The automotive production business is one of the hardest out there. A multitude ventures into it, but only a handful survives. It’s worse when it’s a low-volume performance-oriented automotive manufacturing company. Any mistakes could be hugely costly, and for several reasons, the chances of survival are significantly slimmer. However, having been in business for about 30 years, a low-volume sports car company that seems to be surviving against all odds is the Ariel Motor Company.
In 2015, at the Autosport International Show, the English automotive company introduced its third production vehicle after the Atom and the Ace, a road-legal buggy called the Nomad. Notably, the Nomad is built on the same principles as the Atom, but unlike the road and track-focus Atom, the Nomad excels both on- and off-road. Like other Ariel models, the Nomad is also built in limited numbers, yet it accounts for about 60% of the company’s current production. The high demand for the Ariel Nomad is down to its pure awesomeness, which we’ve highlighted here through some of its amazing attributes.
10 Ambidextrous Chassis
The Ariel Nomad is pure awesomeness for its amazing features, which include the chassis. Crafted from an extremely strong bronze-welded steel tube, the Nomad chassis has been phosphated to provide strong adhesion as well as corrosion protection. However, one of the most unique features of the Nomad’s chassis is its ambidextrousness.
In effect, it is compatible with both the right- or left-hand drive. This further increases the awesomeness of the Nomad, making it a suitable buggy for a wider range of driving enthusiasts.
9 Formidable Powertrain
Power is focal when judging how amazing an automobile is, and to ensure there isn’t any compromise in that department, Ariel adopted one of Honda’s most potent mills to power the Nomad. It’s the 2.4-liter K24 Honda 4 cylinder i-VTEC engine.
A strong and durable engine, the Honda mill has an output of 235 horsepower and 221 lb-ft of torque. Also, the engine is mated to a 6-speed close-ratio transmission for effective power management.
8 Incredibly Light
The importance of weight reduction in the fabrication of performance-oriented cars cannot be overemphasized. As such, sport car manufacturers are always researching or adopting newer and lighter materials for building their cars — knowing that it takes less energy to propel a lighter object than a heavier one.
Hence, with a body structure that features no doors, roofs, trunk, and several other parts, the Nomad’s total weight come to about 1477 pounds, giving it an extremely high power to weight ratio.
7 Fast
The Ariel Nomad’s formidable powertrain surely helps the road-legal buggy deliver incredible performance. With the 6-speed gearbox sending the 235 hp-worth of juice to the rear wheels, the Nomad can zap from rest to 60 mph in just 3.4 seconds and 100 mph in 8.7 seconds.
Also, when in full flight, the buggy can easily attain a full speed of 125 mph. With such performance capacity, the Nomad is no match for several road-going and off-roading vehicles.
6 Versatile
Unlike the Ariel Atom that was built for road and track, the Ariel Nomad is however built for road and off-road trips. From its name, you can juxtapose that this amazing buggy was designed and developed to be the perfect muse for a nomadic life.
Hence, it’s suitable for a wide range of terrains. Be it a WRC rally track, gravel track, a grassy field, or even in a desert, the Nomad feels no pressure at all.
5 Safe
The Nomad is a modern buggy crafted for the most extreme of terrains, yet it is incredibly safe. Adopting the Ariel signature structure, the Nomad’s body is bronze welded by Ariel’s talented craftsmen into an attractive yet extremely safe edifice.
The buggy has a full roll cage around and over the passenger’s cubicle. It features two firmly fitted bucket seats with 3” FIA seat belts and harnesses — in the competition build — for all the support and protection needed for even the most turbulent of rides.
4 Highly Customizable
You can spec your Ariel Nomad so distinctively that you’d be sure you alone own such an automobile. A highly customizable buggy, the Ariel Nomad is provided with several optional configurations for several of its body parts. For context, the tires are available in optional configurations for road and mud, while it also has the all-terrain option.
Other optionally available features on the Nomad include a rear towing strap, alternative color wheels, Bilstein adjustable dampers, and a cockpit adjustable remote brake bias among many others.
3 Extremely Fun
An Ariel enthusiast once said the Nomad offers the best fun you could have with your clothes on. While we don’t completely understand what he meant by that, we, however, completely agree with him. It’s no flattery, the Nomad offers a forbidden level of fun, and we love the forbidden.
Realistically, this buggy’s 235 horsepower juice could have been inadequate when compared to other fire-breathing alternatives, but with a weight of a kite, Nomad handles just fine, while transforming the craziest of terrains to its playground.
2 Variety Of Body Color Options
As standard, the Nomad comes with a black frame with black rotationally molded bodywork. It also features black mudguards while the hood and engine cover are available in a range of standard colors as well.
The chassis and wheels can be finished in different color powder coats while the bodywork can be sprayed in pearl, flip, metallic, or finished in a unique requirement based on requests. Notably, on exterior finish, anything you can imagine or desire is possible on the Nomad.
1 Exclusivity
No one ever really truly understands the prestige and amazing feeling that comes with owning a limited production car until they own one. It’s an incredible feeling of exclusivity, and probably superficial invincibility as well.
While several cars with the “limited” badge have often turned out to be mass-produced cars owned by everyone with a quid to spare, the Nomad is limited in every sense of the word, and it’s built to be extremely unique and exclusive.