Specialist lightweight track-car maker Ariel has just revealed renderings of its first ever off-roader.
It's called the Nomad and it's set to make its debut at Britain's Autosport show this month. According to Ariel chief executive Simon Saunders, the Nomad is "the Atom's mucky brother". The similarities are obvious when you see the Nomad next to an Atom, but the off-road application means it's plain to see that it's a very different machine to anything the company has sold so far, although it's still similar to the Atom in terms of philosophy and basic mechanical makeup. While it maintains the traditional Ariel emphasis on a high power to weight ratio compactness and general body strength, the Nomad opts for a more lightly stressed engine than the turbocharged and normally-aspirated 2.0-litre Civic Type R engines normally used by the company. Instead, the Nomad employs a 2.4-litre engine from the family of fours used by the CR-V and Accord models. The new off-road Ariel Nomad is similar to the beach-buggies of the 60s and 70s, in that it uses rear-drive only for its off-road forays, depending on its torque and light weight for traction, rather than heavy all-wheel-drive systems. The Nomad does share many parts with the Atom, including the basic structure, dials, pedals and wiring harness. The suspension is new and tougher, with considerably more travel, and there's also extra rollover protection for passengers.
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