YOU can take a woman to Tesco, but that doesn’t mean you can load up the shopping when she chooses a car that puts performance before common sense. If, like me, science wasn’t your strongest subject at school, the prospect of playing with an atom might not fly your kite. But the one atom you don’t need a degree in nuclear physics to get to grips with comes from Ariel.

This 140mph concept car does, at first glance, resemble something conceived in the laboratory of a mad scientist, but then this is not your average car and certainly not one a sensible girl would choose for the daily chores. Take it to Tesco and you are going to have fun and look great, even if there is nowhere to put the washing powder; take it to the track and there are even more thrills. And you can do both because the Ariel Atom is a thoroughbred racing car designed to be driven on the road.

Simon Saunders named his company, which handcrafts the Atom in Somerset, after the British motorcycle manufacturer, now long defunct. But it was another famous name that provided the inspiration for the Atom’s spartan looks coupled with exhilarating performance.

“Our driving force was to create a modern-day Lotus Seven,” Saunders said. “Essentially, we wanted to produce a vehicle that gives you the sensation and thrill of driving a single-seater racing car, without all the associated aggravation. Race cars are very temperamental, extremely expensive and, in reality, pretty grim to drive on normal roads.”

Which the Atom is not. It really does feel like a racing car, from the push-button start to the moulded fibreglass seats, complete with racing harness. With power coming from Honda’s ultra-dependable 2-litre VTEC engine, you can rest assured that pitstops will be few, thanks to the power pack’s fabulous reliability. There is nothing workman-like about the performance, though: the Atom fires from standstill to 60mph in 3.7 seconds — something you might expect from a supercar such as a Porsche or Ferrari. Yet the price is a bargain-basement £24,000, about the same as a high-performance family saloon.

The standard of craftsmanship has not been compromised, but Saunders adopted a “no-frills” approach to aesthetics when he penned the design, thanks to the maxim decreed by Colin Chapman, the legendary founder of Lotus. “He worked on the principle, ‘If you don’t need it, don’t put it in the car’, and we followed his basic philosophy,” Saunders said. So, forget about luxuries such as carpets, heaters and stereo systems — hell, this car doesn’t even have doors or a windscreen. Although there is a small storage compartment under the bonnet, it’s still not the most practical vehicle for a trip to the supermarket, as I discovered.

That hardly mattered among the shoppers used to more mundane transport in the car park; they couldn’t stop gawping because the Atom is a real head-turner — and one brand of Ariel that knocks spots off anything else at your local Tesco.

The price has also attracted buyers from every type of performance car fan, according to Saunders, from the man who bought it as a retirement present for himself, to one who bought it as his first car. “Our average customer is probably aged 30 to 50, though,” Saunders said. “He’s got a bit of cash to spare and his wife has said he can buy anything, as long as it has four wheels. Most of our customers want to improve their driving skills. They maybe do a few track days a year and are keen to have some instruction. But you can have a tremendous amount of fun just driving it along a country road.

“It feels like a go-kart. You get the same sensation of speed, but it’s designed as a road car rather than a pure racing car. We are trying to offer the best of both worlds. The first question we ask potential customers is: ‘What are you going to do with the car?’ A guy who does a lot of track days or wants to go racing will have different requirements to somebody who wants it for Saturday afternoon driving.”

Somehow, it seemed a shame not to exploit the full potential of this incredible car because the Atom really does demand to be driven in anger. So, finished with Tesco, the next stop had to be a circuit where I could make my own attempt to split the Atom. The roar from the engine is as deafening as a Def Leppard concert, but the handling is utterly refined. It is one of the most user-friendly cars you could ever race.

Better still, when you’re finished with all that screeching around the track, you can simply take off the overalls, fire up your Atom and drive it home again.

Louise Goodman is ITV’s Formula One pitlane reporter

Splitting the Atom - What elkse the money buys

Caterham Super 7 Superlight R500

Price: £36,200. The ultimate in basic sports performance cars, also inspired by Colin Chapman.
Good things: Awesome acceleration, awesome handling in the right hands. Bad things: A thermal vest and a bigger wallet necessary.

Mazda RX-8

Price: £22,000. Novelty from Japan with unique rotary engine winning plaudits from around the world.
Good things: Doors and windows and a boot as well as competent performance.
Bad things: From the sensible wing of the performance car division.

Honda CBR900RR Fireblade

Price: £7,999. Ultimate sports bike. Approved by Valentino Rossi, so it must be good.
Good things: Acceleration that would embarrass even a Formula One car.
Bad things: No doors, windows or boot . . . and only two wheels, which means ouch.

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