Ariel

Ariel Motor Company Ltd is a low-volume performance motor vehicle manufacturing company in Crewkerne, in Somerset, England.

Founded by Simon Saunders in 1991 as Solocrest Ltd, the name was changed in 2001 to Ariel Motors, although the name change and company have nothing to do with the former Ariel Motorcycles firm. Ariel Motors is one of the UK's smallest automotive companies, with just 7 employees, producing fewer than 100 cars per year.

The company manufacturers the Ariel Atom, an extremely light, high performance car, powered by a Honda Civic Type-R engine and gearbox. The Atom is the world's first road-going exoskeletal car; it has no bodywork or roof, and is built entirely around the tube chassis, making it weigh less than 500 kg (1,102 lb). This means that the high performance supercharged model has a power-to-weight ratio of over 600 bhp (450 kW) per tonne which really explains why the Atom is a real FantasyCar and Ariel is listed here in FantasyCars.