Top Gear: Season 5, Episode 9

5 - 9: Ariel Atom

On a mid-life-crisis Top Gear, Richard declared a 25-year-old Mercedes G-Wagen to be the best car ever, while Jeremy had his face pulled off. The Mercedes G-Wagen is an ex-military vehicle. AMG, the custom-tuning division at Mercedes, got hold of one and added a bit of 'bling', then tweaked its performance to resemble an angry bee. The result was a military-strength chassis with more bling than your average rapper, and the performance of a sports car. Take the kids to school in it, and it looks good. Take it down to the pub, looks good. Take it to the moon, looks good. Imagine you are 40. You've been married for ten years or so, have a couple of kids, and a stable job. You know what that means? Yes, that's right, it's mid-life crisis time! It's the time when men (and, indeed, women) buy a motorbike or sports car, and get all whiney about having wasted their life. Well, if you don't like motorbikes, there's another option. The Ariel Atom's like a motorbike with four wheels, which means it's hard to fall off. According to Jeremy, this is how driving should be: fast and close to the ground. You can get one for around £20,000, too, which means your wife may not actually leave you in revenge.