This is the supercharged version of the Ariel Nomad, it’s a 300 bhp off-road buggy that also happens to be street-legal in California, with power provided by a 2.4 liter Honda i-VTEC inline-four that’s been fitted with a blower.
British automaker Ariel is best-known for their earlier featherweight creation, the Ariel Atom. Long the darling of automotive TV shows like Top Gear, the Atom put Ariel on the map. The Ariel Nomad is the vehicle that was designed to take the company off the map, off the road, and off the track.
Fast Facts – The Ariel Nomad Tactical
- The Ariel Nomad was developed by Ariel Motor Company, a low-volume specialty British automaker best-known for the Ariel Atom – a similarly lightweight performance car that offers an extensive list of no luxuries whatsoever.
- Ariel cars aren’t about being comfortable, they’re about being connected. And going fast. As a result of this relatively simple recipe, the company has become one of the most loved car makers of its kind anywhere in the world.
- The company introduced the Ariel Nomad in 2015 as a stablemate to the earlier Atom. The Nomad is a street-legal buggy that features a new tubular steel chassis, completely new off-road suspension, a windshield, a mid-mounted Honda 2.4 liter four-cylinder engine, and a full roll-cage that is an integral part of the chassis.
- The Ariel Nomad has been available for sale on both sides of the Atlantic, and it’s proven popular in the United States, particularly the west coast where the expansive outdoor spaces are perfect for vehicles of this kind.
- The Nomad Tactical you see in this article is a 2017 model. It’s street-legal and registered in California, this Nomad was built in the USA by TMI AutoTech with parts supplied by Ariel in the UK, and it’s powered by the supercharged version of the 2.4 liter Honda i-VTEC inline-four.
The Ariel Nomad – An Off-Road Buggy For The 21st Century
When the Ariel Nomad was first introduced in 2015 at the Autosport International Show no one quite knew what to make of it. It looked clearly similar to the earlier Ariel Atom with its exposed tubular steel chassis, minimal bodywork, mid-mounted Honda engine, and advanced, race-derived suspension.
Above Video: This is Matt LeBlanc’s Top Gear feature on the Ariel Nomad Tactical, it includes ample footage of the vehicle being driven off-road at speed, and Matt does a great job of explaining the car’s unusual spec sheet.
Despite the resemblance, the Nomad and Atom share very few parts. The Nomad needed a new chassis that also included a full integrated roll cage, and it required all-new rally car derived suspension capable of more travel and handling far larger impacts than the system used on the Atom.
The Nomad would use a rear wheel drive system rather than all wheel drive, many of the most successful off-road racing vehicles in history have been rear wheel drive only after all, including many modern desert and endurance racers. Even the trusty old Meyers Manx is rear wheel drive, the vehicle that beat all-comers to win the inaugural 1967 Mexican 1000 race (the predecessor of the Baja 1000).
The Nomad was offered in two key versions, the standard option powered by the 2.4 liter Honda i-VTEC inline-four producing approximately 235 bhp and the supercharged version that includes a slew of modifications and turns out 300 bhp.
Given the fact that the vehicle only weighs 1,750 lbs or 794 kgs, the power output of the standard naturally-aspirated Honda mill is more than adequate, with the supercharged version being entirely excessive and completely wonderful.
The Nomad rides on independent front and rear suspension consisting of double unequal length wishbones front and back with heavy duty fabricated uprights, and adjustable JRi dampers with remote reservoirs.
As you might expect, the vehicle has front and rear disc brakes, with Alcon Motorsport four-piston calipers over 290mm vented rotors. It also has quick ratio alloy rack and pinion steering and a quick-Release motorsport steering wheel.
The interior of the Ariel Nomad Tactical is about as minimalist as it’s possible to get, with a windscreen and removable roof but little else in the way of weather protection.
In the years since its introduction, the Ariel Nomad has been featured on a slew of major automotive television shows including Top Gear (twice), it;s been covered in just about every major car magazine at least once or twice, and it’s been showcased in an immeasurable number of shows on YouTube.
The Ariel Nomad Tactical Buggy Shown Here
The Ariel Nomad you see here is one of the more extreme supercharged versions, it’s also one of the versions built in the United States by TMI AutoTech of South Boston, Virginia.
This vehicle is fitted with black fenders and a black bikini top, the tubular frame is finished in gray as are the 15″ alloy wheels, and it’s fitted with adjustable Öhlins coilover suspension, BFGoodrich tires, a performance clutch, roof-mounted auxiliary lights, a winch, a fire extinguisher, and dual 12-volt outlets for heated motorcycle clothing.
Inside the spartan and somewhat breezy cabin you’ll find composite bucket seats with multi-point Willans harnesses, a suede MOMO steering wheel on a quick-release hub, and a carbon-fiber instrument surround with an LCD screen offering readouts for all the vehicle’s vital statistics.
Power is provided by a mid-mounted 2.4 liter Honda i-VTEC inline-four that’s been modified and fitted with a supercharger. It produces 300 bhp, more than enough for the vehicle’s 1,750 lb (794 kg) curb weight.
We only rarely see these come up for sale, largely as only relatively few have been made and owners are often reticent to part with them, such is the unparalleled sensation of the driving experience.
If you’d like to read more about this Nomad or register to bid you can visit the listing here on Bring a Trailer. It’s being offered for sale out of Rancho Dominguez, California with a clean California title listing the car as a 2017 Specially Constructed Vehicle.
Images courtesy of Bring a Trailer
Articles that Ben has written have been covered on CNN, Popular Mechanics, Smithsonian Magazine, Road & Track Magazine, the official Pinterest blog, the official eBay Motors blog, BuzzFeed, Autoweek Magazine, Wired Magazine, Autoblog, Gear Patrol, Jalopnik, The Verge, and many more.
Silodrome was founded by Ben back in 2010, in the years since the site has grown to become a world leader in the alternative and vintage motoring sector, with well over a million monthly readers from around the world and many hundreds of thousands of followers on social media.
