So many pros and cons for each. Price, drivability in all weather, usability on a daily basis, suitability for many or all tracks and the list is almost endless. The skills of the driver is always the telling factor at this pointy end of the market. But this video is one of the best I have seen. No bloody music, thank fucking Christ! We come for the car, not some bloody producers idea of entertainment. And the camera placement was really good also. Thanks for sharing it and please put up more. Thanks.

I love the key ring G meter :)

Man that looks like a good time. Obviously the Atom has a massive advantage in the corners, the MP4 is an amazing car with amazing electronics and suspension, but you just can't argue with a sub 2,000Lb skeleton car. On the straights though at the higher RPM's, that MP4 seemed to be getting you good, that's where the horsepower and aerodynamics and paddle shifting of the MP4 begin to show though. Great video.

Odd as this may sound, this is one of my most wanted cars ever. Maybe some day I'll be able to drive one, let alone own one. Wish me luck!

This is much more interesting to watch than those BS drag races.

Great video. The Atom pilot has some skills, so it looks deceptively easy. It's interesting to watch the key chain hanging 60 degrees off of vertical, so the driver is pulling well above 1.0 G of lateral acceleration, without getting twitchy. Nice video Sebastian. Looks like a perfect track day.

The MP4-12C driver is afraid of the Apex

I'd rather have the atom, though part of that reason is because it only costs an arm, not an arm and a leg.

That was some great driving on a great track. Glad to see someone enjoying their Ariel Atom ownership!

the keys were a great lateral g force indicator...

all the Porsche drivers screaming "NEIN! NEIN!! NEIN!! NEIN!! NEIN!!!"...

looks like a lot of fun in the Ariel Atom =)

Almost 100k view, thank you every body for watching!! In few weeks there will be a match of Ariel Atom VS Lamborghini Huracan that must be see ;-)

This seems to be so much fun! One of the best track day videos on youtube.

Very polite of driver to finally let you pass safely

McLaren's lines were shite.

The guy behind the wheel of the MP4 is clearly not an experienced track driver. He missed a bunch of apex's. Still an amazing car 👍

Your videos are awesome man!

Cool vid. I'd love to see this with two race drivers at the wheel and no passenger in the Atom. Both awesome cars

Great driving my man, great driving!

If this atom has the honda k20 with supercharger it just proves how awesome this engine really is. The atom gets my vote as a track car for pure thrills and spills.

nice vid. though I feel there are some passing points that was missed. and there are some points where the braking and recovery could have been done a fraction of a sec faster. maybe just maybe the Atom could have passed the McLaren during the run.

1:24 a moments silence for the guy who brought a Peugeot to a track day...

That must be a thrilling driving experience.

Great video man, I think you could have taken him.

the sad thing is the ease at witch a few mods to the Atom could have it waxing this MP4. That is not to say that the MP4 couldn't just make the same mods and turn the tables but either way the price difference is staggering. Great job to both cars as they fill an individual niche for each but we see how the owners of each can coexist having more fun than is normally legal! haha

You could have done him several times. What atom is it? Supercharged?

What spec or version of atom is this? I know it's not the V8, but it could be the Honda,or the Ecoboost, and then you might have a few upgrades.. and have you had it on a Dyno?

I would LOVE to get an Atom, but I don't know if they can be legally registered/ tagged in Maryland.

Excellent driving!

Awesome,great vid

Wich track is it ? Wich engine has the Ariel ?

Is this the K20 supercharged atom? I ask cause that mc left him on the straights. Even with coming out of the corner better it was gone

the sound of those turbos gave me a woody

Surprised mclaren pulled away so far in straights. Is the Atom version with the supercharger, or normally aspirated?

That was fun!!! 😊

nice track, where is this?

wonder how well the new atom v8 will do

What engine/hp is the Atom?

price wise ? should have been a no contest 30k vs 300k

nice clean drive

love watching the g meter keys haha

Does this Atom have the Honda motor or the Chevy motor? One day i will drive an Atom on a track. Til then i can only dream :( Great video!

awesome... just awesome...

what track is this?

is this the 300 or the v8?

That was fun. I think the Atom was a bit quicker on this track, on this day, but most of the performance difference is the MP4 bloke is simply not trying. Maybe he doesn't know that track real well or maybe he's taking his wife / mistress around for a lap, or maybe he's just not terribly handy, but our man in the Atom is getting most of its performance out, but the bloke in the McLaren is hardly trying at all. Put the Stig in the MP4 and I'm not sure it'd run away and hide, but the apparent performance advantage the Atom has would vanish. It should be a little better under brakes and into corners. They should be fairly equal from apex to exit, the Atom should jump, but after a hundred yards or two it should stabilise, then the Mac should go away quite strongly. On a small, tight, technical (gokart) track, the Atom would have the edge. On a fast open track, the Mac should have it.

Do you ever get a Buggati Veyron out there?

it´s circuit is laguna seca?

I like the way you can use the angle of dangle of his keys to see how hard he is cornering. 45 degrees=1G, at times he doing better than that.

awesome video's you have, I owned about the same Ariel Atom SC and now drive a KTM X-Bow and met a MP4 on Spa...the power of this car is insane. With your driving skills you can keep up, I guess if you guys switched cars, you would shred your own car :) You also showed some seriously good skills on the Nurburgring, very impressive! Keep posting these lovely video's!

Are you from switzerland? I saw the 2013 motorway sticker on your Ariel

Both cars need a driver mod...

I think we can agree that the passenger's left thumb was purple at the end of the run ^^

4:50 is the best part!

Look's like 2 guy's having way too much fun,and I wish it was me.Not totally knocking the driver because the Atom is no joke,but missing way too many apexes and smother transitions through the S's.would have overtaken the MCLAREN to block it out of it's incredible top end and things would have looked much closer then what was seen.Just my crappy opinion.I loved watching this and must say again: I wish it was my ass in the seat.Thanks for letting me watch!

In every single car/race video on youtube.. "they suck at driving"

loving it.big bad wolf against the little honda

He was definitely holding you up

A Ledenon en plus. Magnifique

Your G meter hanging off the dash needs a bit more damping. Nice post!

Ça doit être de la bombe à conduire 😃

Perfect overtake, I think he was just toying with him at 1st

Got to say comments have been more reasonable than normal. If I could afford a supercar and went to an occasional track day, it would be great fun even my lines weren't as good as Gran Turismo in the real world

I can't stand with the old school dash from Ariel. A good shift light and big speed numbers are very useful.

what is that green gumpert apollo looking car at the end? smoking like a diesel

Two things: First, the guy in the Atom knows the racing line and the, "gentleman," in the Mclaren does not. This fact is made all the more evident by way the coupe accelerates away from the Ariel Atom once the driver straightens his machine out. I have seen this a hundred times @ the track: a rich man in a car he is afraid to drive @ the limit because he is either afraid for himself, or the $ he will lose if he makes a mistake (or both). The second observation involves the Atom...a lightweight flash that overcomes it's short wheelbase with a power/weight ratio that is explosive...he has a passenger. What a disadvantage for such a, "fly." This makes for an interesting study, even if the MC has a passenger too. All that aside, as they both are streetable rockets I'd take the McLaren. Because...that's what comparisons are really about...aren't they?

Весь ролик наблюдал за сжатыми кулаками пассажира ))

I think the Atom truly had it in the corners but it was no contest on the straits. The MP4 just plain goes like stink in a strait line! Love that Atom more though!

cara sua tocada tava muito boa, só q em algumas curvas vc poderia ter entrado mais rápido e em outras passar de pé cravado

4:45 why did he swing so wide? It looks like he you were purposely allowed to pass.

Thats a great track, mclaren driver was making his apexes way too early

The Mac should've been chasing. I think we're going to have to see Atom vs. Atom.

This is serious fun.

Regardless of how good a driver you are Sebastian, I would have been crapping myself in the shotgun seat!

that person in the atom not pushing it at all

Which Atom is it,the 240Hp one?Because the new 3.5 one,has paddles, instead of a stick. And of course,it would shoot down the Mclaren.

Watch the Gs on the key ring LOL! Great car the Atom.

Waited SO long to pass!

man that 12c is rapid

Not really a car person but it seems the car in front was quicker on the straights but I at with the camera ( The Atom) was better on the corners . Maybe if the chasing car didn't have a passenger it would have got a bit closer.

Good

My god even on the track Porsche drivers are slow as fuck not just on the freeways!

Jesus Christ that sound. Where is the red line?

why would you have a passenger for a race? especially when the whole premise behind the atom is its weight adding another passenger is going against that.

The Atom is a fantastic car and an absolute bargain, so much so I'm thinking about buying one.

did anyone notice the g-forces on the key ring

Bad lines all around, and the Atom lifted off way too early in many places where he could have left the hammer down. It the Atom braked only when needed, held the line, and kept the gas on, he would have made up the straight away distance gain easily.

Gripping his paws .

Damn that Mc Laren is fast

What was the green car that coughed up its engine at 4:55?

I wouldn't be a passenger in that bruv. Thank you.

on appel cela un concour de circonstance :-)

even with the cones on the track, the McLaren driver was taking some rather unconventional lines that certainly didn't help his lap times...

these track days are a pain in the ass when you have such a car.... you could have overtaken the McLaren just taking a different line and being more aggressive on the brakes, but of course this attitude is not allowed on open days ;)

this is not a car ...what does it weight 5-600? pack some weights equal to mcl and see how it will end up. this is an overcharged gokart.:)

I PRESUME THE ATOM IS NOT TRYING TO PASS THE MP4 , BUT JUST PACE IT

The line at around 1:00 was so bad it looked like the mclaren driver didn't know if he should go left or right. Wtf

two great english cars battling it out there

Good driver ;)