Ariel Motor, the skeleton car company from the UK that might be best-known for its car's perfectly gif-able rearrangement of Jeremy Clarkson's face, has just dropped its hottest model yet. The Ariel Atom 4RR is a weapon, with a turbocharged Honda four-cylinder engine giving it an incredible 525 horsepower. It's crammed into a chassis with almost no bodywork and a curb weight that doesn't even crack 1,500 pounds. This Atom Is Close To Fission 2026 Ariel Atom 4RR (3)The 4RR is the most powerful Atom yet. A track-ready 25th birthday gift to the ultra-minimalist performance car that is, in theory, just as happy ripping down a back road as it is turning laps around Silverstone.Ariel says the goal was to "eclipse supercar performance on track." It does that, starting with its very special Honda heart. The engine is based on a K20C, the turbo-four that you'll find under the hood of the Civic Type R. In this car, though, Ariel calls it bespoke.Ariel Motor The company spends 100 hours hand-building each engine. Upgrades include a closed deck, forged pistons and rods, a revised cylinder head and changed inlet and outlet ports, new valves, springs, and guides, and Ariel's own camshafts. The engine gets a larger than stock turbocharger, but at 24.6 psi, the maximum boost pressure is actually slightly lower.It's one heck of a result. Whereas the stock engine makes 320 hp, this one makes 525 with 406 pound-feet of torque. You can turn it down for more sedate drives with 500 hp and 400 hp maps available from an in-cockpit adjustment. Each one gets a dyno graph to show how much power your specific car puts out.Going fast is about more than just power, even if the new titanium exhaust sounds great. Putting the power to the road starts with a six-speed sequential box from Quaife that includes pneumatic shifting and no-clutch up and downshifts. It's Road Legal, But We're Not Sure You'd Want To Do That Ariel Motor This Atom has a stronger chassis than the versions of the car that came before it. That lets the twin-tube Öhlins shocks do their best, and they're adjustable for compression and rebound to let you set the car to your liking. Even the wishbones in the suspension are adjustable to set it up for different drivers and tracks.310mm AP Racing two-piece brake discs are the largest that will fit without a need for bigger wheels. They have four-pot calipers front and rear, and an 11-stage adjustable motorsport-level ABS system.The aero package includes new carbon side pods that resemble the ones on the 4R, but the double-r's allow better cooling for the engine and transmission to handle the extra power. The handful of body panels are all carbon fiber, and that includes the mud flaps and the big rear wing."The Atom 4RR is the most uncompromising car we’ve ever created. Every component, every weld, and every element of its engineering is focused on delivering ultimate track performance at the highest level."-Henry Siebert Saunders, managing director, Ariel Motor CompanyIt'll run 2.4 seconds to 60, tops out at a face-inflating 175 miles per hour, and it will probably lap your favorite track faster than you're capable of driving it. It'll look great in the driveway as your neighbors wonder how it has a license plate. Extras include electronically controlled shocks, track-ready roll cages, and even air jacks.The company describes the standard Atom as "spanning road to track." It calls the 4R a balance of both "with enhanced intensity." This one, though, is "track-biased and road capable." It will get you to the track, but the road isn't where it wants to be.Ariel's newest offering looks the part as its most powerful car yet. It's certainly the one that looks the meanest, even with the bright yellow paintwork. The cars start from £208,000 ($280,000), and each one is built to its buyer's specific needs and desires.