Features

The journey to Germany was a real epic, full-blast for four hours across France and Belgium with photographer Fly riding shotgun, in convoy with our hot hatch Lifers (see page 184). Of course, I drove the whole way - that's part of the challenge, to drive to the track and back.

Somewhere near Gent we diced with two superbikes at unprintable speeds on a quiet motorway. This is the only car on earth that gets respectful nods from bikers and so it should. It's one of few cars that can keep up with most of them.

I started out just pussyfooting around, relearning the track with 911s and Ms passing me on all sides, but the Atom didn't like it. This thing's built to go quickly, and after the second sighting lap I was getting more confident.

No 'normal' road-going car - not even one as focused and quick as a 911 GT3 or M3 CSL - can live with the Ariel's braking performance into and acceleration out of corners. On the longer straights against a well-driven quick car, I was in trouble, because I was running out of revs at 150mph, but the Atom was getting to that speed in such a short distance that by the time the 170mph-plus GT3s and M3s caught up, we were approaching the next bend. Then my brakes came into play. Six more laps and the job was done.

Then I began to hunt down the BMW M5 Ring Taxi. This was the scalp of scalps. Fully liveried-up in white, red and blue BMW corporate colours, these 500bhp cars circulate at a serious pace, giving hot laps to paying punters. I let one through then caught him quickly. Four up, he was pushing his tyres hard, cutting a perfect racing line, driven by a master, but he wasn't quick enough to stay ahead too easily.

I moved to overtake him at the exit of a corner, and it was the wrong thing to do. Across came the M5's rump in a blatant blocking manoeuvre, on the straight, just before I drew alongside. Schweinhundt.

The message was clear. "You're not coming through now, you're not coming through ever, I might ram you if you try, so back off, squirt, I've got paying customers on board and a mighty Bee-Em-Vee M5 won't play second-fiddle to a fucking Britisher piece of scaffolding on wheels." I backed off, but not before I let him get 500 yards ahead and then caught him again. I could have forced my way past with some very late braking, but it wouldn't have been smart.

We're talking about heroes in this issue, and hero status has to be afforded to this great little car. The supercharged Atom is phenomenal. In this spec, it would cost £38,500. No, it's not cheap, but when you compare it to the price of the things it's smeared at the 'Ring today, even driven by a muppet, it's still terrific value.

The drive back to London, after a full day and 15 flat-out laps of the Nürburgring at an average of about 9 minutes a lap, was another epic. We dismissed Belgium and France at a canter, the engine roaring at 6,000rpm and the wind blast giving driver and passenger a rock-concert-style ring in the ears that didn't go away till morning. A full 900 miles flat-out on road and track, and the little Atom never missed a beat.

To find out how to take your car to the Nürburgring, visit www.topgear.com/ring.