► It’s an all-electric Ariel E-Nomad
► New concept uses 41kWh battery
► Go-anywhere thrills in zero-emissions buggy
The new Ariel E-Nomad concept shows that the bijou Somerset car maker is taking a long view for its range of lightweight sports cars: it’s fusing the go-anywhere thrills of the Nomad sports buggy with the zero-emissions cleanliness of an electric car.
Out goes the Ford Ecoboost four-cylinder turbo, as sampled recently in the new 2024 Ariel Nomad 2, replaced by an EV powertrain developed especially for this car.
There’s a 41kWh battery feeding power to a 210kW rear motor, delivering equivalent to 281bhp and 361lb ft of torque to the back axle for a 0-60mph sprint time identical to the petrol model’s at 3.4 seconds.
That’s a big enough battery capacity to give a 150-mile electric car range, according to Ariel, although if you get too busy with the right pedal – as usually happens in Ariels – we suspect that figure will drop substantially… A 20–80% top-up takes 25 minutes on DC fast-charging.
Note the more aero bodywork, including – shock horror – such niceties as a roof!
Ariel E-Nomad: how Ariel Motors did it
If you’re wondering how a tiny specialist like Ariel had the resources to develop an electrified version of the Nomad, remember that it has a rich network of suppliers and collaborators. It’s already been developing the Ariel Hipercar project, which managing director Henry Siebert-Saunders tells CAR is still a live project, although he will not commit to a live timeline.
The company teamed up with Rockfort Engineering and Bamd Composites to develop the E-Nomad, with support and grants from the Department of Trade and the Advanced Propulsion Centre. Rockfort developed the 450-volt battery pack for Ariel, which is claimed to weigh less than 300kg. It uses a new type of lithium-ion modules dubbed Pegasus V3.
The battery packs are cooled by a front-mounted radiator, designed to keep the cells cool even when being given a tough work-out on road or off.
Ariel director and founder Simon Saunders said: ‘While the E-Nomad is a concept, it does show production intent for the vehicle and hints at just a small part of Ariel’s future. Once it has been through our usual, gruelling testing regime we could opt to add E-Nomad alongside its ICE Nomad 2 sibling, so we’ll take great interest in customer feedback on the concept car.’
Note also the new bodywork made using natural flax fibres, developed by Bamd Composites. The bio-composite natural material is claimed to save 73% of CO2 in manufacturing compared to traditional carbonfibre – and it’s 9% lighter, too. The bodywork is designed to be more aerodynamically efficient.
How heavy is the electric Ariel Nomad?
These lighter body panels help keep the weight of the battery-powered Nomad to 896kg. That’s still pretty light, despite adding 181 kilos to the kerbweight of the petrol-powered model.
The Arield E-Nomad will be unveiled at the Cenex Expo 2024 on 4 September at the Millbrook proving ground in Bedfordshire.