So, I’d always wanted an Ariel Atom. Ever since one rearranged Jeremy Clarkson’s face on TG. Never thought I’d have one though. I don’t usually have that sort of spare cash lying about and, besides, performance cars are pricey to run.

Anyway, a friend pointed me to collectingcars.com as he was bidding on a car there. Whilst browsing I saw an Atom4 with 700 miles on it that sold for £54k. The ad included the build sheet – which was £44k. Interesting. Then I looked at other Atoms that had sold and noticed they didn’t have a lot of depreciation. At all.

Next I started delving into Atom forums and asking questions. They really don’t lose value. Even better, they’re about as complicated as a Honda Civic mechanically. Clutches are £220 (not that you ever need one) and tyres are £100. The insurance was about the same as our Ford Galaxy. A service from the factory is £500. So it’s not like running a Lamborghini.

I started to figure that if you get over the, admittedly slightly difficult, hurdle of having £40k to play with, you could probably buy and run one for a couple of years without losing a lot of money. Fortunately, we’d been left a chunk of money which we’d earmarked for a house but that purchase is 3-4 years away – giving me a window of opportunity. Unfortunately this ruled out a new Atom4 as there’s a 28 month wait so the thought of having to sell it shortly after arrival was a no go. Used it was.

SO, I went looking. I learned that provenance is king in the used Atom world. THe factory know about every car out there and can tell you all about it. Good ones sell right away – often without being advertised. Luckily I mentioned on the FB page I was looking for one and three people came to me with decent cars. Ended up with a 2015 3.5 SC that had been built as a demo car for the factory then sold to a customer who was waiting for a 4. Great list of upgrades: Alcon Brakes, Bilstein Shocks, LSD, Extra Wheels, Stainless Bolts, Side Panels, Handbrake (many don’t have them) etc etc. THe seller agreed to have the factory MOT and service it and rectify anything as part of the deal. A 1200 mile round trip from Aberdeenshire with a trailer later – I was an Atom owner!

Call it bangernomics mixed with Man Maths. I’ll keep a tally of expenditure and by the time it’s sold we’ll see how right (or wrong) I was. However, no matter what it costs it won’t be as much as we spent running our friggin’ 54 plate XC70 for the last couple of years – that’s for sure.

Nice car, is it road legal or just for track days? How do you get on with the gear lever, I found it tricky as the gears were all very close together.

Nice! But surely a real man would have driven it home 😉

Do you have insurance for your spine after a trip in the south deeside 🙂

Will watch out for you. Only a few of them locally.

It’s purely for the road. Can’t face paying £200 to slide round Knockhill in the rain.

I should have driven it home but it has side panels so I’d have to have taken them off to be truly manly. Plus I couldn’t carry the spare wheels. (Best not mention the heated clothing either).

South Deeside? THey were out resurfacing some of the most potholed sections the other day so there’s hope yet……

South Deeside? THey were out resurfacing some of the most potholed sections the other day so there’s hope yet……

Town to maryculter is fine

Crathes to falls of feugh. – I’ve been to 4*4 trials with smoother timed sections.

Some great man maths here! I looked at them when I bought my Elise but like Caterhams you can’t use them as a sort of “regular” car easily and I wouldn’t want to drive one that far. However I find the Elise relatively confortabke for long trips and it does the track day stuff.

Crathes to falls of feugh

Yeah that’s got some terrible sections. Shame, coz it’s a nice bit. Further out most of it’s pretty good. I know where all the bad potholes are and you drive it like you’d ride a bike – looking for hazards and poor surfaces.

like Caterhams you can’t use them as a sort of “regular” car easily and I wouldn’t want to drive one that far.

I’m sure that’s true but I’m planning on using it as if it’s a bike rather than a car.

Excellent work!

Very nice!

Have you driven it yet? I would class myself as an ok driver, but know that would be beyond my skill level to drive quickly on the road

Are they a sequential box?

If I could justify a toy that would be on my list, unfortunately that means I’m looking at Boxter S instead for some daily practicality too

Helmet or sunglasses?

That looks amazing fun

Best not tell you about my old business partner who put his through a tree backwards…. Damp Road Jeopardy…

Yep as practical as a bike. That’s a good way to consider it!

I remember a friend of mine saw one once at a show and exclaimed “That’s not a car, that’s garden furniture nailed to an engine!”. One of those weird things you can’t get out of your head.

Nice! Always fancied one. No danger of crap getting stuck between the seat and the sill, it’ll just fall out. Won’t need much hoovering either. Its the perfect car.
Can you get a bike rack made?

Struggled tp follow your OP a bit, but thinking you’ve paid circa £40k for an Atom?

But won’t pay £200 to run it round a track?

Am I right?

Awesome, I have a soft spot for the Nomad, back in the 80s I built a kit car called a Fugitive that was loads of fun.
I’ve just sold my GR Yaris, all I can say is speed isn’t everything, replaced it with a Mazda 2 GT with half the power and twice the engagement.
Enjoy your new toy. 🙂

I’ve always been a fan but could only afford an ep3 type r, I can only imagine how well the drivetrain works in car like the atom.

Two thoughts, firstly you really should track it. Even if you only try it once, you really have to know what it’s like to drive without limits. I tracked my type r a few times when it was my daily driver without issues, you can drive as fast or as slow as you like so it doesn’t need to cost much except a tank of petrol. If you keep an eye out then you can get some trackdays for less than £100 at less popular times.

Secondly, what happens when it comes to sell in a few years after you’ve really fallen in love!!

I tracked my type r a few times when it was my daily driver without issues, you can drive as fast or as slow as you like so it doesn’t need to cost much except a tank of petrol. If you keep an eye out then you can get some trackdays for less than £100 at less popular times

A track day cost me a set of tyres on my 944 turbo when the Cayman R in front had a bit of a moment. Granted no ABS so a lock up is exactly that. The track surface does a good job of turning round tyres into 50pence pieces, to quote Martin Brundle.

Long fancied an Atom, I used to see one fairly regularly driving around Bath, not so surprising as they’re based down in Yeovil. What I really, really would like given the appropriate cash injection, is an Atom V8, about as mad a concept as you can get, but as Castle Combe race circuit is five miles away, and a former team mate when I was driving for BCA does supercar experience days at Castle Combe, Thruxton and another circuit in Wales.
And then there’s the Nomad, which has literally just appeared on Top Gear as I’m writing this!

This isn’t Supercar Bangernomics, Supercar bangernomics is being able to afford whatever the latest ltd edition Ferrari is, then keeping it for a few years and flogging it for twice+ what you paid for it.

For this to be worth owning it, you HAVE to get it on a track. That’s an absolute MUST.

Struggled tp follow your OP a bit, but thinking you’ve paid circa £40k for an Atom?

But won’t pay £200 to run it round a track?

Am I right?

You’re exactly right mate! I guess it’s coz I remember track days on the bike being about £80 when I used to do them but also because I did a lot of bike track days around Europe and got a bit jaded.

I actually like the challenge of putting together a good drive on a decent road versus perfecting a 2 minute lap round a 2-3 mile loop (or 1.3 miles in Knockhill’s case).

I would agree with OP, track days are now silly money, insurance is super expensive ie £250 per day ish, then you are going to get through brakes and tyres.

back in the 80s I built a kit car called a Fugitive

I had one too! Set up for offroad. Used to race it in a wee club up here.

Helmet or sunglasses?

Goggles and mask for short trips. Helmet with intercomm for everything else. Also picked up heated jacket/trousers/gloves/socks from BlazeWear plus gilet/socks for passengers.

Can you get a bike rack made?

No. I asked at the factory. They do one for the Nomad though. One of their guys does take the front wheel off and stash his bike on the passenger side however.

THe gearchange is really slick. Standard Honda 6 speed. THere is a sequential box available but it’s £12k. The 3.5R had it but they’re £70-80k used.

I’m taking it really slow and easy. Sticking to roads I know and just getting used to it all. Got a guy lined up to sit in with me. Ex test engineer and single seat race driver. THe general consensus among Atom owners I’ve spoken to is: “don’t drive like a tit and you’ll be OK”.

Look at F355 over last 10yrs.

Macro financial trends globally probably have just as much to say as model but reasonably priced sports cars look like they have been doing just as well as the FTSE.

If people lose money at the same time the first thing to get sold will be the toys though.

If you can afford it why not.

I actually like the challenge of putting together a good drive on a decent road

What’s one of them then?

Got to say, I’m really struggling to see what the point is of this car if you’re not going to put it on a track.

I can just imagine having that conversation with my OH.  “You know that 40k we’ve got squirreled away for the house love? YeH, well I’m going to spend it on a totally impractical go kart that has every chance of ending up smashed up or stuffed in a hedge.  You’re welcome.” 😄

I never got insurance on trackdays…. I would find ones on a Tuesday slightly out of season so would be £89. I wouldn’t drive too crazy (straight line speed isn’t my thing anyway) so wouldn’t get through tyres. This is mostly at Bedford which might be less abrasive tarmac

I’m really struggling to see what the point is of this car if you’re not going to put it on a track.

I see your point entirely. I might do the odd track day and maybe take it to the IoM but that’s only a small percentage of the time. One thing about the Atom is it’s fun on tighter, twistier roads at lower speeds too.

Personally, I enjoyed a superbike more on the road than I did on the track.

The other thing is, driving in the North of Scotland is generally a pleasure. We have some of the world’s best driving roads and very little traffic – especially if you pick the right times. This is the road I pull out on to every day:

I can just imagine having that conversation with my OH.

I had that conversation too. It didn’t actually go too well initially. Eventually she mollified from “there’s no way you’re having one” to “there’s no way the kids are going in it!”

I never got insurance on trackdays

My insurance actually covers 3 track days a year. Most of the Atom quotes I got did likewise.

I couldn’t get MrsG into an Atom (or buy one) but she goes out in the Elise plenty, loves it and drives it as much as me. She’s not a big fan of track days but here in the South East they are both plenty of tracks to try out and it’s the only way to drive the car quickly in a responsible manner. I have trackday insurance for 5-10 track days and do a mix of day / evening ones. It definitely a pricy hobby though.

Does it come with goggles?

This is the road I pull out on to every day

Ah yes. One half.of the Aberdeen race circuit.

Used to live at the bridge by lochton precast.

Everyone at their dog would be driving at **** speed up there on a Sunday morning Having come over the cairn.

Don’t miss living on that road.

I’m struggling to see how this can be fun to drive on the road without being dangerous or risk getting speeding fines. I’ve got my car insured through Reis which includes 6 track days for not much more than the years premium with other insurers. Then you can buy additional days if you like. Taking it to Silverstone or Donington will allow you to see the car at its full potential.

Suspect as you are an inch from the ground and have very little stopping the wind/weather hitting you then a drive on a normal road would be quite good.
Looks nice, would.love a shot but don’t fancy owning as it’ll cost a small.fortune in running costs.

I’m very envious.

I have a soft spot for the Nomad

There was one on Top Gear tonight. That looked a ‘kin hoot.

I’m struggling to see how this can be fun to drive on the road without being dangerous or risk getting speeding fines

It’s a fair point but I did many years on a superbike with only 3pts to show for it (on a motorway) and caused no accidents. You pick your time and place to have fun. When conditions are good, the road is clear and you can see a few bends ahead with no hazards then you open it up. When not, you shut it down. You just quantify the risks.

If I lived in the Midlands I’d probably be on a different track every weekend and never even want to drive anything fast on the road but it’s different up here. IMHO.

don’t fancy owning as it’ll cost a small.fortune in running costs.

I don’t agree. Tyres are cheaper than for my 2014 2.2TDCi Galaxy. MPG is the same. Insurance is the same. Servicing? Well my Galaxy service and MOT just cost £643 so we’ll see…..

Besides I’ll save a fortune on wiper blades, washer fluid and aircon regassing.

OP winning at life.

OP winning at life.

Ha ha! Not really mate, just a bit of fun while I get the chance.

Thought the Man Maths experiment would make interesting reading. Either that or I’m coming over as a total bell-end…..