You might know Ariel for the Atom, the trellis with an engine on the back that reshaped Jeremy Clarkson’s face. It seems like a brilliant fair weather machine for any jurisdiction with smooth roads, but let’s face it, most of us aren’t surrounded by pockmark-free tarmac. That’s why the Ariel Nomad exists, a super-light boutique buggy with enough suspension travel to eat up a gravel track and enough sidewall to shrug off a smart Fortwo-sized pothole. It seems like a fabulous machine, yet for the second-generation model, Ariel’s decided to throw away everything save for three parts and start fresh.
It all starts with a tubular chassis with main and diameter tubes 12.5 mm larger in diameter than on the old model. Once all the chassis bits are welded together, the resulting structure is a claimed 60 percent stiffer than the old Nomad’s, and it’s passed a 30 mph barrier test. Nice information to have in your head, should you suddenly realize you underestimated the severity of that last yump.
Then again, you’d have to really cock it up to find yourself in that position, because the new Ariel Nomad 2 has even more suspension travel than the old one, thanks in part to new K-Tech dampers and Eibach springs. The suspension uprights are each milled from a single chunk of aluminum, all the wishbones are properly beefy-looking TIG-welded units, and even the footprint of the new Nomad is larger than before. Not only is the wheelbase 1.9 inches longer, the track sits two inches wider, and that ought to help high-speed stability.
High-speed? Yep, with an engine like this, things could get seriously fun, seriously rapidly. Shoehorned into the rear end of this 11.15-foot-long exoskeletal gravel assault vehicle is the 2.3-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine from the European-market fourth-generation Ford Focus ST. In the Focus, it makes 276 horsepower, but Ariel’s turned up the wick to 305 horsepower, should you wish to dial up Map Three. While a sequential transmission is on offer, a standard six-speed manual gearbox with a limited-slip differential routes all that grunt to the rear tires, while Yokohama Geolandar all-terrain meats are responsible for getting it to the actual ground.
The result, Ariel claims, will run from zero-to-60 mph in 3.4 seconds, top out at 134 mph, and weigh just 1,576 pounds. What’s more, with a 48-degree approach angle and a 64-degree departure angle, it will go pretty much anywhere you don’t need four-wheel-drive to go. Oh, and did I mention that the induction system for the engine is a mailbox-sized scoop directly next to your head?
At £67,992 including VAT, the second-generation Ariel Nomad 2 isn’t cheap for a vehicle with no doors, no roof, and no windows aside from a windscreen. However, it does look like a brilliant way to spend the equivalent of, at the time of writing, $72,731 once you remove VAT and convert out to American currency. Expect to see it hurtling up the hill at the Goodwood Festival of Speed this week. Aren’t you glad someone still knows how to simplify and add lightness?
(Photo credits: Ariel)
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