the corvette and viper wouldn't have had any issues entering the uk market if demand existed, aside from needing things like indicators

the sagaris was missing safety features that the us requires

there are tons of uk cars that literally could not meet us standards

Also as far as production volume and years in production I doubt the total numbers of the Sagaris equal even a few months of Corvette production in any given year

the ariel atom had no abs, tc or airbags, I'm pretty sure the US mandates airbags at least

and it's probably not feasible to retrofit them to it

The Atom is available stateside

Slingshot is here too, and that's a 3 wheeler

The Atom can be sold here, but not imported whole, it has to be imported in parts and registered as a kit car.

That isn't a car at all.

I don't think kit cars really count

It's a "kit car"

that's a funny workaround though

Yeah, and the Slingshot is registered as a motorcycle, so that's about as relevant to this conversation as a scooter.

It doesn't have to meet any car related regulations.

Well in the UK the Atom isn't a kit car, you get it factory assembled.

what are the downsides to cars registered as kit cars?

None, really. Insurance might be a bit more

I mean I guess it forces assembly to be done within a country which probably pushes up price since it impacts economies of scale

Well the main thing with the Atom is that they can't be imported, so all of the ones on the road here are actually built in the US under license by another brand, but it is an official deal with Ariel so the end result is the same.

There might be some kind of production volume limit, but I don't know what it is offhand.

I guess you'd probably require a deal with a us company, I doubt a subsidiary would let you claim kit car

https://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/25/automobiles/25REGISTER.html

Well there's some details

If they even let you read that in your country

In some cases, the extra effort becomes necessary when registering an Atom for use on public roads. In contrast to Britain, where Atoms are street-legal nationwide, requirements vary widely from state to state.

In Virginia, an Atom can be registered like a typical car, according to Mark Swain of TMI Auto Tech, the American distributor. In other states, “the difference is often in the paperwork,” Mr. Swain said. He added that other Atom owners — there are about 300 in the United States — form a network that can provide useful state-by-state information about registration.

In Florida and Texas, an Atom can be registered as a “kit car,” just like a home-built hot-rod, even if it purchased completely finished.

Continue reading the main story
But New York State has stricter rules for registering a low-volume sports car for street use, making the build-it-yourself option the only choice for anyone who intends to drive an Atom on the street.

In New York, the customer must buy the Atom as a rolling chassis and have the drivetrain installed separately. Then he or she can apply to register the car as “homemade or unique,” in the parlance of the New York Department of Motor Vehicles. If the application is approved, a safety inspection is conducted at an official vehicle inspection station.

This is from 2010, it's possible they've come up with a workaround since then.

But yeah, in some states you can buy it like any other car.

And now the company that builds them here is using the Honda engines, for a while they were using Ecotec ones.

I'd rather have an Exocet than an Atom, tbh

Well the price difference alone would work in favor of it.

I'd rather have the BAC Mono than either, but that has a legitimate supercar price.

I'd rather have a lotus 7

Nah, that's last-century

yet still awesome

Exocet wins IMO, from the vast parts availability for Miatas.

What if I want it lifted on 33in tires, with a corvette engine? Done.

there have been plenty of loopy lotus 7 modifications, plus it actually has some level of real racing heritage

let's be honest, they're pretty much the same thing

the exocet is probably considerably cheaper

I don't know but lotus 7s have rarely been cheap sadly