Ariel turns its Atom into the best cop car ever

After the Dodge Charger Pursuit posted the fastest lap time the Michigan State Police had ever seen at their annual get together on Grattan Raceway last year, you'd be forgiven for thinking that's about the quickest cop car around. But you'd be wrong. Very wrong. Look at Dubai's police force, for example. They have a Bugatti Veyron, a Lamborghini Aventador, a Ferrari FF and even an Aston Martin One-77 in their fleet. So yes, Dubai remains the country you least want to attempt to outrun the fuzz.

Only now the UK has taken delivery of a machine that will give Dubai's constabulary a thrashing, especially when the road starts to turn. And it costs a fraction of the Veyron's multimillion-dollar price tag.

The Ariel Atom is a road legal lightweight sports car built in Somerset, England. The 3.5R version, which is the car Avon and Somerset police grabbed, features a supercharged 2.0-liter engine from a Honda Civic Type R, good for 350 hp. Due to its 1,212 lb. curb weight, the Atom police edition, named PL1, will eclipse 60 mph in 2.5 seconds and probably corner unlike any vehicle to ever don flashing blue lights and a siren.

The Atom PL1 will, unfortunately, not be used to nab Britain's most wanted criminals; rather it will mostly be on display at events to promote motorcycle safety. Ariel will be introducing its very own motorcycle by the end of the year, so gaining some press within the industry makes sense. And with motorbikes accounting for just one percent of the UK's traffic, and yet nearly 20 percent of all fatalities, that PR arrives for a good cause.

You can buy a base Atom in the U.S. for just $56,480. The 3.5R, in which the PL1 is based, starts closer to $100,000. According to Ariel, despite the PL1's primary status as a safety advocate, it remains as much a police vehicle as any other, given that officers will be driving it regularly. The British company also states that the foreign craze for ludicrous cop cars played a distinct role in its decision to create the PL1. And we're glad they did. Now: How can we ride shotgun without being arrested?