Description
Located within the boundaries of Somerset there is a small low-volume motor manufacturer named Ariel Motor Company. You might know them best for the Atom, the car that saw TV’s Jeremy Clarkson receive an involuntary facelift on an episode of Top Gear in the mid 2000s.
The Atom, is effectively what happens when you set out to build a racing car, but start with a children’s swing set and a crash damaged Honda Civic Type R. It’s all roll-cage, which is helpful considering it’s lack of body work. By pairing a reliable, high-performance Honda power plant, to a featherweight steel-tube chassis, with suspension and braking components sourced from some of the finest manufacturers in the industry. Ariel, a tiny company, managed to make an enormous splash.
But what if you want to go off-road? Ariel, have just the thing. The Nomad. Whereas the Atom is for road and track, the Nomad is for Road and everywhere. It’s beefed up, lifted and shod with chunky all-terrain tyres. Each nomad is hand-built by a single technician and by proxy each car is unique, specced to exactly how the original owner wanted it, from winches to more power.
This Nomad does have a few special tricks up its sleeve, but we will dive into that. First off, let’s talk about the outside. The overwhelming majority of the external painted surfaces are black, from the tub to the exo-skeleton like roll cage to the wheel covers, the only splash of colour comes at the front in the form a flash of green for the foremost removable panel.
From head on, or what an unsuspecting victim might see in their rear view mirror, you’ll see bug-like eyes that consist of a projector dipped beam, main beam and LED indicator assembly. A WARN winch, an optional extra that cost around £1, 000 when new, and the roof-bar mounted 4-spot lights.
Whilst side on, you can appreciate the Nomad’s compact dimension, you can also spot the lightweight alloy wheels which are wrapped in all-terrain Yokohama Geolander tyres. Hidden behind the wheel and tyre package are a set of Alcon 4-pot lightweight brake callipers, whilst the suspension set up is supplied by Bilstein in the form of a remote reservoir, adjustable coil-over assembly.
At the rear you’ll find a Honda power plant, a K24. It’s a solid engine which can often be found in more mundane carslike a CR-V or Accord. The K-Series engine though comes in many forms, and the K24 often a chosen pick, thanks to it’s incredible durability as well as when compared with the 2. 0-litre unit fitted in a Civic Type R and the original Atom, it’s additional torque.
This particular K24 benefits from Ariel’s optional supercharger set up, which does also require the fitment of a heavy-duty clutch and flywheel as well as an oil-cooler. The £5, 000 optional extra ramps power up from the base 235bhp to close to 300bhp. That results in a power-to-weight ratio similar to that of a Ferrari 599 GTO. The engine is mated to a 6-speed close ratio manual gearbox, also sourced from Honda.
Inside, if you can call it inside, is simplistic. The Nomad, like its name, is nomadic in its nature. Only what is necessary is fitted. Lightly padded bucket seats house multi-point Ariel branded racing harnesses. A motorsport style alcantara wheel sits in front of a motorsport derived digital dash which is surrounded by an assortment of switches. The optional Tom Tom sat nav remains with the car too, as well as the Ariel branded car cover.
Despite the car’s low mileage of just over 4, 200 miles. It has consistently been maintained by Ariel. The service records include:
07/ 2024 - 4, 036 miles - 4 Year Major service - at Ariel Motor Company
12/ 2022 - 2, 175 miles - Yearly/ 4, 500 mile service - at Ariel Motor Company
11/ 2020 - 996 miles - Yearly/ 4, 500 mile service - at Ariel Motor Company
04/ 2019 - 867 miles- First/ 500 mile service - at Ariel Motor Company
Few things on the road are as bonkers as the Nomad, and yet few things evoke as much joy. Its simplistic nature leaves nothing to be imagined, but its capabilities likely go beyond. The combination of British ingenuity and Japanese reliability makes for a great one.
Whether you want to use it for track-days, green-laning or even navigating the questionable urban-roads of London, the Nomad could be a great car for you.
As with all our vehicles, a full digital folder is available on request containing more images, walk-around videos, and scans of the service history. The car can also be viewed by appointment at our West London showroom.
