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This Ariel Atom V8 toy deserves a place on your desk

The Ariel Motor Company has announced it will be selling the mighty V8 Atom again albeit at one-eighteenth of the size.

The Ariel Atom V8 toy is the first officially launched authorised scale model and has arrived years after the life-sized car because most toy manufacturers found it too difficult to make.

Fortunately Spanish model maker Soul Models rose to the challenge and the rest, as they say, is history. Ariel’s Simon Saunders explained: “We have been approached by a few model makers over the years but when they understand the complexity of modelling the Atom they have all given up at an early stage.”

He added: “We’ve been keen to see a scale version of an Atom so it’s great that Soul Models have taken on the task and produced such a great, detailed model.”

The miniature Ariel Atom V8 comes with a gold chassis and wheels, carbon bodywork, side pods and the exact same colour scheme unique to the car, of which just 25 were made and sold – for nearly £150,000 apiece.

Ariel’s Atom was already brutally fast before the Somerset-based company decided to spend less time drinking cider and more time attaching a Hartley 3.0-litre V8 with 500bhp (derived from two Suzuki Hyabusa superbike engines) to the Atom’s chassis.

In a car that weighs 550kg, that’s more than 900bhp per tonne. 0-60mph takes around 2.3 seconds, while 0-100mph needs only 5.4 seconds. And because of its bike engine heritage, it could rev all the way to 10,600rpm. No wonder, then, it melted James May’s face on Top Gear.

The toy itself will be somewhat rare, with just 1,500 numbered units being manufactured for the world. You can buy one of them from either Ariel or Soul Models if you have a spare £149.94 including VAT.

Alternatively you could splurge your cash on a Lego Porsche 911 GT3 RS or any of these awesome alternatives. You know your inner-child would approve.

Ariel Atom V8 toy pictures

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