Keith

That's easy. No There is no consensus. There are brand loyalties inside the Seven community. Each of the variants has their strong and weak points. The Caterhams seem to do well consistently on tests by EVO magazine, while the Westfields fall just behind. But Peter Egan tried our Westfield last week and thought it drove better than a Caterham, while Larry Webster thinks my car is easier to drive sideways than a Cat. I've been in a WCM as a passenger on track and was quite impressed with the surge of power over 100 mph when the S2000 engine got on to the fun part of the camshaft. Dax has a tendency to stuff bonkers engines in their cars, but they don't necessarily handle quite as well as some other makes, while Donkervoort has set a record at the Ring in a car that has obviously evolved somewhat from the original design. It goes on and on. The Caterham R500 Evo does seem to be a bit of a high-water mark for performance from one of the more mainstream providers though.

Regardless of where the engine is, I think the Atom shares the same general intent as the Seven - performance through light weight. Who cares where the engine is? Heck, I've seen a Locost with a mid engine that looked a whole lot like a Seven. I think the Atoms would fit right in with a bunch of Sevens on a tour. The owners are a different sort, but that makes things more interesting.

Thanks for chiming in, Randy. I wouldn't say my car is one of the better examples. It might be one of the more sorted home-builts, but I'd put it as average around a track for a modern 7. It's a bit better than a Caterham in some aspects and worse in others. The fact that I wrote a book is more a reflection of my writing ability and history than anything else I must admit that I'm amazed at the support that Brammo showed for the GRM test, shipping out some red body panels to improve the photogenics of the all-black Atom for the test. If only Westfield was as helpful!

Maverick is an Atom 245 owner, I see him on the Atom board regularly.

Not all 7 owners have a high level of disposable income If the X330 is supposed to provide double the performance of an Atom since it costs twice as much, that means that a 300 hp Atom should have 7.5 times the performance of my car. The math works both ways! It'll be interesting to see how Jon W's homebuilt Atom works out. He's never actually seen the real thing, but he's making a pretty nice car in his garage with some sweet touches. The Atom is dramatic looking and has a very high public awareness right now. I don't know if I'd call it a "looker" like Maverick does, but it's nice having all the greasy bits on display for those of us who get enjoyment out of examining the mechanicals of a car. My wife wasn't a fan but I could poke at the details for hours. Of course, I'll do the same thing on a Seven! I wonder what Chapman would have to say about the Atom? It's inspired by race cars, but it's not designed to be one. I think of it as the automotive equivalent of a Ducati Monster. Of course, Colin would probably also be aghast that we were still driving a 50-year-old design! Maverick, do you think the Atom will evolve at all? Not just modifications to fit a different engine, but tweaks to suspension geometry and frame design for improved performance. The car's been around for about 7 years now and it's still basically untouched as far as I know. After 7 years, Chapman had used 5 different engines and done a fairly thorough update of the design, and was only three years away from the seminal Series 3. I'm curious if the Atom will be gradually improved, or if it will undergo step changes like most mass-produced cars. It was really interesting being at that GRM test and seeing/driving the Atom in person to compare to the fairly overheated hype that surrounds the car. My dream sportscar is still a Caterham Superlight though.

Aerodynamics - ha They're as good as a Seven. Or maybe not, there's a lot more scaffolding out in the breeze and a larger frontal area. But downforce is not on the menu. The Atom guys are messing around with wings, side panels and the like but generally they're not aerodynamic at all. I'll see if I can get another 7 invitation to Atomfest. They're being very welcoming, although the fellow who extended the invitation did know both Bill and I. A 500 hp Atom is not a typical Atom, that's for sure!

I think an Atom would autocross fairly well, but that the width of the car would give it a disadvantage over a Seven. Other than the width, it would be a good contest. It certainly can be autocrossed and Atom owners report great success with this, but it may not have SCCA classing yet. Heck, if an Atom rolls up to the lights at one of the autocrosses I run, I'd let it run! Let it run in the same class an equivalent Locost would run. The reason the "self assembly" Atom is available is likely for registration purposes. It's easier to register a kit car than one that came ready to go. It avoids some of those "it is kit or is it production?" questions, I'll bet. Also for registration, it's possible to register a Caterham Superlight with no windshield. At least, it's been done. Don't ask me how, the Colorado law is fairly clear on this but the guys at Rocky Mountain says their local inspector doesn't kick up a fuss. Might just be a friendly inspector who understands the nature of the car. Atom registration is certainly shrouded in secrecy, though. Part of the "sorting" the Atom needed was replacing the Yokohama A048Rs with slicks. I was on a set of two-year-old RA-1s

If you can't find the issue locally (it's made it to the depths of Colorado now), you can always ask for a freebie https://ssl.grmotorsports.com/sample.php

I agree that Top Gear should be getting commission on the Atom. It was around for five years before that report, but there was absolutely no public awareness of it outside the specialty press. Probably just as well, it took them 5 years to deliver one to the EVO Car of the Year test that worked. But when they sorted it out, they blew EVO's socks off. The drivers for the GRM article were not me I think one is semi-pro and the other is BS Levy, who does have a few track miles under his belt. I don't know if you read the article, Dermot, but the author's point was that there's a difference between fun and effective. Basically, the Atom felt fast, while the Seven simply got down to business, went faster and didn't make a fuss about it - even with experienced drivers behind the wheel. My own particular impression after a few laps in the Atom was that it could be faster than my car, but it would take a very skilled driver and you'd be taking more risks to do it. That impression was formed in a vacuum, I didn't have my car running alongside to give me perspective. The Atom site is run by the club, so it's similar to this one. After building my own car, I've become a real cynic about both horsepower claims and weight claims. I've seen my 148 rwhp, 1300 lb car outrun a "230 hp" Caterham in a straight line, and I've seen a "550 kg" Westfield hit the scales at 1350 lbs. I've been given permission by GRM to put the article online once the magazine is off the newsstands. You should all go buy a copy, though

What Skip didn't mention is that his Miata-engined turbo Caterham (oooo, the sacrilege!) won "best in class" at the Concours! As Skip mentioned, I was there. But I was undercover, posing as a Westfield passenger...

I've found the same thing as rv-4mike on the Atom forums. It's quite a community. There was a thread about the GRM article on the Atom forum. http://forum.atomclub.com/index.php/topic,5433.0.html . The last poster has since been run off the forum because he put different wheels on his Atom with some massive slicks. Between the time of the track test and the article seeing publication, the price of the Atom my car was being compared to went up by $15,000. And yes, this is viewed as good because of what it does to resale. The 300 hp cars are turning out to be 240 hp cars, but anyone who says anything bad about that is a terrorist. Anyone who tries to make the car into a better track car is accused of making the Atom into something it's not, anyone who tried to make it more comfortable for the road is trying to make the car something it's not. I think the car lost something in the translation from Honda to GM engine (although the shifter on the Honda-based car I drove was unbelievably vague), and Brammo is struggling to deliver cars. But there's no question the car has achieved a huge mindshare in the usually oblivious public, and that can only be good for those of us who like our fun small and light. People are starting to realize that performance isn't all about big engines and big weight.

The Birkin is a little more, ahem, "faithful" to the original Series 3 than my car is. In particular, you have the engine further forward in the car. I also have a beefier roll bar than many other people do. If memory serves me correctly, my car's about 48:52 empty. Put someone in it, and the rear wheels get pushed into the pavement even more. Good for acceleration, good for braking. By "passenger", I mean any occupant, including the driver. Thanks for the kind words, Jeff.

I don't think the Atom guys viewed it as a competition. They're used to undying adulation with their cars and probably expected more of the same. At the track, the Atom guys didn't even look twice at my car. It's pretty interesting looking at their culture, suggest that it's possible to improve the stiffness of the chassis on their forum and they'll be all over you. Do the same on a Se7ens forum and you'll get into all sorts of interesting discussion. This might be because our cars are the result of 50 years of evolution so we're used to seeing changes, while the Atom sprung to life fully formed. We're also used to seeing a wider variety in our ranks beyond color and one of two engine choices. This attitude may change as the car evolves, if it does. They're quite different to drive, though. Between their track/wheelbase ratio (pictures do not illustrate how wide the car is) and the forward seating position, the Atom has a very immediate feel. It's always trying to change direction and never really settles down. I'm sure some of this could be tuned out, but the inherent design of the car is always going to be twitchy and the feedback is a bit muted. Meanwhile, you sit right on the rear axle of a Seven and they'll happily talk to you all day as you drive sideways. It doesn't smack you upside the head about how much of a superhero it is, it just does stuff. The Atom makes a big deal out of it. Dave, I've got a fair rear weight bias on my car when it has a passenger on board. Surprising, really. slngsht, you're not kidding. If even one Atom goes faster, it'll prove that the GRM result was a fluke

It was mailed on Aug 1st, but the newsstand date was the 21st. It's not on stands around here yet. GRM subscribers get their magazines quite a bit earlier than the poor rabble who buy it at the newsstands. Personally, I'm pretty happy. BS did a good job on the article, which was a tough one to write. I'll be interested to hear what you lot think. And besides, it got me an invitation to Atomfest, possibly to settle some scores. I think I'll wear a shirt with a big target on my back They did say that Bill could come as well, which means we'll have a turbo Westfield along...

No money, no. I figured that since the car is going to a historic rally, it would be fun to show up with a historic paint job. Other than the hideous argyle orange and green from the 1992 Le Mans Mazda, there isn't much of a Mazda racing livery. The rally GTXs were fairly undistinguished. So, what else is there? Gulf never rallied and it's been done to death anyhow. I've always been an Integrale fan, so Martini it is. Hey, it gets more attention for the car (and thus the other sponsors) so mission accomplished. The car was singled out on the Targa forum because it looks good, and that's the sort of attention we want. I'll have both cars at the track on Friday. Gotta defend my record! I might be able to do it, but it's going to be tough this year between your over-muscled Cat and Bill's faster and faster Westfield.

That white car is the final result of my garage painting. No bugs or dirt, but I'll need to sand the stripes down a bit to get rid of the steps. Here's what it looked like yesterday. http://targamiata.com/images_lrg/IMG_7734.jpg Of course, it's more than just a cool paint job. I built an 11:1 bored and stroked Miata motor, and I'm aiming for about 200 hp at the rear wheels out of it. The power/weight isn't going to be all that far off my Seven and it'll be built to go fast on battered Newfoundland roads. I've cherry-picked the best Miata parts out of 18 years of production, from a 1990 dashboard to a 2005 front subframe. It's pretty fun already, the first track day is on Friday.

Oh, I love those old Alfas.

But not all horsepower is created equal. My 148 rwhp car has pulled away from "230 hp" Caterhams and the 300 hp Atom couldn't lose it. So it's not the quantity of the horses that count, it's the quality

It's in our trailer waiting for a new engine after another mechanic left out a few parts. Here's the site for the car: http://www.flyinmiata.com/projects/dog.asp Basically, it's a Miata engine bored and stroked to 1996cc with a T3/T4 turbo strapped to the side. Of course, now we make the same horsepower in street cars with better spoolup and lower octane requirements, but that's progress The car runs Advance Design shocks and a whole raft of custom bits like the extraction hood, vented rear window, wing (mounted to the frame, not the trunklid), dash, cage, water injection, oil coolers, etc, etc.

Thanks Kitcat. That matchup went pretty well

Let's see... I dragged a 1967 Land Rover out of a barn, got it back on the road for the first time in a decade or more, drove it 2000 miles to Colorado, replaced the frame and built a new wiring harness from scratch and then proceeded to wheel it all over Colorado and Utah. http://keith.miata.net/landy http://keith.miata.net/postcards/engineer_up/images/Dscn1068.jpg Then I built a race car. 350 hp or so, functional aero, 2000 lbs wet. http://flyinmiata.com/projects/OTC/03/race_day2/DSCN9321.jpg A 1966 Cadillac that was stripped, repainted, polished and reassembled. http://keith.miata.net/caddy http://keith.miata.net/caddy/images/DSCN9801.jpg Then some sort of little Lotus thing, followed by a Westfield. And a classic Mini came to live with me at the same time, but it's not exactly at major project status. The current project is a Miata that will run the Targa Newfoundland. I'm combining the best parts of 18 years of Miata production for it and learning to spray paint in my garage. The car was stripped to a bare shell and it started from there. Of course, I'm not just painting it white, it's getting a full Martini paint job. This picture was taken this afternoon. http://www.targamiata.com http://targamiata.com/images_lrg/IMG_7693.jpg Of course, my day job is the sort where we do projects all the time.

Thanks Rob, it's interesting hearing the perspective of someone who's intimately involved with the road every day. With regards to my experience, I saw very few motorcycles when I was there. Probably because the first time was during the week, and the second time was during the Miatas at the Gap event - and I suspect that word gets out that the Dragon will be clogged with cars. Besides, we went exploring elsewhere. Here's what I've always figured the problem is with the Miata event: anticipation. The Gap is almost mythical in status, and people plan their trip there a year in advance. Especially for first-timers, the first thing they'll do is go attack the road with all the pent-up excitement of that planning...and boom. Perhaps it's a different problem for the bikes as they work their way up faster and faster or they're just intoxicated by the performance of their machines. I imagine this plays out every weekend. As for the actual behavior of the LEOs, that's another topic. I don't blame the police chief for wanting a highly visible presence, and I can understand how the individual officers might not want to be that presence.

I've been to the Gap a couple of times, once with a couple of friends and once for the big Miata gathering. The problem is that it's not the Nurburgring, it's a road. Sure, everbody likes to treat it like a playground but there's legitimate traffic there. We came around one corner and were face-to-face with a truck that had drifted into our lane. We were able to stop because we weren't running hard, but if we had been it would have been very ugly. When I went down to the Miata meet, I saw four Miatas with sheetmetal damage by the time I'd gone through to Tapoca - including two that had met in opposite directions. Cars and bikes were pushing too hard all over the place. With this sort of behavior going on constantly, I can't really blame the locals for getting a bit fed up. We can argue what's reasonable and what isn't, but try to see the other side's viewpoint.

It sounds as if this was basically a one-day version of the Open Track Challenge - which, in the last year I competed, was a great battle between a Viper Competition Coupe and the Radicals. I know the Atom retired with wheel bearing problem, how was it running before that happened?

You know this already, but that is probably the best looking home-built out there. It's not going to win on lap times I'll wager, but it will probably be right at the top of everyone's "I want to take this one home" list.