Apparently speeding motorcyclists have become a serious problem for the municipal fuzz of UK’s Avon and Somerset counties. Whatever crap-cans they are using are not fast enough to keep up with baddies on crutch-rockets so they decided to get something faster. The local Police decided against any so-called exotic that maybe found in UAE or Italy and went with something cheaper and locally made – they chose the new Ariel Atom 3.5R. Ignoring the fact that high-speed chases on public roads are not the best solutions to combat speeders, their choice actually makes sense. According to some local British motoring show that no one has ever heard of, the Ariel Atom is actually faster than most bikes on the track, making it a perfect bike chasing vehicle. Of course we’re ignoring that whole fact that public roads and race tracks are completely different, and the fact that driver training and experience may have a thing or two to do with how bikes and ridiculously fast cars actually perform. Of course the vehicle is going to be used more as a mascot for Avon and Somerset Constabulary’s ‘Safer Rider’ program than anything. The police are urging drivers to pay more attention to motorcycles while driving. At the same time they are reminding motorcyclist that the rest of the world is out to kill them and they should practice their mad riding skills on the track. I wonder if they’ll use at Atom to transport perpetrators. The Ariel Atom ordered by the police is the newly released Ariel Atom 3.5R. It is powered by a supercharged 350hp Honda Civic Si engine which is connected to a sequential transmission. Looking at the pictures they also spend some cash on fenders, lights, and fancy paintwork. The 3.5R is not available in the United States, but something like it can be easily ordered through TMI’s many dealers. We’ll take a closer at the 3.5R in the near future.