Meet a pocket rocket

It's highly stimulating yet perfectly legal. DAVID LINKLATER finds the Ariel Atom 2 roadster the closest you can get to a racing car on the road

Contrary to what your health professional may say, you can do it without protection. A helmet is certainly the sensible choice when piloting the stripped-bare Ariel Atom 2 roadster, but a few minutes at 100km/h with nothing on your nonce save a sturdy pair of sunglasses is a thrill that should not be missed.

That's if you can endure the bugs ... and the mental images of rock-hard road debris being thrown up from passing trucks.

There are minimalist sports cars - and then there's the Atom, surely the closest you can get to driving a racing car on the road.

Just launched in New Zealand, the Atom is British designer Simon Saunders' idea of an updated Lotus Seven.

The first Atom was developed in 1999, mainly as a track-day vehicle and powered by a Rover K-series engine. But the latest road-legal Atom 2 takes things up a notch, with a 165kW Honda Type-R VTEC engine driving the rear wheels through a close-ratio six-speed manual gearbox.

With a kerb weight of just 520kg, performance is phenomenal: 0-100km/h in a claimed 3.7 seconds.

Less costs rather more in supercar world. Springs, dampers, brakes and wheels can be specified in different levels.

The basic car is around $98,000, but the three Atoms already in the country are at a higher specification, running between $109,422 and $112,062. Sales (and presumably more cars) will be up and running in July.

It's a lot of money for a car with no windscreen or side panels (if you really must, both are an option), but you are getting something akin to an automotive work of art.

Aside from the astonishing special effect that occurs when you hit the go-pedal, the Ariel's large-diameter steel tube chassis is wonderful to look at and beautifully made.

It also provides the driver and passenger with a super-strong safety structure, although there are extra mountings provided for a full racing roll-cage.

Suspension front and rear is by unequal-length wishbones with inboard springs and dampers - but then you can see all that for yourself ...

No need to contort yourself getting into the cabin; simply slide over the chassis structure and into the one-piece moulded driver's seat.

It's surprisingly comfortable, although you'll need to bring a spanner for the first-time adjustment. The driver and passenger chairs are permanently joined together and the whole assembly is simply bolted to the chassis.

It's hard to quantify a car's handling when its abilities far outstrip your own. With the suede-rimmed steering wheel cradled in your hands, the Atom makes other so-called sports cars feel inert and clumsy.

It's fascinating seeing the road surface rushing by through the open frame, or watching the exposed front suspension work so elegantly though bumpy corners.

It's highly stimulating and yet perfectly legal. The Atom's responses are so delicate that you're truly engaged in the act of driving at 50km/h. And when you're so low to the ground and exposed to the elements, even 90km/h provides an incredible adrenalin rush.

Out on the track, the Ariel will do 240km/h.

Honda VTEC powerplants are not known for low-down grunt, but in such a light car the 2-litre engine feels incredibly torquey. It pulls strongly from 1500rpm and will haul the Atom along in sixth quite comfortably at 60km/h. Not to mention the stirring noise and sensational throttle response as you rocket towards the 8200rpm redline.

ARE there any downsides?

Accepting that the Atom is intended to be a highly focused sports car, there are remarkably few. On the open road the flimsy rear-vision mirrors vibrate so much, they're practically useless. Ditto the headlights, which are mounted on flexible stalks. And the turning circle is absurdly large, making any inner-city manoeuvre a three-point affair.

Want one? There's no dealer network for the Atom, although the car can be viewed in Auckland at the giant glasshouse that is Custom Fleet's showroom, at 395 Mt Wellington Highway. First point of contact is the local distributor, Open Wheelers (visit www.openwheelers.co.nz).

The company ran a series of test drives this month and more are available, albeit on a booking-only basis.

Also in the pipeline are circuit-based driver training programmes with Auckland-based racing driver Mike Eady.

The car comes with a conditional two-year, unlimited-kilometre warranty and service centres will be set up, depending on where Atom owners live.

One more thing: contrary to how it may look, you can drive the Atom in the rain. Saturday Drive's time behind the wheel coincided with an hour-long downpour. The car is fully waterproofed, and providing you've got that helmet and a waterproof jacket, there's little to stop you enjoying this dynamic masterpiece on damp roads.