An Ariel Atom vs. a Diesel Citroën DS3. Or Something.

Hey, lad, do you wanna see an Ariel Atom getting beaten by a diesel Citroën DS3? You’ve come to the right place.

Yeah, I might have misguided you with the description; while it is, indeed, a Citroën DS3 involved in the race, there's little of the original car left after the rallycross conversion process.

The rallycross DS3 squeezes 590 hp and 660 lb-ft (dear Lawd!) out of a 2.0-liter diesel unit, so while keeping the standard DS3 chassis, Monster Energy created a … well, a monster of a car. Weighing a mere 1,100 kg, the rallycross DS3 sprints, from a standstill to 60 mph, in 2.0 secs; also responsible for this neck pain inducing thrust is the all-wheel-drive system.

The second guest is the 1998 Yamaha YZF R1 superbike –– that in this drag race has two problems: one of them is the lack of a quick shifter, and the other one is the presence of … um, extra weight, mathematically speaking. Otherwise, 128 hp for 177 kilos is not a bad power-to-weight ratio at all.

The host of the race is the Ariel Atom 3.5R, a supercharged version of the exoskeletal Atom and the only public road homologated vehicle here. A 2.0-liter turbocharged four pot, 350 hp, 243 lb-ft and 1,350 lbs are the equation that constitutes it. 0-60 mph? 2.7 seconds.

Ready to place your bet? Yes, we thought so.