Image via Ariel North America/Facebook
When you combine 300-horsepower, 1,700 lbs., and an off-road capable platform that right there is an excellent bad idea. The amount of trouble you could get in with such a machine and no sense of danger is incredibly high, and that’s why we love the Ariel Nomad Tactical.
Excellent bad idea: Humvee on tracks.
This is perhaps the closest you can get to an off-road sports car. Imagine blasting down a fire road, going off jumps, and traversing some somewhat technical trails in this thing. Just don’t confuse this with a Jeep built for rock crawling or you’re really going to get in trouble. After all, this is a rear-wheel-drive, rear-engine vehicle, not a hulking four-wheel-drive beast.
We’ve included videos of some people enjoying this wild machine. Among them are Jay Leno and Matt LeBlanc, who show how much of an adrenaline rush one can get as sand, mud, and whatever else is spraying everywhere.
While the Nomad Tactical is quite bare bones, it doesn’t leave you or your passenger exposed. Instead, you both sit enclosed in quite the safety cage and even enjoy a windshield so you don’t get a nice layer of dust from your off-road jaunts.
Ariel offers the Nomad in two versions: Tactical and Sport. For those who want to stick to pavement, the Sport offers low-profile tires and other more road-worthy equipment. But if you want to venture onto the dirt, the Tactical is the way to go.
Not everything about the Nomad Tactical is about irresponsible fun. There’s a full-size spare tire mounted on the back of the vehicle and a hi-lift jack on the rear bumper because tire malfunctions absolutely happen when off-roading. We just wish the thing came with bead lock wheels, but those can be added easily enough.
The Ariel Nomad is made in Virginia, not the UK, and each one is built to order. They’re also road legal, we believe in every state, but you will want to check on that before getting one. But worst case scenario you can trailer this bad boy to your favorite adventure spot.
Images via Ariel North America/Facebook
