Atom 4 buyers spec discussion thread

[phil4]

It's incredibly helpful that the car comes in £24 less than the threshold for paying higher (£310 extra) road tax.

That's only applicable if you don't add -any- options.

That said, I thought - and I may be wrong, that as the IVA'd them, the road tax was completely different, and somewhere near the £250 odd it was previously.

[wasp]

It's incredibly helpful that the car comes in £24 less than the threshold for paying higher (£310 extra) road tax.

That's only applicable if you don't add -any- options.

That said, I thought - and I may be wrong, that as the IVA'd them, the road tax was completely different, and somewhere near the £250 odd it was previously.

The road tax thing is a bit confusing at the moment but I thought that if the purchase price was over £40k then you pay a £310 supplement for 5 years for petrol cars.

If you buy the car from Ariel and then add upgrades "after purchase" then surely this would count?

A grey area perhaps but I'd hope that it could be workable. Fingers crossed!

Cheers,
Stu

[phil4]

The road tax thing is a bit confusing at the moment but I thought that if the purchase price was over £40k then you pay a £310 supplement for 5 years for petrol cars.

If you buy the car from Ariel and then add upgrades "after purchase" then surely this would count?

A grey area perhaps but I'd hope that it could be workable. Fingers crossed!

Cheers,
Stu

You're spot on with the 40K threshold, and you'd be right that anything after that is nowt to do the DVLA. Most normal cars however don't allow you to go that route, what you buy is car + options and that's what the DVLA tax on. I suspect doing it after purchase would at the very least require two invoices and two payments. And then you have to ask what Ariel has to gain by doing it that way.

[Hedge]

All the jazzy/ bling stuff can be added after purchase (things like wings/ CF wheels etc). Makes the whole "justification" angle that bit easier, when you spread the cost out a wee bit (man math).

Bits like Ohlins/ AP brakes & seq box to go in at build time. Along with all the other shizzle previously mentioned elsewhere.

Cheers,
Hedge

[AlanP]

'First registration and 12 months road fund licence' on my invoice £310.00

That was 2 weeks ago and the car was more than a smidgen over 40k.

Alan

[autobackup]

I think that the handbrake (if I read the Atom 4 reviews correctly) is being mounted, more conventionally, in the centre consol so I rather suspect that removing it before/reinstalling after track day use might be rather more difficult and time consuming to accomplish than on earlier Atoms?

- to do this would be a necessity on an Atom 4 if driving it to/from a track day on public roads is the plan!

- this problem would, of course, be obviated if a trailer were use used back & forth - but the Atom 4 (unlike earlier models) would probably(?) be illegal to be used on public highways without a fitted working handbrake as the Atom 4 will be in a different licencing category as it will no longer have an IVA but will have a Manufacturers Certificate of Conformity when purchased stating that it meets the current EU road Regulation standards - one of which requires a working handbrake.

- if driving the 'Queen's highway' without a fitted handbrake then I would strongly suspect that any insurance cover might be deemed to be invalidated should there be an accident - so if the accident were deemed to be the Atom 4 driver's fault it could turn out to be very very expensive as he/she could be held liable for the damage to both cars and, of course, any personal injury claims .

- bankruptcy looms !!

[Trigger]

Why on earth would you remove the Handbrake for a trackday ?

[Peter255]

I think people with big brakes front and rear often only fit the extra caliper, cabling and lever for the MOT. Its not a case of removal for a track day.

In an Atom it can be uncomfortable on your right arm / elbow with the handbrake lever fitted. Moving forward i see no reason to not run with the handbrake all the time as it has been moved out of the way. Assuming you bought one!

I run with mine all the time as i have sports rear brakes and i can't be bothered with the faff of removal.

I am sure Ariel will be happy to invoice you for £39,999 (or whatever the base price is) and the extras separately for tax purposes. The optional parts are then fitted just prior to or at collection. They do it now and will continue in future.

[Trigger]

I had the handbrake fitted on both my Atom 3s and did plenty of trackdays - never had an issue tbh. Maybe depends where the seat is bolted.

[autobackup]

The point that I was trying to make (obviously badly) is that the Atom 4 appears to be coming with a fitted handbrake as standard - it won't be a 'customer option' as it will be required for the issue of a Certificate of Conformity (and also needed for a MOT if applicable) to remain valid - if subsequently die-hard racers wish to remove it to save weight they would have to do it themselves and the car wouldn't then be 'road legal'.

I was also suggesting that to remove the handbrake and then drive it on public roads to and from a track day might well be deemed an 'unauthorised modification' by their insurance company should the owner then be involved in an accident then to do so would most likely invalidate their insurance cover ?

As Ariel are hoping to get EU (& world wide?) certification they are moving their new Atom 4 into previously uncharted regulation regime territory with a far more rigorous list of 'do's and don't's than they ever had to observe/implement for earlier models - e.g. crash tests et al!!

[Trigger]

Ahh ok got you. If thats the case then you would be technically right but I am not sure it is something that would ever get picked up.

[phil4]

Ahh ok got you. If thats the case then you would be technically right but I am not sure it is something that would ever get picked up.

Insurance violations are always ones that you find out about just when you'd rather not But I agree, historically with the Ariel being a bespoke car and insurers treating it like a kit car, I'm not sure they'd know what was standard and what was a mod.

[Peter255]

So spec is now

AP big brakes front and rear.
Cockpit adjustable brake bias (if reasonable)
Handbrake kit.
Bilstein adjustable shocks (if not standard).
Carbon Dash surround.
12v feed for phone / satnav.
Quick Release steering wheel.
Rear towing strap.
No Carbon wheels, but will consider options.
Track Spec tyres (Avon ZZR).
Tracker.
Locking fuel cap.
Painted Bulkheads.
Stainless fixings.
Stock back box for track work.
Decat
Baffled sump
Boost control only if cheap
Lairy frame colour, panel colours tbc
Note: Will get a battery conditioner and fit myself.

Any other suggestions? I wonder what that'll cost?

[phil4]

Any other suggestions? I wonder what that'll cost?

Maybe that's a thread in itself, albeit only for a few days

[Anon]

The point that I was trying to make (obviously badly) is that the Atom 4 appears to be coming with a fitted handbrake as standard - it won't be a 'customer option' as it will be required for the issue of a Certificate of Conformity (and also needed for a MOT if applicable) to remain valid - if subsequently die-hard racers wish to remove it to save weight they would have to do it themselves and the car wouldn't then be 'road legal'.

I still don't get the argument here. Why would anyone remove a handbrake to save weight? what is the weight of a handbrake, calipers and cabling? probably a moot topic or very slim edge case I'd say.