Ariel's third model is the best yet - in fact, it's one of the best driving experiences we've ever had Unusual. The Ariel Nomad is belting along an empty and well-sighted, but rough, rutted, lumpy and twisty back road at a speed that would push any hardcore or lightweight sports car off its line and well out of composure. Certainly this pace would prove too much for an Ariel Atom’s suspension. Yet the Nomad’s body stays flat and its steering wheel steady, as you watch the 18in front wheels shod with moderate off-road rubber nip gracefully up and down, absorbing everything beneath them.You’re aware this road hasn’t even begun to challenge the extremes of what the Nomad can do; I’m starting to think this is an extraordinarily special car. Perhaps even an extraordinarily influential one. The last time I experienced suspension control like this was from the passenger seat of a Mitsubishi Pajero rally raid car.The Nomad is Ariel’s third model – after the Atom we know so well, and the recent Ace motorcycle. Ariel’s people hoped to make an all-terrain car while retaining as many Atom parts as possible.Trouble is, they’re fiddlers and perfectionists; most of them ride mountain bikes and scramblers or use serious 4x4s and they can’t accept a half-baked job. So all that’s actually carried over from the sports roadster is what’s around the driver: instrument panel, steering wheel, column and rack, the pedal box and the floor panel. Everything else is new to the Nomad.Owing to the mechanical layout and those few carried over parts, though, it still feels familiar. Climbing into the Nomad presents you with an Atomish driving position and environment: the exposed tubing and a Honda engine zinging to life behind you, albeit one stroked to 2.4-litres and as used in a CR-V, rather than the Atom’s Civic Type-R 2.0-litre. It still makes a respectable 235bhp at 7200rpm, mind and still drives the rear wheels through a six-speed manual gearbox. Brakes and steering remain unassisted because the Nomad’s weight, although up more than 100kg over an Atom, is only 670kg.There are double wishbones all round with dual-rate springs; softer at the beginning of the Nomad’s considerable travel to absorb poor surfaces, then stiffer later on to prevent huge, unwanted body movements.from Autocar RSS Feed http://ift.tt/1bAgFVi
via AGYA
