The Nomad R Is Ariel’s Most Intense Creation

According to Henry Siebert-Saunders, its creator at the Ariel Motor Company, the new Nomad R is like its "standard" off-roader sibling turned into a tarmac-spec WRC car. Except that it's a lot more physical to drive, being a full-on track weapon ready for the bumpiest circuits out there. What's for sure is that as a road car, the Nomad R made seasoned performance car driver and journalist Henry Catchpole suggest picking up yoga as a secondary hobby. Keeping all that in mind, Ariel will only build five of these angry Nomads, priced at £77,000, which is the equivalent of more than $100,000 USD.

For that kind of money, the Nomad R combines the supercharged Honda V-Tec engine of the track-focused Atom 3.5R with the Nomad's forgiving suspension travel, yet with the Öhlins dampers all firmed up, and Yokohama's A052 semi-slick tires strongly suggesting that you shouldn't leave the paved roads with this one. The 2.0-liter engine produces 335 horsepower and 243 pound-feet of torque, launching this latest Atom/Nomad hybrid to 62 miles per hour in just 2.9 seconds.

Top speed is limited to 134 mph mostly by the ultra-short gearing, with the party piece being SADEV's straight-cut sequential gearbox, actuated pneumatically by a single carbon fiber paddle like in World Rally Championship machines.

Clearly, the Nomad R is a mad vehicle for mad individuals who don't mind the acrobatic entry process, the constant whine of the supercharger and the racing transmission, the kickback of the steering over every bump, and the curious looks that are guaranteed wherever this wild spaceframe with a windshield goes.

Having driven multiple super- and hypercars, as well as race cars from various eras of motorsports, if Henry Catchpole says this is the most intense car he's ever driven, Ariel has truly made something incredibly demanding. Sign us up, please!

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