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We know it's December and most thoughts of driving a car with no top or heater are the furthest thing from your mind, but if you were considering ordering an Ariel Atom in the spring, you'd better add it to your Christmas wish list in bold letters. As of December 29th, Brammo Motorsports, makers of the Atom, are upping the base price by around $4,500. They will honor 2006 pricing on all orders placed before the December 29th cutoff.
It seems that the GM-sourced Ecotec four-cylinder engine powering the Atom was promotionally priced to get them out into the marketplace. Effective January 1, the promotion ends and the substantial price increase will have to be passed on to the consumer.
Click here to go to the company's website to spec out your own Atom. If you get your order in for Christmas, before the price increase, the current waiting list dictates that your Ariel Atom should be ready for delivery just as the weather breaks and you can actually enjoy the driving attributes without the concern for frostbite.
[Source: Winding Road]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Mike @ Dec 14th 2006 6:08PM
Sorry, that engine is not worth 4.5k PERIOD, let along 4.5k MORE than it was worth yesterday.
Give me the Honda K20 or give me a Lotus.
Mike @ Dec 14th 2006 6:40PM
Mike, you are retarded.
the GM ecotech has been modded to more than 1000hp, and easily/reliably modded to 450+ hp.
put your fanboyism and bias aside and realize it is a good engine.
Fabulo @ Dec 14th 2006 6:46PM
I know very little about buying engines to put in your own car, but 5 minutes with Google reveals that some company are willing to sell you a 2.4 ecotech (the one found in the solstice or HHR) for about $3,000.
http://www.crateenginedepot.com/store/4-cyl-engines-C61.aspx
Now I don't know if it's the one that arielatom puts in their roadster, and their web site is designed so you can't 'build your own' without signing up (nice!) and no, I have not received a password yet...
Maybe it's the 2.0 T (or is it supercharged?) but in anycase it can't be much more than 3G.
So the $4,500 hike is just a hike, with a lame justification.
Then again, if I was to get a kit car I'd get a Carterham.
Andy Keck @ Dec 14th 2006 6:53PM
Hell, the Ecotec was _designed_ by Lotus...
http://www.grouplotus.com/generic/generic.php?page=25
"Some of Lotus Engineering's work may come as a surprise to you. Did you know, for instance, that many of General Motor's Vauxhall/Opel ECOTEC (which stands for Ecology, Economy, and Technology) engines, as fitted in the Corsa, Astra and Vectra vehicles, were developed by Lotus Engineering?"
Scott @ Dec 14th 2006 6:55PM
Second price increase this quarter... their prices went up 8% just a couple months ago.
"Due to the cost increases to us by our material, parts and shipping suppliers, we are going to be raising the price on the Ariel Atom 2 product line effective October 15th, 2006. The price increase will vary by component, but the price increase is approximately 8% for all of the chassis configurations, varying up to 15% for some options and upgrades."
It just gets closer and closer to TRex pricing, imo.
Max @ Dec 14th 2006 7:07PM
I gotta agree with everyone else here. There is no way the $4,500 price hike is SOLELY attributable to the increased cost of the engine.
Granted, someone in the market for the Ariel probably won't change their mind because of the increased cost. But it would be nice if they just came out and said that the cost of producing the car increased and we are passing that on to the consumer.
jfrolang @ Dec 14th 2006 7:10PM
I don't care if Ferrari designed the ecotec, I'd still much prefer the supercharged K20.
vectorbug @ Dec 14th 2006 8:22PM
"7. I don't care if Ferrari designed the ecotec, I'd still much prefer the supercharged K20."
haha I love the internet. Its like a little window into the special ed class that is planet Earth.
Phillp @ Dec 14th 2006 8:33PM
What kind of moron would pay $40K-$45K for such a piece of junk!
Simply mind boggling! No way does the car, minus the engine cost more than even $4000 to build.
You can have a go-cart for $1500, which the atom basically is.
Is it any wonder the British auto industry collapsed when they build such overpriced junk.
Steve2 @ Dec 14th 2006 8:51PM
I can't imagine an EcoTec can cost $4.5K. So how can it go up in price $4.5K?
And having viewed an EcoTec today, I can safely say it is a derivative of the old Saturn "Manhattan Project" engine. Did Lotus design that engine? They might have, as GM owned Lotus right about the timeframe that the Saturn engine was designed.
I like the EcoTec. It's a good motor. Solid, and very moddable. Gets good mpg too, especially in direct-injected form.
Carmen Harvey @ Dec 14th 2006 10:28PM
If you don’t think you would want this car …take a look at this you tube video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k20jZVM1HzU
Carmen Harvey
http://www.rideadvised.com
Proud Japanese @ Dec 14th 2006 10:59PM
To Phillip: Yeah that's right. A $45K road legal machine can beat the Carrera GT around a track. No need to get jealous. If it is so simple, I don't see other people doing it.
frij @ Dec 14th 2006 11:18PM
Screw the Atom.
Just get a superbike like a Busa or ZX-14 for only $11,500. 0-60 2.7s 0-100 in 4.6s and 0-180 in 19s blows everything else off the map. And it's cheap, unlike an Atom. You're going to need a helmet with either, so just get the bike.
Graham @ Dec 14th 2006 11:44PM
I'm being picky. It might be clearer in the article to point out that Brammo Motorsports is the manufacturer of the Ariel Atom in the USA by arrangement with the Ariel Motor Company, rather than "Makers of the Atom." To me that implies it is entirely their product.
apt34 @ Dec 15th 2006 12:28AM
It seems like a lot of people really have no idea what the Atom is.
* It can beat a fast motorcycle around a track. Yes, that's right.
* It can outcorner just about everything.
* You actually don't *need* to wear a helmet while driving this thing.
I guess no one watches Top Gear either.
Pork Rind @ Dec 15th 2006 12:32AM
"Simply mind boggling! No way does the car, minus the engine cost more than even $4000 to build."
That's just... random. I'm no big fan of the Atom, but I recognize that there's a lot of investment in tooling and R&D to be amortized into each car. Plus the raw cost of the parts. You couldn't buy the suspension pieces alone for $4k. The wheels and tires have to be getting close to that territory. Craig isn't buying Volkswagen Beetle parts out of the J.C. Whitney catalog you know.
Andy Keck @ Dec 15th 2006 12:36AM
>>Is it any wonder the British auto industry collapsed when they build such overpriced junk.
Wow, I had no idea that Oregon was in Britain.
Mike @ Dec 15th 2006 12:50AM
Mike #2 -
Better start calling everyone else here a retard! We ALL agree that the price hike is not possibly attributable to engine by itself.
Oh, and keep calling me a fanboy while citing irrelevant numbers. Some day you'll realize that 1) there's more to engines than HP and 2) comparing modified engines to stock ones is moronic. Either that, or we'll all realize that you're a waste of flesh.
Gav @ Dec 15th 2006 4:31AM
Graham #14
I have to agree, as here in good old blighty we get the atom with a 2litre Honda VTEC.
Phillp @ Dec 15th 2006 7:09AM
"* It can beat a fast motorcycle around a track. Yes, that's right."
Yes, but only a junk bike. A good mike still costs 1/4 of this overproced piece of junk anyways.
The bike also has the added advantage of not making you look like a homeless bum who can't get a real car.
"* It can outcorner just about everything."
My go cart can outhandle the Atom, and it's just as useless as well. At least I only paid $1000 for it.
"* You actually don't *need* to wear a helmet while driving this thing."
You can also take the Atom and play chicken with a Dodge Ram, you don't *need* a helmet for that either.
"I guess no one watches Top Gear either."
LOL