The Ariel Atom has been tuned by a small American company called DDMworks, which previously did tuning on cars like the Mini and Mazda MX5.

The main modification we’re talking about at the moment is the new twincharging kit. That means that the small British car gets its engine wrapped in a turbocharger and a supercharger. The turbo is made by Borg-Warner and the supercharger by Harrop and together they improve the Atom’s power output by a massive 145 bhp.

The power-to-weight ratio of this thing is pretty astonishing now: approximately 835 bhp / tonne. To put that into perspective, the Bugatti Veyron has a “modest” ratio of about 500 bhp tonne. The overall figure is now at 375 horses which is quite frightening as the normal Atom can go from 0-100 km/h in less than 3 seconds.

Press Release:

430HP DDMWorks Twin-charged Ariel Atom Provides Incredible Power to Weight in a Small Package.

Piedmont, SC January 22nd, 2010 – The introduction of the DDMWorks Twin-charged kit for the Ariel Atom provides a powerful setup combining the best attributes of turbocharging and supercharging for one of the most fun cars on the road. Power to weight ratio is the name of the game here, and the twin-charged Atom has only 3.4 lbs per horsepower, a better power to weight ratio than a Bugatti Veyron or an Enzo Ferrari.

With the unique combination of both a supercharger and a turbocharger you get power on tap from the moment you touch
the throttle and that power keeps going all the way to redline. The Twin-charge kit is carefully tuned to deliver maximum
horsepower, while also keeping drivability and engine safety in mind. This combination of power, drivability and safety makes the DDMWorks Twin-Charged Kit unlike any other power adder on the market for the Ariel Atom.

The boost for the Twin-charged kit for the 2.0L LSJ ECOtec is accomplished with a Borg-Warner S256 Turbocharger working together with a Harrop HTV1320-LSJ. The Harrop HTV1320 supercharger uses Eaton’s TVS (Twin Vortices Series) highly efficient rotor assemblies. This TVS technology is also used on the new Corvette ZR1 supercharger, and dramatically increases the efficiency of the supercharger. Boost control for the entire system is handled by a HKS electronic boost controller, Synapse blow off valve and wastegate. All the exhaust exits through a custom made 3″ magnaflow exhaust. Tubing, manifolds and tuning for making the entire system work together is done in house by DDMWorks.

Power output is raised substantially from 230hp in the stock Ariel Atom to 375HP+ at the wheels, a gain of 145HP. Base price for the twin-charged Ariel Atom upgrade starts at $6,500 USD installed with the TVS based systems and larger gains available with other options and configurations. The Twin-charged Ariel Atom upgrade is currently available with installation and tuning done onsite at our facility in South Carolina.

About DDMWorks:
DDMWorks is located in Greenville, SC and produces custom performance upgrade parts for Miatas, MINIs, Solstices, Skys and Ariel Atoms.

Source: Autoblog