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it: he just knows that he wants one.’
That’s me. I’ve built, run and raced
a Caterham, I’ve enjoyed sports cars
on road and track and I’ve ridden
off-road pretty extensively on two
wheels. But I’ve no idea what I’m
going to do with our Nomad – I just
know that I want it.
To cover all eventualities, our
car’s pretty loaded. While the basic
price, £36k, undercuts a fair chunk
of Caterham’s range, the options
list – and therefore the potential to
swell that sum – is vast.
‘The price can climb quite
quickly,’ says Henry. ‘Some buyers
double the basic price but most are
more careful. They come in with
a budget – we advise that buyers
come here to spec their car, if at all
possible – and most only exceed that
by maybe 10 per cent.’
The core of the car is simple, and
simply perfect: a 235bhp 2.4-litre,
four-cylinder engine driving the
rear wheels via a six-speed ’box and
a standard limited-slip diff, snug
behind two seats in the back of the
car’s beautifully welded tubular
steel frame. Suspension comprises
unequal-length double wishbones
front and rear (the camber angles Alex Tapley
CARMAGAZINE.CO.UK | OCTOBER 2019
are outrageous) and the steering is
unassisted, quick and worked by
a (detachable) suede racing wheel.
There are three pedals in the race-
style pedalbox, harnesses in place of
seatbelts (four-point, with an easy
buckle on our car; a six-point set-up
is optional) a fly-off handbrake and
- serving as a constant reminder
of what a spectacularly purposeful
tool you’ve chosen – the most
colourful thing on the dash isn’t an
infotainment screen but a bright
yellow Tilton brake bias adjuster.
The least autonomous, least
connected car on sale? Lovely.
Our car chimes in at £55,677.
Key options include the overhead
lighting bar (£1198), the winch
(£1025), the heated front screen
with washers and wipers (£1938),
the multi-adjustable Fox off-road
dampers (£3416), that hydraulic
handbrake (£594, and a lot more in
engine repair bills if you neglect to
dip the clutch when you tug it...),
a heavy-duty clutch and the £2379
pack required for legal road use.
Among that lot you’ll notice no
roof, windows or doors. Yet on the
six-hour drive home I get wet only
twice, a miracle given the persistent
slate skies. On motorways the
Nomad’s comfortable and capable
but wasted like crop-dusting in a
Spitfire. It’s when I swing off the
A14 onto roads that require driving
that the outrageous Ariel – on
knobbly tyres and dampers soft
like cake mix, remember – brutally
machine-guns every preconceived
notion I have of what a fast and fun
road car should look and feel like.
Ten innocent miles of B-road and
everything is changed.
@BenMillerWords
The most colourful thing on the dash
isn’t an infotainment screen but a
bright yellow brake bias adjuster
