Ariel introduced the Nomad at the beginning of the year, which is basically an Atom converted to sand-rail duty with the addition of features like a composite cage and waterproof cockpit, Hella light bar, and Öhlins suspension with hydraulic bump stops. Evo reviewed it not long after, now Drive has got hold of it and put Steve Sutcliffe at the wheel, sending him to the Sweet Lamb Rally Center in Wales. The Ariel Nomad in this guise also gets a winch and BF Goodrich tires with a rear high-mounted spare. The motor is a US-spec, 2.4-litre Honda unit tuned to 240 horsepower and 319Nm of torque, all going to the rear wheels only. The weight is just 670kg.

For kicks, they sent Northern Irish motocrosser Graeme Irwin along to give Sutcliffe a point of reference. We’re used to seeing cars battle bikes, and unless it’s wet or the race goes to beyond 200 miles per hour the bike almost always takes it. Irwin was on his Suzuki RMZ-450, a bike with about 60hp, but that, combined with Irwin’s skills, was plenty enough to keep Sutcliffe hard at work.

Source: Autoblog
Words: Jonathon Ramsey