It appears that a police force in England has made a rather preemptive strike against speeding: The latest addition to their fleet is an Ariel Atom. That is correct, an Ariel Atom cop car. Game over.
Avon and Somerset Constabulary police force now have an Ariel Atom 3.5R.
It is not necessarily news when a police force adds a supercar to the fleet…until it is a Bugatti Veyron or a frickin Ariel Atom 3.5R. The burning question, why, is easy to answer in this instance. The Ariel Atom is built in the Avon and Somerset Constabulary area, making the hypercar a perhaps peace offering? Why else would they supply the local law enforcement with something that would have little trouble overtaking a superbike?
The Ariel Atom 3.5R at a glance:
- 2.0-liter iVTEC engine churns forth 350 horses and 243 pound-feet of devilish torque. Paired with her light frame that equals a 0-60 mile per hour sprint of 2.6 blistering seconds, just like the Bugatti Veyron.
- Racing style 6-speed sequential gearbox capable of extreme upshifting and downshifting.
- The curb weight is just 1,220 pounds.
- The R version of the Ariel Atom 3.5 gets upgrades in the transmission, suspension, performance and aerodynamic arenas. Oh, and that supercharger.
- All of that power is harnessed in with an electronically limited top speed of 155 miles per hour. Even for the local police force?
The promotional photo is nearly laughable, as no one is going to operate an Ariel Atom in that hat. It is unlikely the force will be with them at all, as such a hypercar will likely be used for community promotional events and the like, rather than chasing down the occasional speeding family sedan.