Last summer the TRAK Motorsports Inc traveling motorsport show, the Ariel Atom Experience, came to my town. The entourage consisted of a fully outfitted tractor hauler/workshop/classroom with eight Ariel Atom supercars on board, and two additional trailers with everything from tables and chairs to tires and spare parts, along with a talented support team. They set up shop for about a week, and do so at five additional locations across North America every summer. The goal is to provide the best enthusiast driving experience money can buy. The entire event comes off as the equivalent of the best Christmas morning ever for many lucky track enthusiasts.
The English marque Ariel has a long and storied history. Before the turn of the century it produced bicycles, motorcycles, and quadracycles; Ariel cars were produced from 1902-1914 (the start of World War I) and again from 1922-1925, after which the company returned its focus to motorcycles until well into the '70s. The Atom began as a Coventry University transport design project by student Nik Smart in 1996. Known then as the LSC (lightweight sports car), it was first shown publicly in Birmingham at the British International in October 1996, and later evolved into the first production Atom in 2000, more or less as we know it today, namely, the Atom 2 and the new further refined Atom 3.
In North America, TMI AutoTech Inc (a subsidiary of TRAK) was recently granted the exclusive North American license for the Ariel Atom brand. A 10,000-square-foot facility was acquired at the raceplex within Virginia International Raceway (VIR) to allow TMI to build Atom 3s from the ground up, as well as continue to supply parts and service for the existing Atom 2s. There are Ariel Atoms presently licensed for road use in North America, however, it is up to the owner to register the vehicle in their home state or province. Note that each individual state and province has different legislation and regulations for motor vehicles. Of course, the Ariel Atom can also be easily used as a track-only toy for road course and autocross events.
The Ariel Atom Experience concept was developed in 2007 to allow enthusiasts the chance to feel firsthand the excitement of piloting an amazing Atom on a closed road course. TMI Motorsports has driving programs at three different price point levels in order to cater to a wider range of enthusiast clients. A typical day at the experience begins with an up-close orientation of the car, followed by individual Atom fitting, and in-car instructor introductions. Students are then set loose on the road course for lead-follow sessions with in-car instruction through a helmet intercom. TMI uses professional advanced driving instructors with a high level of road course experience who will guide you within your comfort zone, allowing you to probe the limits of the Atom and yourself. After lunch, it's back on the track for lead-follow with pass-by, which involves being set free from the lead-follow train and allows a few open laps with your instructor. Additional group classroom sessions and open lapping sessions with controlled passing are included in higher-level programs.