The Ariel Nomad is not a car for everyone. Not only does it lack virtually any creature comforts, but it also happens to be one of the most extreme vehicles on the market.
Thus, if you’re not a fan of the great outdoors, enjoying the wind in your hair, and off-roading, the Ariel Nomad is definitely not for you.
Since its release, we’ve seen it navigate some difficult terrain. However, to find out just how tough the Nomad is, Top Gear decided to jump into the driver’s seat for a trip to the top of Mont Ventoux in France.
To give the Nomad the best chance of succeeding, it was towed by a Land Rover Discovery for the boring motorway journey between the UK and France. From there, it was all up to the Nomad to conquer the snow and ice-covered mountain road to the summit of Mont Ventoux at 1909 meters (6263 feet).
The Ariel Nomad may look as rugged as they come but it does away with any systems that would make off-roading easy. As a result, driving it on snow, up a mountain, is quite a challenge.
Ariel will sell you a Nomad outfitted with a 2.4-liter four-cylinder Honda engine delivering 235 hp and 221 lb-ft (300 Nm) of torque. That may not sound like a lot, but the car itself only weighs 670 kg (1477 lbs), so performance is not an issue.
Can it, however, tackle one of Europe’s fiercest mountains? Watch the clip below to find out.