aero package to keep it on the road at high speeds, while its body panels were made from carbon fiber to make its ridiculous weight a reality.

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Only 25 examples of the 500 were ever built, but it showed what Ariel was capable of when faced with an engine twice as powerful as the standard Atoms’ engines.

Sources:
Ariel.