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Ariel Atom With Titanium Chassis Under Development
Being an exoskeleton chassis, bare bones racing car the Ariel Atom is one of the fastest and one of the most agile road legal production cars on the planet. Due to its minimalistic construction and small size the Atom costs many times less than a supercar that it can match in speed.
The primary reason for its incredible performance its its lightweight body, consisting primarily of an exposed chassis, minus most of the body work and minus the roof. The result is a car that has a curb weight of just over 600 kg. Autocar now reports that the Atom could become even lighter due to a new chassis design made from titanium.
According to Autocar Atom is developing a new chassis for the Atom constructed from titanium, which will be 40 percent lighter than the existing steel tubular structure.
Overall, the titanium chassis would bring down the weight of the vehicle by 8 percent, which would essentially bring the weight below 500 kg.
The problem with titanium is that it catches fire when exposed to oxygen during welding, which necessitates the welding process to be undertaken in an oxygen free environment.
Technical difficulties, however, have been taken care of already with the help of specialists and the frame design is ready as well.
Ariel's Simon Saunders has told Autocar that the company is deciding whether to offer the titanium chassis Atom as a limited build special edition track day car or as an optional upgrade for everyone.
Whatever Ariel decides on, knowledge gained through the development of the new chassis will aid it in incorporating it in its future products.
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