Long-time lurker

[M3HPDEinstructor]

Hi:

I'm Chris from Akron, Ohio. I've owned dozens of interesting cars over the last 30 years, and am seriously considering buying an Atom.

Some of my previous cars include:
71 MG Midget
59 Austin Healey Bugeye Sprite
59 Triumph TR3A
85 VW Scirocco
95 VW GTI VR6
93 Audi UrS4
99 BMW M Roadster

My current fleet includes a 2008 hardtop M3 convertible, a daily driver BMW X3 and a 97 BMW M3 coupe I've been tracking for a dozen years, and have been instructing for the local BMW and Porsche clubs at HPDEs for eight years, mostly at Mid Ohio, Nelson Ledges and Putnam Park in Indiana.

I would love to find an Atom not too far from Northeast Ohio that I could look at, sit in and maybe drive around the block just to see if it's workable for me. It's difficult to find interior dimensions for these cars, especially for the various seat options. My track car has Recaro Profi XL seats and those work fine for me, but much smaller would be problematic for hip and shoulder room. I don't know which race seats might fit into an Atom, but I'm really more interested in a street car than a track car.

Looking forward to participating!

Chris

[BobK]

Welcome to the forum. If you are going to be in Chicago before the 20th of Sept. I would be glad to show you the car and see if you fit. I currently have Corbeau seats in my 2012 and they suit me well, but I'm not a large person 5'8 160. After the 20th I'll be in North Georgia for a week with the car.
Bob

[M3HPDEinstructor]

Hi All. Thought I'd update this post -- I bought the Atom 2 that was up for auction on www.bringatrailer.com last September -- 800-Mile 2006 Ariel Atom 2 | Bring a Trailer. The car arrived on a closed trailer about a week after I won the auction -- very smooth transaction. I put several hundred miles on the car in September and October, before winter set in and my temporary tags expired.

Over the winter, I was assisted tremendously by Mark Swain at TMI, who helped me prove to the State of Ohio that the Atom 2 met their definition of a collector car, and the car now has collector plates on it.

I did find the stock sport seats to be rather narrow, so also over the winter, I had some custom-machined brackets made so I could bolt in wider Kirkey seats. Without sliders, the new seats are lower and farther back, which makes a big difference in how I am able to fit into and drive the car. Coupled with new Schroth six-point harnesses, the driving experience is vastly improved. I'm still on original 10-year-old Yokohama DOT-R tires -- the car has just over 1,200 miles right now -- so I plan to put new rubber on it soon, as well.

All in all I am very pleased with the car, and I also continue to be very happy to be able to lurk in this fine community of enthusiasts!

Chris

[CR500]

You lucky dog. I wanted that car (still do)! That is my benchmark for features / price.