Every Angle of the 2019 Ariel Atom

The challenge with minimalism is not to overdo it: remove everything superfluous without getting rid of the important bits. Where that line falls depends on an individual's love of comfort or appreciation for austerity. Does a car need to have a heater? What about a windshield? A roof? Bodywork capable of putting up some resistance to passing airflow?

The Ariel Atom is a car for those happy to answer all of those questions in the negative.

The first version, conceived two decades ago by British car designer Simon Saunders, was essentially a four-wheeled motorbike. It's a vehicle with a tubular-metal spaceframe that has no function beyond providing the necessary mounting points for its mechanical components and a protected space for two occupants.

The fundamentals have remained unchanged, and this Atom is still absolutely free from frills or distractions, but the car itself has evolved steadily alongside the company that builds it.

This latest version is the fourth generation, and the company says the only components carried over are the brake pedal, clutch pedal, and gas cap.

Protective clothing is important to drive an Atom, with layers chosen to provide required levels of both warmth and waterproofing.

The seats are plastic shells; padding is provided by clothing and subcutaneous fat

The steering wheel has a microfiber-wrapped rim, and behind it is a digital display screen set into a small console that contains all controls other than the pedals, gearshift, and parking brake.

This display is clear and easy to understand, but there's a more compelling view to be had by casting your eyes downward to see the connection between the steering column and the rack that is mounted to the floor, as well as the view of the front control arms and steering knuckles.

The biggest change sits under the plastic cover at the back of the car: the turbocharged 2.0-liter inline-four, the same engine that powers the Honda Civic Type R.

Beyond a custom engine computer that Ariel says lets the mill produce 320 horsepower at 6000 rpm (up from 306 horses at 6500 revs), it is effectively identical to the engine in the Civic and turns the rear wheels through the hatchback's gearbox with unchanged ratios.

The cockpit is empty and uncluttered enough to make most race cars seem positively baroque.

Weight has increased by about 45 pounds over the last-generation car, but with fluids Ariel says this Atom still weighs just under 1350pounds.

There's no inside rearview mirror-the engine's high-mounted air intake would block it-and you soon realize it is important to adjust the small side mirrors before fastening the six-point harnesses, which are restrictive enough to lock everything out of reach save for the primary controls.

Control weights are light, forward visibility is outstanding (you can gauge the wheels' proximity to curbs simply by a direct line of sight), and the engine's tractable low-down delivery and slick gearshift action are well suited to gentle use, with the lovely-feeling shift lever coming from a Japan-market Honda S660.

In the U.S., street-legal Atoms are equipped with a windshield, but in Europe most have nothing more than a Perspex aero screen to break up airflow.

Like a potent motorcycle, the Atom devours its gearing with a savage joy when worked hard and requires sharp reactions to keep up with its need for longer-legged ratios. At full throttle in lower gears, there is less than a second between the first LED shift light and the engine running hard into its rev cut.