First Look: DDMWorks Ariel Atom 700 By Seyth Miersma August 02, 2012

To answer the most important immediate question first, “yes.” As in, “Yes, the ‘700’ part of ‘DDMWorks Ariel Atom 700’ means 700 horsepower.” We were pretty excited to hear about this development, too.

DDMWorks is a Piedmont, South Carolina-based company that does custom parts work for Atoms and other performance vehicles. The company sent us a press release yesterday, telling of its all new program to convert your Ariel Atom 2, that of the 2.0-liter GM-sourced Ecotec engine, into a snarling thing of ungodly power levels and cruel intentions towards lap records.

The frightening 350 horsepower per liter is developed by way of supercharging and turbocharging the four-cylinder mill, offering, as the company undersells it, “great low end response with high end power.” That's a bit like noting that the Great Wall Of China has, “quite a number of bricks.” The result is a car that, at around 1450 pounds, boasts a power to weight ratio of one horsepower for every two pounds of vehicle—don't wear your clean fire suit the first time you drive it.

Pistons, con rods, (massive) injectors, fuel pump, exhaust, and, of course, the various cooling systems have all been significantly upgrade for the DDMWorks Atom, all aimed at creating that massive power without making the engine go “boom” right away. The conversion also includes upgraded wheels and tires, to get all of that power to the ground.

Perhaps sensing that not every driver with enough money (no price listed) to convert his Atom, will also possess the requisite minimum skill to drive it, DDMWorks offers selectable power levels for the car, too: 450, 575, and 700 horsepower. The company also mentions, “…we strongly suggest our customers take a specialized driving course for their safety…” Indeed.

Please scroll down to read the full DDMWorks press release.

700HP DDMWorks Twin-charged Ariel Atom - Creates most powerful Ariel Atom in the World

Piedmont, SC August 1st, 2012 – DDMWorks is pleased to announce the first Ariel Atom 700 conversion. The Ariel Atom 700 conversion is based on the Ariel Atom 2 using the 2.0L Ecotec engine. The Ariel Atom 700 combines both a supercharger and a turbo on one engine to produce 700hp, which is an amazing 350hp/liter. Even with the amazing power per liter, the twincharged engine offers great low end response with high end power, all in only 2.0L of displacement.

To accomplish this amount of power per liter safely, extensive modifications are done to the stock Ecotec 2.0L. The engine is fitted with many upgrades including Darton Mid sleeves, custom ceramic coated Wiseco pistons, H-beam Carrillo connecting rods, and ARP hardware. Then the original M62 supercharger is re-installed along with a Garrett GTX 3076 turbocharger to supply the airflow required to reach the 700hp goal. Fueling is supplied by 1100cc injectors and a massive Aeromotive 1000 fuel pump. A custom air-to-water heat exchanger is used to cool the supercharger output along with a gigantic air-to-air intercooler in the rear to cool the air from the turbo, both units custom made for the conversion by Griffin Thermal Products. The conversion uses a pair of boost controllers to control the boost feeding the engine from the supercharger and turbo. One of the controllers is hooked up to a Tial MV-R water cooled wastegate to keep the turbo boost at 35psi on high boost. A second boost controller is used to turn the supercharger off once the turbo pressure exceeds the output of the supercharger, increasing efficiency and allowing more power to get to the ground.

Exhaust, intercooler tubing, and tubular exhaust manifold are all custom made in house by DDMWork's talented fabricators and fitted to the car by hand, then finished off with ceramic coating. Final custom tuning of the ECM and boost controllers is also done in house on our load bearing Dynocom dyno to verify the 700hp before delivery.

To handle the power of the conversion, 225mm wide Toyo R888's are mounted on custom 16x7 wheels up front and 275mm R888's mounted on custom 17x9 wheels in the rear.

The end result, the 1450 pound Ariel Atom 700 achieves a Power to weight ratio that exceeds most all production cars, including exotics, with only 2.07 pounds per horsepower! Along with this amazing power to weight, the power is selectable by the driver while driving, with 3 selectable power levels of 450, 575 and 700hp.

With the power of the Atom 700 conversion, we strongly suggest our customers take a specialized driving course for their safety, like the Ariel Atom experience offered at Virginia International Raceway by TMI.

The Atom 700 Twin-charged and other custom Ariel Atom conversions of many power levels are currently available with installation and tuning at our facility in South Carolina. Pricing is dependent on options and power requested, please contact us for an individual price quote.

DDMWorks is located near Greenville, SC and produces custom performance upgrade parts for the Ariel Atom and other vehicles.