How do you like the Atom? I always wanted to drive one.... I think they're awesome.
I actually first learned about the Atom as an electric car, which was right around the time that the original Tesla Roadster was revealed in 2006. There was a 1-off EV conversion of one, which was called the Wrightspeed X1. Found out about a 4-day track event at Hallett, where I got a passenger ride on a few hot laps, and knew I needed to eventually purchase one. Eventually found one on eBay for a good price. I’ve owned it for a little over 9 years now. At one point, had tried to sell it to fund the Model 3 purchase, but couldn’t get my desired sale price, so now I have both. There should still be a thread here in the For Sale section with pictures of my Atom, since, everything is for sale for the right price. It’s definitely not a vehicle to drive on the street if you want to stay under the radar.
I really should have a serious conversation with the EV conversion shops at some point about doing a proper EV conversion on it, The Atom is so light and small that being able to put enough batteries in it to maintain the current performance would be a challenge. With a full tank of gas, my Atom comes in at something like 1,530 pounds. Any conversion that is done on the Atom would need to maintain the current sub 3 second 0-60 times and also the braking/cornering capabilities, which would be difficult since the weight would go up by possibly 20%.
It’s a fantastic car. You should definitely try to find one to at least go for a ride in at some point. This last fall, I took it to a local Cars & Coffee event, first “car show” I had taken it to in years. Towards the end of the event, had one of the folks sheepishly ask if I’d take home for a ride. He knew all about the Atoms, but this was the first he had seen in person. I took him for a 4 mile drive including a mile on the highway with the supercharger screaming in our ears on the entrance ramp. He was all smiles.
To keep this a little on-topic, I justify the carbon emissions of the Atom with the current gas engine by doing the bulk of my driving each year in the Tesla. In addition to the Tesla, I have over 9 kW of solar panels at home that overproduce on the amount of energy that I use in the house, including the 20,000 miles of EV driving each year. Since I only put 500 to 1,000 miles on the Atom each year, those emissions are almost lost in the noise. Yes, I would like to cancel out the final gasoline consumed by the Atom and lawnmower, but for now, I’ll have to deal with just a 98% reduction in the amount of gasoline I burn..