Ariel Nomad 2 Review

Follow-up to 2015’s mixed-discipline special is said to be better in every way – and much more powerful A little over a decade has passed since Ariel revised the Atom for off-road duties and created not just a legend but a new trend. We will never know for sure, but is it not a coincidence that, shortly after the Nomad 1 appeared, the likes of Lamborghini and Porsche began to mutter about making dirt-track versions of their own cars?With plenty of demand for the Nomad 1, along with Ariel’s talent for iterating its products (the Atom is on its fourth generation and going strong), it was no surprise when a Nomad 2 appeared in 2024. It is fundamentally the same as its predecessor, although in truth nearly everything has changed (only the filler cap, pedal box and steering wheel are carried over).We’ve driven the new car before, on the roads near the factory deep in Somerset and on the rally trails at Sweet Lamb in lush mid-Wales. Descriptions of those experiences ranged from “riding a mechanical spider” to the Nomad 2 being “on a different plane of motoring existence”. It is clearly a unique proposition. But only now do we find ourselves with an opportunity to run the road test rule over this extrovert Ariel at Horiba MIRA. So how fast is the Nomad 2? How efficient is it? How much does it weigh? What exactly is new? Is there enough here to warrant an upgrade for Nomad 1 owners? Let’s find out.