Welcome Aboard the FASTEST taxi service in the world!
Come and find us in 2010! If you can find our racing dates on the calendar, you can request for a free ride...
The goal is simple, just to share the experience of being atomized like a particle accelerator! So superglue your dental protesis and bring a helmet to keep your toupet in or your 500EU brushing together!
There will be days organized around different race tracks in France, Belgium, Germany which you can find sort by date here events list or in our calendar. Holland, Italy, Spain, Portugal and the UK later depending on demand and success (we can't hide the fact that this is depending on your wildest expectations and recomendations and ours as well!).
I want to die peacefully, not like my grand father's passengers! That's our motto! Also you dont want to die silly without having experienced this!
Just click on our Contact form to reserve a day or a more... You can rent the car for your showroom or expos, side panel advertising and more...
Prices, insurance, safety equipment and all the legal requirements are being worked on and wont be available before end of 2009 but we will do our best effort to accomodate any reasonable request.
Also dont forget to visit our polls so we can learn what you would like to get!
Safe journey! Please dont try to follow too close even if there is no ABS sign...
Dear hackers, trying to log in is futile, we will check who you are... Sorry for the inconvenience, we just dont need more spam or net intrusions. Thanks...
Calendar
Here's our calendar for the year
We do not go to every possible day listed but we can confirm if we will go or not. Send us your email via the Contact form so we can put you in the list. There's limited time and sessions involved usually. Also i dont like to do 3 laps and stop to pick up another 3 lap passenger - not unless there's good tips... :)
Events
Welcome to our events section! We will offer race track days and other events such as shows or demos soon.
For a sorted list of events by dates, please check out our Date Browser or our Calendar
2009
Abbeville with Belgians On Track
March 20th we'll be at Abbeville in France with www.belgiansontrack.be
EMA track day March 1st 2009
Chambley June 13 2009
A nice halfday in Chambley France.
I wont say more than enjoy the ride...
Videos:
Spa June 17 2009
Here you are... A great day at a great circuit...
Thanks very much to the organizers from Belgians on Track. There is a picture gallery here.
The car is still in it's factory setting for suspension, all dampers set at 3. Road tires Toyo C1T.
Best time was 3.03. The best estimated lap was 3.01.
The videos:
Zolder July 3rd of 2009 - Marc Duez Days
A fantastic day in an incredible circuit. T shirt weather (except on the way there in the ardennes) and sun all over. And for a Friday traffic time, there was litterally no one on the road... No radars, no piggies, no road works to speak off... Just the warm air to refresh you...
First few laps to warm up were done with a buddy Giovanni who does quite a bit of racing in BTCC, Belcar and other GT events. Great pilot! This was my first time driving in Zolder although i've driven it extensivelly in Sim Bin's GT-Legends. The game is not exactly the same... There was also a sonometer limit of 94 db and i did a 94.5 on the first round... Easy to fool with a shorter uplift to fifth where the sonos were...
We even had a snap thunderstorm as you can see at the end of the third session.
The drops quickly stopped to go rain on somebody else and we went back to the sunny 26 degrees and sun which dried my NOs polo in an hour flat! Whatever was left humid was quickly dried up in the next session...
Zolder is a very technical circuit demanding on brakes, tires and suspension. It changes direction and attitude almost all the time and you can't really relax for long.
I did 5 out of 6 sessions all of which a pleasure!
Lap times where: 1'54" best laps and 1'50" best theoretical. Semi-slick tires could have helped here.
Nurburgring F1 Circuit August 31 2009
2009 is just the year and today was just the day... The day just swung like jazz, it rocked and rolled, and we went to the ring and back in one piece and a big grin on our faces!
Great weather with clear skies and 24 C, little traffic and a well tempered track day.
The F1 circuit rarely opens but what a pleasure when it does... You see, i played for month after month on this circuit with the SimBin M3 Challenge on that same circuit. I managed to do 2:12 laps and the record was around 2:10... And amazingly, with the Atom i was still 12 seconds away! I can see where i can grab another 10 seconds... But then how can you compare real rubber to virtual rubber? This is not a real race event either and it's more a question of having fun, enjoying the car and the track with everyone else. This was also a great opportunity to practice car-passing...
Well, i'll let you discover the videos and pictures as they come in. We are now equiped with a much better camera and the video support is going to come later with hopefully perfect sound restitution (let's not hold our breath here, coz that's just wishfull thinking for the moment.)
On the technical side, i kept the same tire pressures (.8 at front and 1.0 at the back cold) and the rebound was stiffened one notch for the next session with good results... The car didn't skid more...
Here's the videos:
Session 1:
currently uploading
Session 2:
And here's the pictures...
Spa Francorchamps with other Atoms
We'll join other Atoms on this track day in Spa. Not sure we'll drive the car yet.
2010
Atom X
Atom X was the tenth anniversary of the Ariel Atom factory in Crewkerne near Yeovil in the lovely Sommerset region in the UK.
The event started Saturday with a factory open doors and a parking full of Atoms!
The journey started at 5AM in the fog Friday morning and went on for 500 miles until we got to the factory at 5PM in a cozy 3 Belgian atom convoy!
Thanks go to:
David for the mechanical work, Simon for the help, Tom for the patience and persistence, Arnaud for the guidance in the monsoon, ...
It started months ago, with a leaking fuel tank - but let's skip the story and say that got fixed 3 days before the trip would start...
The bearings, almost blew in my face going to le french Vassim days atomique meeting 3 weeks before Atom X... The fuel tank stopped me and i didn't damage the upright too much just in time - the wheel was smoking when i noticed!!! It was close!!!
After all that stress, the trip started at 5 AM in the fog of Luxemburg and went unchallenged and under the sun until 5PM at the factory parking!
Thanks to all the Ariel factory, you're the best! Having a pit team helping us at Goodwood or reviving my battery before was totally awesome!
The factory activities were really nice!!! Im going to have to talk to my mechanic about how long it takes to put in the tank though...
The treasure hunt was bliss for the eyes in the gorgeous country side and it was hilarious meeting atoms left and right at any crossroads! A pigeon flew right in front of us no more than 20 centimeters from our dodging faces! The stupidity of not wearing a helmet was again made evident when the rain started and again when we took a dirt road to catch a missed turn... The Ariel Atom is just as fun on the dirt guys!!!!
The dinner was fantastic, the AA500 is just fingerliking good! And the ambiance was just totally awesome!
The trip to the karting was a little hectic but finally not so bad!!! We didn't get lost, which i still dont know how it happened, we made at least 4 U turns! GPS issues not helping of course! LOL
The karting was awesome! Memories of doing the 24 hours of Spa under the rain and mud and stones... I can't believe i got black flagged at the end! But i deserved it for spacing out the yellow flag rules! After the pit stop for the black flag, the race transformed into first to the flag! It was just bananas! Awesome finish!
The camping at the Goodwood hotel was royale compared to the factory field! Nice fairway grass, a bit hard but uniform at least... ;) The golf club's facilities were a notch up too... And the wake up call Monday by some wondering bird was really funny! We thought it was the other tent rookooling...
A great gala dinner, i was just sorry i hadn't rented a tux... Nah... it was just great! If anyone has got the video of the speech by Richard, please post!!!
The next day was just as awesome, i was careful learning the track but i really took off after a lap with Keith! He's really awesome!!! The parade was fabulous, it was all magic!
Like a 5 day orgasm!
The trip back was really under the deluge! The monsoon, aquaplaning, driving blind, and water in and out the visor! 12 hours of almost submarining or driving on ice! The almost slick front tires didn't help but surprisingly really gripped well! I managed to get home!
Thanks to Laurent, Popol, Elisabeth, Geoffroy, Jerome and Arnaud for their companionship along the road!
Thanks to all of your for the great time!
Thanks to Calscot for his ring laps and Ben Yeats for the message! Thanks to all again a million times!
I think i posted movies and pictures above! Enjoy!
Oh my, back to earth now!
Mettet April 6 2010
The first Atomic track-day of 2010
First time in the circuit of Jules Tacheny in Mettet, Belgium, renowned for a famous bike (and superbike category) racing...
This new circuit was built just end of last year and after missing a first event for it which was fully booked, overly cold and wet forecast, but got a late reservation for but for which i couldn't go due to the bimmer having an engine failure, the weather being really crappy... Another Atom was there (right Popol?) but i think he might not want to relate it
But i had a second chance to another track-day next Tuesday (the 6th) with a "tuning" group and which was option-reservation (not prepaid in case of rain). Then Sunday i get an email saying that's fully booked, sorry but do please contact us for our next track days email... Hmmm An email and a call later, the good luck charm got me in! The guy didn't tell me another 2 atoms would be there!
So comes the morning... -4 degrees C, icy windshields and frosted grass everywhere but dry! Awesome forecast of 13C... My media man/copilot buddy comes over at 7h30 on the dot and we go join my Lotii buddies 20 kms away coming along (they had prepaid Wink) The highway is semi humid, the windchill is unbearable on my OMP gloves and one jacket is not enough! I discovered how make a telluric laser at certain speeds but don't tell anyone!)
Anyway, bla bla bla freezing fingers, added an extra jacket, ski gloves (still not enough)... we get there...
Car list for a tuning group is rather flattering! A couple Hondas, a few Nissans... a GTR, 2 Gallardos, 997 GT3s, Gineta (?), Alpine A311, 211, Exiges, Elises, 2 cats, 911s, M3s, Honda Civic (R? Grin), a Viper... And only 2 atoms since one had a wheel bearing or upright problem...
You can see some pictures here:
http://www.as-pictures.be/v/Divers_001/album_001/racing2010/mettet1/part1/
(navigate around for more - i sent you to Atom related album directly naturally)
Not a drift crowd at all, everyone respected the rear view mirror etiquette + indicator (im parked here) and it was all really without any incidents... Except the Viper loosing it's oil stocks on the pit lane... An Open Kaddet with a lotus badge making smoke screens and a Sub going of its rails into a sand trap (better suited terrain?)....
Anyway, the track is short (1:14 a lap avg in an atom, 1:15 for a good Elise 160 pilot), technical, a good learning track... 2 nice straights, lots of twisties, 2 hairpins and a corkscrew... As it's my first track day of the year, a new track to learn and the temps are cold, the Atom is nervous, tires don't warm up, grip is scarce but damn it's fun... I keep forgetting all the buttons and missed launching and turning off the camera, dl1 4 out of 6 times! (im ordering a display for that matter)
I kept all the suspension settings and pressures the same just to get the feel of the car... Remember all the reflexes and damn it was fun... No late braking scares, just a few oversteer when i didn't get the brake-let off-accelerate rhythm right...
Anyway, i'll skip all the talk and let you enjoy a few videos...
First credit to the Atom guy there that was going faster than me!
A bird view camera
View on the front A arm
And one from the copilot's view
What else can i say?
Let my passenger's view show you... Thanks Vincent for his filming...
A great sunny racing day! Just about the best way to start the season!
Thanks to Anthony for the filming and Coyote for the radars!
Spa Francorchamps May 24 2010
A gorgeous day to say the least! Spa at it's finest!
First time with the semi slick tires... And times dropped 3 seconds on average! 2009 was with Toyo C1T road tires and little experience and a crappy data-logger - a 2:58:59 recorded... This year with a season's experience, Toyo r888's times were 2:55 on average, a 2:53 minimum and a 2:49 theoretical... And they tell me my suspension is in need of a refurbishing... I know there's a couple curves I can take faster, but more laps needed...
Anyway, enough talk, here's the onboard movie of it, enjoy...
2011
Mettet 28/03/2011
Spa 23/05/2011
Latest News
This is an upcoming feature of the website... More news later ;)
New dates for the 2010 calendar...
Aw right, the year starts slowly with the snow but we're already booking one 1500 miles trip to the UK for the 10th anniversary of the Ariel Atom, in the Atom of course...
Will we go to the Nurburgring every weekday after work like last august?
Who knows, but we got plans for the Atom and here's a few keywords...
Spa, Abbeville, Chambley, Zolder?, Mettet (new in Belgium), Hockenheim, Dijon, Nurburg F1...
And we'll have regular car updates and pictures to show... See you soon!
Polls
Have you heard of the Ariel Atom?
Have you ridden in an Atom before?
I've been to the racetrack
This Taxi Service is
Race Tracks
These are the racetracks we will serve
Abbeville
A small but technically challenging circuit located in Picardie, France. Click here for a map.
The Official Web site: Stadium-Automobile.fr
Chambley
A great circuit for testing the Ariel Atom's brakes and suspension... technical, slow, medium and one fast parabolic turn and lots of twisties...
Spa Francorchamps
The 2nd longuest racing circuit in the world. Located between Francorchamps and Stavelog in Belgium. Click here for a map.
The circuit is considered one of the most beautiful Formula 1 race tracks out there by a majority of the pilots. It's curves are fast and challenging with plenty of speed and altitude changes.
The Nurburgring
The longest circuit in the world! Also known as the Green Hell. Located in the Eifel region in Germany between Trier and Koblenz. You can see it in the map here.
This race track is 20 kilometers long, 22 if you count the Formula 1 race track. Both are combined for special events such as the 24 hours of the Nurburgring.
The race track is currently used by car manufacturers and enthusiasts to test their wheels and balls of steel.
Here's an older preview but so well described
But it could actually look more like this...
The Nurburgring
Also known as the widow maker and Green Hell. The Nurburgring is the longuest race track in the world.
Zolder
Another lesser known Belgian racetrack.
Quite famous in the 70's before people started complaining about the noise and all that... I wont recommend it as i got treated really badly by the flemish people there...
The Taxi Service
Our taxi service is guaranteed to be the quickest from A to B and and take you in thermonuclear style faster than 99% of the population! You will be among the fastest people who have lapped the circuit in a formula 1 like experience!
Please check our Calendar and use the contact form to inquire about available details, availability and prices.
We can reserve the car for you or a group for different sessions or times at race track events.
Track day organizers can also rent the car and a pilot for full or half days. Prices and arrangements may vary from one race track to another.
Finally, the Atom may be reserved for one or more days for photo shoots, interviews, showroom displays with varying displays and possibilities of color matching for body panels.
Unfortunately we do NOT taxi at the Nurburgring but we can always take your company logo along for hundreds to watch, film and take pictures of. Few cars gather as much attention anywhere an an Ariel Atom!
We hope to hear you whistle us soon!
Display Rental
Rent the Atom for display in your showroom, expo stand or any other event.
More info will be available later!
Sponsoring
Nothing runs without a little promotion... And the Ariel Atom is not shy of attracting lots if not all the attention! It will freeze a running pedestrian in his tracks or give anyone a solid shock they can associate with your brand!
No car i know, short of driving a Formula 1 in the streets (and we know how insanely short that would be), gets this much attention, phone pictures taken, etc...
The Ariel Atom comes with easily exchangeable panels all around. We can add your logo or paint the panels in your colors for display and advertising for different events, expos, sales promotions and even shop display.
Different rates will apply depending on the size, duration of the promotion or the modifications to be made.
We can provide professional quality photography for printing and internet media displays as well.
Please contact in advance to reserve your spot.
Track Day Taxi
Reserve your laps on a race track. More info will be available later!
The car Specs and some videos
The Ariel Atom is by far one of the coolest cars I've ever ridden in... So I had to get one!
It is Yellow, weights only 499 kilograms more than a banana! It's K20A 2.0L Honda engine - usually found under the hood of a Japanese Honda Civic Type R - this nice little engine tuned by the factory provides 245 BHP and 155lb/ft or torque. There's even a possible factory sanctioned upgrade with a supercharger to bring the power up to 300 BHP! A maximum of 240 kph for the 245 HP version and you imagine the rest... You should feel the draft by then...
The result is instant acceleration! 0-100 km/h in just 3.2 seconds. To 160 kph in 10 seconds... In 4th (FOURTH!) gear, you get tunnel vision from the acceleration!
Equipped with 290mm 4 piston brakes, it also stops as fast as it started because there's hardly anything to stop... Mind you, your jaw is more sensitive than the car's components...
Fitted with adjustable double wishbone suspensions, the handling is absolutely astounding. There's not much more to speak of. There are no doors, no windshields, no roof, no air-conditioning, just the basic minimum required.
Maybe there's is not better way to describe it than Top Gear's presenter Jeremy Clarkson... You be the judge or simply wrong...
See for yourself: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WaWoo82zNUA
Or the lamer show, Fifth Gear
Car Specs
Here's the Specs of our Ariel Atom:
Description:
Chassis: Ariel Atom 2
Year 2006
Color: Lamborghini Gallardo Yellow
Engine:
Type: Honda Civer R K20
Oil System: Baffled Sump
Power:245BHP
Torque:
Transmission:
Gearbox: Honda 6-speed
Differential: Quaife Limited Slip Differential
Braking:
Remote brake bias
Alcon 4 pistons 290mm brake kit
Competition Discs/Pads Rear
Suspension:
Adjustable aluminium dampers bump/rebound
Two piece spring kit
Race needle roller bellcranks
Competition Rod Ends
Exhaust:
Stainless Exhaust Silencer
Stainless Exhaust Manifold
Cat Bypass Pipe
Wheels:
16" Magnesuim wheel package
Options:
Quick Release Steering Wheel
Road Pack
High-Level Brake Light
Locking Fuel Cap
Seat Anti-Slip
Alu Gear Knob Handbrake Grip
2" Belt Pads both sides
SVA Test
Clear lenses
2 x 12v feed
Passenger footrest
Stainless fixing kit
Klaxon horn
Media Gallery
Ariel Atom 2 Front
Ariel Atom 2 Rear
Ariel Atom 2 Top
More Datalogger Details
Analysing the Adenau corner to gain 2 seconds...
The new graphic design of the Helmet is finished!
Press and web articles regarding the Atom
Jeremy Clarkson Reviews the Ariel Atom in writing... at the Independent.co.uk
Top Gear articles on the Ariel Atom
How Stuff Works - Ariel Atom
Evo's article on the 245
Wikipedia's entry
The list goes on, just google it!
Videos
Here's some of our infamous videos... Get ready... Hang on...
(give us a minute or two and videos will be here promptly...