Speaking to Autocar, Ariel CEO Simon Saunders confirmed that the small, British automaker would be happy to adopt the technology from the new NSX. "The technology in the NSX is cutting-edge and expensive, but it will work its way down the food chain to the hot hatches," he said. "At that point, it becomes achievable for us to use in the Atom." The company had reportedly looked into using Honda hybrid powertrains in the past, but thought they were too focused on emissions than performance. Saunders even talked about an all-electric Atom.

He said that an EV version of the Atom would actually make sense, and we would have to agree. An electric Atom would have insane performance and an astonishingly quick launch. Saunders said that the current image of lightweight sports cars was not the original goal for Ariel. "Our interest was always to make a spread of low-volume vehicles that could encompass all things, including a high-volume model, limited-edition models and anything up to a chauffeur-driven limousine," he said. He went on to hint that the company is currently working on something "very different." News of cars becoming hybrids doesn't usually excite us, but on this occasion, it actually sounds pretty cool.