Ariel Motor Company, a UK-based niche carmaker best known for its Atom model, has unveiled the second generation of its off-road spin-off, the Nomad. The car has traded its Honda engine for a beefier Ford unit and can be preordered now from £67,992.
To give you an idea of the scope of updates, Ariel says only three parts remain from the original car – the steering wheel, the pedal unit and the fuel tank lid. An all-new tube-frame makes the chassis 60% stiffer while letting the designers design larger doors and add legroom for taller drivers. The wheelbase has gained 48 mm (1.88 inches) and the track has become 50 mm (1.95 inches) wider. The approach and departure angles are still impressive at 48 and 64 degrees, respectively.
Things look just as exciting in the suspension department, which now features Eibach springs and K-Tech custom shock absorbers in the standard spec. You can pay a premium to have these replaced with Öhlins shocks. Four-piston AP brake calipers and 290mm (11.33-inch) rotors are installed all around, and the driver takes advantage of a hydraulic handbrake with a handy vertical lever. Adjustable ABS and off-road launch control complement the list of electronic driving aids.
As for the new engine, it is a 2.3-liter turbocharged four-cylinder unit sourced from the Ford Focus ST. It delivers a steady 305 PS (301 hp / 224 kW) and 518 Nm (382 lb-ft) of torque by default, but a programmable ECU allows the drivers to cap the output for some challenging off-road situations. Stage I drops the power to 260 PS (256 hp / 191 kW) and the torque to 385 Nm (284 lb-ft) of torque. Stage 2 clamps the output at 302 PS (298 hp / 222 kW) and 451 Nm (333 lb-ft).
With these restrictions out of the way, the second-gen Ariel Nomad needs just 3.4 seconds to reach 96.6 km/h (60 miles per hour). It doesn’t hit its speed limit until 215 km/h (133 mph). A 40% larger fuel tank is also worth a mention, because it lets the off-roader cover 885 km (550 miles) between refuels.