Newbie Advice please -Caterham 620 to Atom 4?

[Finlay]

Hi guys, I have been a serial Caterham guy for a long time now - my current 620R SV is no 13!

I am interested in peoples thoughts of Caterham V Atom. My cars are road use, early morning, blow cobwebs away rather than track days etc and I am lucky enough to live near some great Scottish driving roads. I’d be probably looking at a new build car, with a screen and the 350 upgrade, reverse cam and a few other wee road biased bits and bobs, likely just over £50K at todays numbers. Being up north I’ve not driven an atom before.

Thoughts, comparisons etc most welcome.

Thanks Finlay

[mynamesnotbob]

So I've only lived with an Atom, but driven with plenty of Caterham.

Both cars very similar is that they are great fun to drive, very fast, and mainly just built for the fun of it. I opted for the Atom as it was unlike anything else, I preferred the drive, the build quality is just in another league.

If I think back to the reasoning, the 620 wanted to go everywhere sideways, the Atom was more about using that power to go forward. I also had the feeling that the 620 was going beyond the limits of the car, and the power was starting to detract from the point of it.

The Atom, the power felt fine, and like it was able to take more And aside from the weather a 4 is a very comfy place to be, with a ton of space. A caterham even in SV guise is not exactly a generous place to be space wise

If you know and love a 620 it may just be the ticket for you, but the Atom just felt like it had moved the game on. To a Cat die hard though, there is nothing like a caterham.

I'm sure if you put this on a caterham forum you will get an answer equally biased in the other direction - so ultimately you need to find an owner and get a pax ride.

For me though it was a no brainer, the Atom manages to take the best parts of bike and car driving experiences, wrap them up in a really well built package and its simply the best 'fun' car I've had, its like no other as a package to escape reality

[Jamier27]

Have you drove any atoms at all? Where is it your based…??
I have the supercharged version you’d be welcome to try if your not too far north of the border….

I am jealous of that sequential box you have tho

[kelvin12382003]

I would like a caterham too!! Wanted to see how different they are on a B road !


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[Fastlane]

I can't comment on a Caterham, as I've never owned one, but this Pistonheads article compares the Atom 4 to the 620S, so may help.
https://www.pistonheads.com/news/ph-fea ... 620s/38967

[Finlay]

Thanks guys, some very helpful comments there, I’m West of Glasgow, near Loch Lomond/Glencoe “playground”! The 620R is best described as a beast, the sequential box adds a degree of drama not found in “lesser” Caterhams. It wouldn’t be for everyone mind you. Interesting regarding quality and indeed depreciation. My car new on Caterhams configurator in exact same spec is £65K. It’s a 2019, with sub 3K miles, never been tracked or raced (very unusual for an “R”). It’s worth around £50K I suspect which depreciation wise is hardly on a par with buying a new Atom? Mind you, I suspect it won’t drop much more from now on.

[AlanP]

If you are going to buy a 4, try a 4. They are different from the supercharged cars.
I'd pay a sum to try a 620R, a very exciting car indeed. I suspect most like a 3.5R/Sadev. That would be an interesting comparison.
A

[Preseh]

[mention]mynamesnotbob[/mention] this is exactly the same view that I have. In my opinion the power of the 620R is too much for that car on the road. Although the Atom 4 is quicker, the Atom feels like it's made for the power as opposed to clinging on for dear life zig-zagging down the road I used to have an R300 and it was rubbish on the road compared to the Atom (granted things have come a long way since then). If you can bag yourself a ride or drive in an Atom 4 I think you'll be blown away by how well it behaves on the road but you can still scare yourself silly at the limit if you want to - the difference is that the limit is your own ability and not the car's.

[Finlay]

Yes I definitely need to try an Atom 4. Regarding the 620R, when I bought it off the first owner (who was 70year old and had bought it new - clearly he had some significant testicular fortitude for a chap not in the first flush of youth!) it came with the factory ZZR rubber and it was almost unusable on the road. I immediately fitted a new set of Avon ZZS and at least the tyres are now trying to find some traction!

[Valey80]

There is a video from Jason Plato where he drives the 3.5R and the caterham 600R back to back.
He basically says 100% the atom hands down winner. 620R can’t handle the power and just spins out. Atom considerably quicker. But the final answer is both awesome and so much fun! Can’t go wrong either way!

[Rockerfellar]

Hi, I have owned a roadsport and an r400, then moved to my first atom a few years ago, an n/a atom 2, I was hooked ever since, I have had three atoms since. I haven’t considered a caterham since. Will be collecting my new 4 next month.

[speedmachine]

Hi guys, I have been a serial Caterham guy for a long time now - my current 620R SV is no 13!

I am interested in peoples thoughts of Caterham V Atom. My cars are road use, early morning, blow cobwebs away rather than track days etc and I am lucky enough to live near some great Scottish driving roads. I’d be probably looking at a new build car, with a screen and the 350 upgrade, reverse cam and a few other wee road biased bits and bobs, likely just over £50K at todays numbers. Being up north I’ve not driven an atom before.

Thoughts, comparisons etc most welcome.

Thanks Finlay

Hi Finlay,

I have owned 2 atoms (a 2sc and 3.5 sc and a little experience with the atom 4 as well, KTM xbow, BAC Mono and now 3-11) but never owned a caterham, just testdrove a 485 and would love to chat with you on the 620 subject. Maybe you get something out of it as well.
I'll Pm you my cell phone number, maybe we can call or whatsapp a bit and see if you can help me with my thoughts, as the dealer doesnt know a whole lot about the cars at all...

[reg]

I’ve owned a Crate, 240HP K Series, turned into a bit of a race car. Driven R500K, R500D, 420R, 620R. The 3.5 Atom was my preference over the 620R. Whilst the Crate is more intuitive the Atom was more rewarding. The 4 is totally different, chassis wise IMO it’s a step forwards. For me the Crate sweetspot as always been 200HP, the 4 is far more sophisticated for me and as an object… all Atoms are cooler

[Alistairbuchanan]

Yes I definitely need to try an Atom 4. Regarding the 620R, when I bought it off the first owner (who was 70year old and had bought it new - clearly he had some significant testicular fortitude for a chap not in the first flush of youth!) it came with the factory ZZR rubber and it was almost unusable on the road. I immediately fitted a new set of Avon ZZS and at least the tyres are now trying to find some traction!

Im in glasgow with a high specced 4.

Gimme a shout if u want a spin

A


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[CJ1156]

Hi, I owned (and raced) a Caterham in the 90's....still the best handling car I have ever driven, but only after a lot of upgrades. I have owned 2 Atoms: a supercharged 3 which I had from 2010-2019, I drove it to Le Mans and back twice, and I now have an Atom 4 with the 350 upgrade....and the sequential box. There is no contest in terms of build quality, if there was a time I drove the Cat more than 50 miles without something dropping off, I can't remember it. In terms of handling the 4 is up there with the Cat....it is actually so competent in the dry it is sometimes difficult to believe, and it is also quite driveable in the wet, particularly if you specify the traction control option. In summary the Atom 4 is ridiculously quick but can handle its power and has been put together with love and attention to detail at a factory that is justifiably proud of its product.