Did anyone see it on Top Gear last night?

500 hp, 550 Kg.

Looked like a real handful though when they drove it, very tricky in the corners.

I think it did the test track in 1 sec less than the Veyron? I'm actually surprised it was not faster and I wonder if the Atom chassis is struggling with the power and weight of a V8?

 

It was on Fifth Gear on Friday aswell doing a hillclimb in Gurston. Broke the record aswell I wouldnt mind a go if i had a spare 150k

 

I wonder if it would be cheaper to buy a standard atom, forge the hell out of the engine and run massive boost with a massive turbo....get the same power, and bolt on some chav spoilers?

 

The Chinese need to do a knock off for about 30 grand.

 

Apparently the gearbox is around 50k alone.

 

the forumla you applied to your skyline won't work in the atom either.....back to square one for you

 

Much as I'd love to try one around a track, I think I'd get the biggest grin factor from taking that to Sainsburys!

 

There would be nowhere to put your Jamie Oliver sausages though!

 

Isn't an Ultima GTR quicker round the TG track for less? Plus you get a roof, space that more or less passes for a boot, and all sorts.

 

IMO the rear wheels need to be twice the width and would look even more aggressive too

 

Would be undriveable IMO...Everytime the turbo spins up it would go sideways. Plus it'd be heavier.

N/A (or supercharged) gives a much more progressive and controllable throttle.

The Atom's V8 is two Suzuki Hayabusa cylinder heads on a common crankcase - very light and very revvy. It weighs just 90kg in 500bhp supercharged form (75kg in N/A); lighter than most production car-derived inline 4pots. Its not exclusive to the Atom; The engine was first seen in the caterham RST made by Mountune/Motopower/Russell Savory, and thats was just as stupidly fast and even more of a handful.

Its not unique though....there are a few companies out there both in the EU and USA that have made their own v8 using motorbike cylinder heads. Here they offer a similar spec unit with 400BHP for $27,700 http://www.h1v8.com/h1h2pricing.html (plus engine management). A decent second hand Atom is around £35K, so that leaves plenty of overhead to sort the gearbox, brakes, suspension and aerodynamics.