@@savagegeese yay Illinois politics. I left there when I enlisted and refuse to go back after I'm done. I was wondering how you registered it for street use. Figured you tried the kit car clause thing
Mark, thank you for taking me for a ride in your Ariel Atom at the Speed Academy track day in 2019! Sitting that low being able to see every control and movement of the front suspension and front tires was unreal, the induction sound beside our ears was intoxicating, and the fact you were pulling off lap times faster than the quickest 991.2 GT3 RS's while going only like 8-9/10ths was wild! Merry Christmas, hope to see you and Jack next year once this situation blows over :)
My dad was a engineer with GM in the 50's & 60's. While most of his pursuits were the building of 'daily drivers'....I bet he would have gotten a kick out of this video. While he would scoff at the sheer power and lack of daily driver features...the WWII fighter pilot in him would have him secretly smiling.
I owned an Ariel Atom made by Brammo Motorsports in Oregon powered by a supercharged Cobalt SS motor for 7 years. It was like driving a 4 wheel sportbike, a lot of fun. The downside is the attention the car gets, as it gets old real quick. I drove my Atom across country from Buffalo to Los Angeles, a memorable trip.
Savagegeese and Jack: two guys not throwing fake, cocaine-fuel laughs in every 8.6 seconds like Doug Demuro. Besides that, so much respect. I had zero interest in this car and still don't. It was the delivery that said I had to watch this. PS- Turboski needs a cameo here and there
owned one for three years, living in Europe. Sold it since i did not want to buy a trailer, and I got tired before I reached the race track. On the street it gets the most thumbs up of any car I have ever been in, but you reach jailtime speeds so quickly that after a few years I decided it was better to sell it. Miss it a lot
Your vids are never about entertainment and only about education. That’s why I watched this vid regarding a car I have never wanted to own - because you made it.
My cats breath smells like cat food ... But in all seriousness at 16:30 it’s nice to see Mr. Goose truly enjoying himself as an enthusiast in his own vehicle after all these years of entertaining us with reviews
If you’ve had the gift of driving a high power to weight ratio open wheeled race car on a track you’d know that statement was not an exaggeration. Once you start to feel like it’s not going to kill you, you can take it to the limit. And when you feel you can’t die, take it past the limit.
I could imagine they kept in mind that on the street there might be leaves getting stuck on the radiator grills, which could significantly reduce cooling efficency. ...On second thought, you can probably just reach back with one hand and remove them. 😄 I do not want to imagine it's overcooled so that tuners can increase engine performance. (Generally I think considering the car is kind of a special case regarding modern regulations, it would be perfect with an S2000-like engine. Maybe even just a 1.6. Imagine the induction noise next to your ears at 9000 rpm.)
I'm also an Atom owner (Spec Racer) and this rings very true. While I'd love for mine to be street legal to get in more driving, I'd probably hate it on the street most of the time.
Shout out to Thallman's!! I get my cars aligned there too! Such stand up dudes. Years ago, I went there to align my BRZ and was more or less clueless, and they helped me understand the basics of aligning, the differences between street and track setups, how corner balancing works, etc.
I've been a passenger in the supercharged version of these, absolutely loved it. Definiately on my dream list. I'm not really fond of the idea of the turbo on these, I prefer listening to the supercharger
This is an amazingly intimate video. And also the quality of the audio in the driving segment (with wind from basically every direction) is just fantastic.
Who cares if it has Montana plates. Mr. Goose probably did it as a joke but even if not, the man sticks it to us every way it can, why not save a few bucks if you can. I’d love to own an Atom someday🤞.
Johnny Bravo the atom wouldn’t be my first choice for a street car, but I’d love to have one as a part of my “dream collection” to use as a track toy and occasional canyon runner.
I stumbled upon your review for the XSE V6 that sold me and ever since then I became a 1st time Camry XSE V6 owner because of how well your videos are made. I enjoy seeing these videos even if I'll never own a car like this. Happy Holidays to you and your family as well as Jack the behemoth
Love this. And your conclusion is spot on. I daily-drove a modified Lotus Exige S for seven years, and every day you weigh those pros and cons - how much do I love driving this vs. how much of a pain (from an attention/comfort perspective) is it to drive. If you can afford to keep cars like this as a third or fourth car - where you always have the option of avoiding the cons - I'd absolutely own one just for that sheer thrill that you cannot get from those "other sports cars." But never fool yourself that it is like those other cars. It's not. It's a race car, only technically tamed for the street.
Everything you wanted to know about owning and driving an Atom but had nobody to ask! Excellent, excellent, excellent! This car kind of reminds me of the Griffith in the mid-1960 which was a TVR chassis with a 260 Ford V8 in it. The car sold for a tad over $4,000, weighed something like 1,300 lbs, had a 0 to 60 mph time of 3.8" and a theoretical top speed of something like 140. Trouble was it could be very squirrelly to drive because of the power to weight ratio. The car also suffered from too small a radiator due to the lack of space in front of the engine and it tended to overheat constantly.
There is no perfect car. This is great for the track, though I probably wouldn't have the turbocharged one, but a perfect track tool is never going to be great on the street.
@@musguelha14 I think you’re wrong. The perfect car is probably an Acura Integra, close seconds would be s2000, Ariel atom and lotus Elise. But you need to understand the Integra drives in a fwd fashion, and most car enthusiast want RWD. Just my 2 cents.
@@youngb1ood Just as I said, maybe a perfect car for a spirited drive (for you), not a perfect car overall. For a long cross country trip or even just daily driving the Integra is very far from perfect. It's about choosing the tool for the job.
As a owner of a 3RS I think you are spot on in your review . These cars will not allow any lack of focus. But boy do they reward when you get it right . So very worth it !!!!
I liked getting a sense of the geography of the area around your shop... seeing the familiar streets and intersections from your videos in relation to your garage was cathartic for me somehow lol
@@HockeyVictory66 That’s a concern too, but I’m mostly worried about his neck. When you’re strapped into a seat solidly and tightly, the G-Forces on your head in case of an impact can snap it. That’s what the HANS devices prevent (and those attach to a helmet).
@@bigh8121 Like I wrote above: when you‘re fixed into your seat with a 4 or 5 point harness, your body can‘t move during an impact. Your head can, tho, and at dozens of g‘s, it imparts a LOT of force on your neck when it snaps forward. This can break your neck, and will most certainly at least injure you. HANS (head and neck support) devices are therefore mandated in motorsport nowadays, they tie your helmet to a collar around your shoulders, neck and chest and stop the heat from moving to far forward, thus protecting the neck. They require a helmet to attach to, tho, so you can’t wear them w/o one.
You are a natural behind the camera. You know your stuff. Great camera work and audio. I'd buy one in a heartbeat if it was street legal where I live. I have one of the nicest tracks in North America an hour from where I live.
great video Goose Man. I'm an insurance agent and i appreciate you showing which company will insure it and at what cost. I've never come across a customer with an Atom, but it's good to know, just in case.
Always enjoy your in-depth overviews. Many of us will probably never own these sorts of cars, so it's fun to learn about them in ways only an owner could! (That said, this is a bucket list car for me!)
@@firstnamelastname-zo5gd nah he just caught himself off guard and turned his stomach a bit I think, you can even hear in the seconds before he says it
One of the best car videos ever made! As a car enthusiast with (car) commitment issues, I really liked how you covered the overall real-world experience that are relevant to owners. The wisdom of "execution is always different than the idea..." is so true - especially when it comes to cars. Thank you for the excellent video... and restoring my faith in the RU-vid car review segment! Subscribed!
Thank you for the in depth information. As one who has always desired Atom ownership, this video brought to light things I hadn't considered. What an amazing automobile.
It is always good when someone owns a special car and you get the good bad and the ugly and everthing else tht comes with ownership good luck on your next amazing ride
@@louiearmstrong Registering in Montana is a hell of a lot cheaper than other states. You pay less than half of what you would in other states. In some, you pay a fraction. Of course, there are caveats such as living/working in the state.
I drove a 22 year old car. Maruti 800. A direct linkage to the gearbox. Pinion rack steering wheel. And no abs. It never had performance but you could feel the road! New cars are so much better in refinement, safety and power. I guess this is the car with both haha. Awesome video. No one does it like this!
Thanks for this most thorough overview. If I ever had any thoughts about maybe, someday getting an Ariel Atom, I no longer do. There’s a bunch of folks nearby who proudly dive into the icy waters off Coney Island every New Year’s Day. I don’t believe I’ll be joining them either.
Thanks for posting this! I couldn't see owning one but sure would like to rent one for a track day or two! Hearing that turbo spool up and seeing the blazing acceleration is truly unforgettable. Thanks again Sir savagegeese...
you guys made the Ariel atom better.. i dont own one but i'm a big fan.. just an amazing little go cart.. i love the fact that it s running on a simple Honda engine
Running down the list here, myself as a semi novice semi amateur, you can really respect his experience with track driving. He's a car guy who spent more time modifying cars for the purpose of track driving vs a guy like me who modifies just to go fast and keep throwing parts at it cause it's fun. The parts list is insane. Decently priced stuff (lol more like fancy) good running hardware. You want this car if you have one of those fancy homes built right on a track and all you gotta do is beat on it. Super clean Mark. I'm glad you got to enjoy it (wink) for the time you had it. Color me shocked you didnt have penske shocks on it
Montana is one of the few states that will title a atom, morgan or caterham from new. Which if you want to drive the atom as a street vehicle is one of the many issues.
Thank you for this video. I'm quickly realizing why the S2000 and MX5 are so good. I'm now looking at a 124 Spider Abarth. I'm at my threshold with a 4C and that's not nearly as spartan as the Ariel Atom 3.
I was pleasantly surprised that Mr. Goose owns this car. After following him for a while and enjoying his clinical and unbiased technical reviews of cars I would not have put the two together. But I am glad I was wrong.
This is the reason for me to watch your videos. It's so trustfully, cause its your car but you can give us the pros and cons realisticly, is not bias. I would like if you a similar videos to the BAC mono
