2013 Ariel Atom 500 V8

Everything about the Ariel Atom is amazing. Its shape is practically automotive euphoria by itself, and that’s before you get it on the track. To drive one is shocking. The new V8 version takes performance to unprecedented levels and keeps the Atom at the absolute pinnacle of ultimate track toys. Sure it’s street legal, but the Atom is at home at the track or even the drag strip. Ariel claims 0-60 acceleration to be 2.3 seconds. Few motorcycles can even match those numbers; it follows, since Ariel used to build some of the most loved British bikes in history. Here are just a few of the mind-blowing specs that make the Atom 500 what it is: a John Hartley-designed 500 horsepower Ariel 3.0 liter, weighing in at 198 pounds, a Sadev six-speed sequential transmission, Dymag magnesium wheels, combined with its exo-skeleton chassis with carbon fiber body panels and foils the Atom weighs in at a phenomenal 1,213 pounds. Most drivers won’t even be able to handle this kind of power-to-weight ratio right out of the box, but learning to reel it in will be a lot of fun.