z59 Ariel Atom Replica Made From Recycled Parts

The product of 800+ hours of work spread over fifteen months, this tubular beastie is a painstaking reMake of Ariel's utterly bonkers Atom sportscar.  Dubbed the z59 by its builder, Proximacentuari, it was constructed from scratch using stainless steel panels from old appliances, the Acura k20a3 engine from a crashed RSX, and the (few) bodypanels from a kayak and a doghouse.

Being so light, the z59 is good for 0-60mph in 4.5 seconds, while still returning 35+ mpg.  That's not quite as fast as the Atom – which does 0-60mph in under 3 seconds – but I would imagine certainly fast enough for bugs to leave bruises as they collide with your forehead.

It's a good enough copy that I had to look closely at a couple of real Atom pictures to make sure this wasn't some big fraud.  No word on how much it cost overall, but in the US an Atom will set you back around $65,000.

[via MAKE]