British sports car maker Ariel is known for its nuttiness. Its sole product, the track-focused Atom, is a featherweight skeleton of a hand-assembled chassis capable of delivering a punch several classes stronger. The Atom is so bare-bones that it's barely legal for use in the United States and other countries as a roadgoing vehicle, let alone a trackday machine—but that just makes it more desirable.
So, leave it to Ariel to devise the Nomad: an another object of desire that includes everything that makes the Atom unique, with an added go-anywhere twist.
British magazine Autocar reports that the Nomad, which will debut in early January, will complement the Atom and round out a two-model lineup. Think of the Nomad as a two-wheel-drive dune buggy that can travel anywhere—except, perhaps, the regulated, paved roads of civilization, if it's subject to the same restrictions as the Atom is.
Henry Saunders, son of Ariel founder Saul, told Autocar that "we've done quite a bit of testing on forest tracks and rally stages," hoping that the rear-wheel-drive Nomad will be able to compete with four-wheel-drive competitors.
A four-cylinder Honda engine is rumored for power, of a displacement somewhere around 2.0 to 2.4 liters, and a 6-speed manual will be offered. Ariel is trying to keep the curb weight as low as possible, to somewhere around 1500 lbs., for a superior power-to-weight ratio.
Look for the Nomad to first show its face in the first quarter of the new year.
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