The Ariel Motor Company: A Tale of Resurrection and Rebellion

Ladies and gentlemen, they're the boutique manufacturer that makes go-karts for grownups. Go-karts that can rip your face off. That's because your face is outside of the car. It's the company that was born 150 years ago, died 50 years ago, and then came back from the dead 20 years ago, making ultra-low production, ultra-lightweight speed monsters.

In this video, we're going to tell you how this company went from making really old motorcycles to some of the most insane four-wheel vehicles the world has ever seen. Also, stick around for a huge announcement about me and Nolan's involvement in a certain video game where you can race this car on dirt.

Chapter One: The Death of Ariel Motors

Two dudes named James Starley and William Hillman started building penny-farthing bikes, those are the ones with the big old wheel in the front and the little wheel in the back, under the name Ariel in an industrial hamlet in Southwest Birmingham, England in 1870. Well, that's my cue. I'm gonna head out. Anything before 1985 makes my eyes glaze over. No, dude, I promise. I'm gonna get to the fun stuff really, really soon, the face-melting stuff. But you gotta understand where we came from in order to understand where we are. You know what I mean? That's life.

Okay, but only because that was so deep. The dudes went with the name Ariel, which is the spirit of the air in William Shakespeare's "The Tempest". They wanted to evoke a sense of freedom and movement, much like the wind, which is something we'll see again later in our journey. So, let's take a moment to appreciate the humble beginnings of this iconic company.

Chapter Two: The Birth of Ariel Motors

As I mentioned earlier, James Starley and William Hillman started building penny-farthing bikes under the name Ariel. These early bikes were revolutionary for their time, with the large front wheel providing an unparalleled sense of speed and freedom. However, as the years went by, the company began to evolve and grow.

In 1878, James Starley patented his innovative chain drive system, which allowed the pedals to turn a series of gears that ultimately powered the front wheel. This innovation revolutionized the industry and cemented Ariel's place as one of the leading manufacturers of bicycles in the world.

But as with all great things, there was also a darker side to Ariel's story. The company faced numerous challenges and setbacks throughout its history, including financial difficulties and technological failures. Despite these obstacles, Ariel continued to innovate and push the boundaries of what was possible with two-wheeled vehicles.

Chapter Three: The Decline and Rebirth of Ariel Motors

As the years went by, Ariel continued to grow and thrive, but the company's fortunes began to decline in the early 20th century. Despite its innovative designs and cutting-edge technology, Ariel struggled to compete with larger manufacturers who were able to mass-produce their products at a lower cost.

In the 1950s and 1960s, Ariel underwent numerous restructurings and mergers, but the company was unable to shake off its financial troubles. In 1971, Ariel ceased production entirely, leaving behind a legacy of innovation and design that would one day be reborn in a new and unexpected form.

Twenty years after its death, Ariel was revived by a group of passionate enthusiasts who were determined to bring back the brand's rich history and tradition of innovation. Today, Ariel is once again at the forefront of the automotive industry, pushing the boundaries of what is possible with speed and design.

Chapter Four: The New Ariel Motor Company

Today, Ariel is the boutique manufacturer that makes go-karts for grownups, as well as a variety of other high-performance vehicles. Their flagship product, the Ariel Atom, is a testament to the company's commitment to innovation and design.

The Ariel Atom is an ultra-lightweight speed monster that can reach speeds of over 150 mph on the track. Its sleek and aerodynamic design makes it one of the most beautiful cars on the road today.

But Ariel's involvement in motorsports goes beyond just racing. They also sponsor a variety of other events, including hill climbs and drift competitions. In fact, I'm excited to announce that Ariel will be partnering with me and Nolan in a new video game where you can race this car on dirt!

So, if you're ready for the ultimate driving experience, stay tuned for more information about the new game and how you can get your hands on an Ariel Atom.

That's everything you need to know to get up to speed on the Ariel Motor Company. It's a story of resurrection, rebellion, and innovation, and we're honored to be a part of it.

WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: en- Ladies and gentlemen, they'rethe boutique manufacturerthat makes go-karts for grownups.Go-karts that can rip your face off.That's 'cause your faceis outside of the car.It's the company thatwas born 150 years ago,died 50 years ago,and then came back fromthe dead 20 years ago,making ultra-low production,ultra-lightweight speed monsters.In this video, we're gonnatell you how this companywent from makin' really old motorcyclesto some of the mostinsane four-wheel vehiclesthe world has ever seen.Also, stick around for a huge announcementabout me and Nolan's involvementin a certain video gamewhere you can race this car on dirt.Five, this is everything you need to knowto get up to speed on theAriel Motor Company, wow!(upbeat electronic music)Chapter one, the death of Ariel Motors.Two dudes named JamesStarley and William Hillmanstarted building penny-farthing bikes,those are the ones with thebig old wheel in the frontand the little wheel in the back,under the name Arielin an industrial hamletin Southwest Birmingham, England in 1870.(sighs) Well, that's my cue.I'm gonna head out.Anything before 1985makes my eyes glaze over.No, dude, I promise.I'm gonna get to the funstuff really, really soon,the face-melting stuff.But you gotta understandwhere we came fromin order to understand where we are.You know what I mean?That's life.Okay, but only because that was so deep.For example, the dudeswent with the name Ariel,which is the spirit of the airin William Shakespeare's "The Tempest."(groans)They made a name for themselveswith a very successfulmodel, the Ariel 50-incher.(bell rings)It was the first all-metalbicycle with rubber tiresfor that extra smooth ride.Then in 1898, theygraduated to motor power,when they made a 2.25 horsepower tricycle.This thing is my dream tricycle.I want to twin-turbo oneand throw some nasty rim forms on it.Jason, hit me up.I guess you could say thefirst car that Ariel ever madewas a quadricycle that had 2.75 horsepowerand a water-cooled cylinder head.Apart from that,the first two decadesof business were a mess.Lots of bankruptcy and namechanges and boring stuff.Sounds like Shakespeare.I don't believe that youdon't like Shakespearebecause that joke was informed.I liked you better whenyou only talked about cars.The first commerciallysuccessful models that Ariel madehappened after thecompany hired a designerby the name of Val Pageto refurbish their brand.His design for the Red Hunter motorcycledebuting in the early 1930s was sleek.I mean, the boy was eye-catchingand it showcased the largefour-stroke engine proudly.The Ariel Red Hunter line camein 350cc and 500cc versionsand were a favorite forgrass and dirt track racers,as well as youngenthusiasts like yourselves.It could be doomed to make 24 horsepower,which, for a motorcycle at that timewas a freaking boatload.One thing that really boosted the marqueewas a couple of wins at theprestigious Maudes Trophy,a grueling motorcycle endurance testthat put bikes through hell and back.Like they went to hell,then they came back.Ariel made stylish, reliable motorcyclesthat sold very well,which is why, in 1936,they were able to buyanother motorcycle companythat you might have heard of, Triumph.All right, now we're talkin'.Yeah, I ride a bike.Maybe after this show, I canshow you one of my wheelies.(audience groans)Shortly after the takeover,Ariel released another absoluteslapper dangbanger of a bikecalled the Square Four,a 995cc four-cylinder hogthat looks literally sick as heck.It was extremely popular.And by the end of World War two,Ariel was one of the largestmanufacturers in Great Britain.(motor revving)In 1947, they invented theworld's first telescopic forkfor a production motorcycle,which basically every singlebike in the world uses today.They started finding success overseas,especially with theirbest-known model of the era,the Cyclone.It had a high-compression650cc headmaster engine,and it was famous becauseBuddy Holly owned one.He's the one with the glassesthat died in the plane.(motorcycle roaring)In 1951, the Ariel and Triumph brandswere sold to BirminghamSmall Arms Company.They killed the four-stroke enginesAriel was using at the timein favor of two-strokesin hopes of combining motorcyclelooks with scooter power.It was dumb and it didn't work.And by 1967, the company had folded,proving that peopledon't kill motorcycles,gun manufacturers do.(dramatic piano music notes)Chapter two, the birth of Ariel Motors.So we're only a few minutes in the videoand Ariel's already dead, or is it?In the 1980s, a guy named Simon Saunderswas working as a designerwith credits at Porsche,GM and Aston Martin.Working at these big companies,he'd look around and seeenthusiasts tracking carslike the M3 and saw an opening.- We could see there was a needfor people to have a vehiclethat they could drive fast, (tea slurping)but not necessarily on the road.- In 1991, Simon founded Solocrest Ltd.in Crewkerne, Somerset, England.As a small company, Solocrest wasn't boundby the same regulations as the big ones,so they could let theirimaginations run wild.- There you go, imaginations, run around.- Oh, what, is that the sun?- Oh, is this grass?- Look at all this space,let's run wild, whee!- Simon built the firmfrom six employees to 30.And in 1999, he saw anopportunity to associate Solocrestwith one of England'slegendary motoring brandsand changed the name.Thus began the ArielMotors that we know today.(go-kart roaring)Chapter three, The "Cars,"in quotation marks.The new Ariel is best known for the Atom.I mean, look at this frickin' thing.It's extremely lightweightbecause it's barely even a car.Its chassis acts as an exoskeletonand there's no weight thatisn't absolutely necessary.The first model launched in the year 2000,five years after Post Malone was born.And the current model, the Atom 4,uses a direct injectionturbocharged K20C Honda motor,which is the same engineas the Civic Type R.But while a Civic Type Rweighs about 3,000 pounds,the Atom 4 weighs 1,349.It makes up to 365 horsepowerwith 310 pound feet of torqueand does zero to 60 in 2.8 seconds,if you can shift fast enough.Yeah, cause that's right, man.It's a frickin' manual.(car roaring)People who've driven them saythat even more impressive thanthe speed is the handling.Since there's basically noweight moving laterally,there's almost no body roll.And the level of precisionobviously goes upwhen you can just lookat your frickin' wheels.And right behind the driveris a giant air intakethat'll suck your face into the engineafter it's ripped off by the car.So let's say you're aperson that wants one.You're not gonna go toBarry's Used Ariel lot.You're gonna call Ariel directly.And a concierge, who in my imagination,is played by Colin Firth,will ask you everythingthey need to know to customize your Atom.- What brake options do you need?Do you want double adjustable dampers?How tall is your body?Is this your daily driverthat you're going to takeyour kid to school in?- But if this will be your track car,there are also track-specific models.And for the money,an Atom is surprisinglypractical for racing,since the reduced weight will meanless wear on expendable partslike tires and brake pads.They start at 75 grand,so they're not cheap,but when you buy one, you'regettin' something that is,pound for pound, morepowerful than a Ferrari Enzofor $600,000 less,if you could even find a frickin' Enzo.But let's say you call yourcharming concierge named Colin,and you say, "Colin, I wannatake my Atom in the dirt."- Well, sir, then you don't want an Atom.You want a Nomad.(car roars)The Nomad is Ariel's offroad modelthat uses their exoskeleton designto create something betweena track car and an ATV.It uses the legendary,naturally-aspirated 2.4 literHonda K24 motor.And if naturally-aspirated ain't your jam,you can option it with a big old blowerto make it 300 horsepower.Like the Atom, that's on top of beingincredibly light, 1,700 pounds.It's also fully customizable,and that includes the suspensionwhere there are several options.But all of them obviouslyhave a ton of travel.And a ton of suspensiontravel means a ton of jumps.It comes in two models, theSport trim and the Tactical,which adds a light bar, awinch, a rear sump guard,and a spare wheel.Just think about what--- Name withheld.- would say if he saw me in one of these.He'd be like, "Hey, James,sorry for beatin' you up"for senior year in high school."Can I get a ride in your Nomad?"And I'd be like, "Kick rocks."- Oops.- Eat my sand.(raspberry buzzing)Yeah.- Sorry.- I still remember.Please don't find out whereI live and beat me up again.And if the Nomad looks familiar to you,that's probably because you saw itin the trailer for "Dirt 5."And you know what else is in that trailer?A frickin' Mustang with a Donut logoand all of our shows on it.That's right, Donut is in "Dirt 5,"but you probably already knew that.But what you didn't know isthat I am also in "Dirt 5,"my voice anyway, not my actual person.A few months ago, Codemasters hit us upand they were like, "Oi, mate,"you wanna be in a new video game?"And we were like, yes, yes, we definitely,we would definitely loveto be in a video game.- Oh, my God!- In the game, we host "TheDirt Podcast" by Donut Media.And not to toot our pretty little horns,but we kinda moved the entire story along.We're an integral part tothe game, it's awesome.What's also awesome is we got to work withsome of the biggest voiceactors on the planetlike Nolan North and Troy Baker.Nolan was nerding out super-hard.It was really, really cute.- Oh, my God!- I can truly say this is aracing game by racing game fansfor racing game fans.And we are super-stoked, not even stoked,blown away that we weregiven this opportunity.And I think you guys arereally gonna like it."Dirt 5" launches fromOctober on PC Next-Genand current Gen consoles.To preorder the gameand learn more about it,go to the link in the description below.Guys, we did it.We're in a frickin' video game.Now back to the show.Chapter four, after you've madesome of the craziest, mostinsane car things ever,where do you go in the future?Ariel is definitely knownas a wacky exocar company.And you might have forgottenthat Ariel actually startedas a motorcycle company.That's why, in 2014, theycame out with the Ariel ACE,their first bike in 47 years.Like the Ariel cars, theACE is made to order,so it's very customizable.You can choose the controls.You can choose the suspension,the fuel tank, the wheels,the grinder fork, mudguard, the instrument panel.You can choose frickin' everything.And also like the cars, theACE uses a Honda engine,specifically the 1,237cc Unicam B4that makes 173 horsepoweron a frickin' motorbike.Now, unlike the Atom,it's not built to rivalthe fastest competition.With the ACE, Arielfocused on personalizationinstead of just outright speed.If you want a bike thatcan outrun an airplane,you should go get a different motorcycle.(motorcycle roaring)So, what's next?After gettin' rid of thedoors, windows, radios,and assembly lines, nextAriel is gettin' rid of gas.I know somebody elsewho's getting rid of gas.In 2017, they announcedthe Hipercar with an i,which stands for HighPerformance Carbon Reduction.This thing is gonna have fourindividual electric motors,one at every wheel for a grand total of,are you ready for this?(drum rolls)1,180 horsepower.And we're talkin' aboutthat much horsepowerwith Ariel's extremely lightweight design.So, word on the street isthey got a zero to 60 time of 2.4 seconds.That is so, I don't evenunderstand how that would work.The bare chassis has been seen,but the full body only existsright now in concept artand the dreams of little boys like me.They plan to reveal the final productat the Low Carbon Auto Show in Septemberin the United Kingdom.So, by the end of the year,we'll know what we can expectfrom these absolute maniacs.Everyone tweet at Ariel and let them knowthat James Pumphrey from Donut Mediawants to have his face ripped off.If you're new to Donut, welcomeaboard, it's a fun place,it's a fun crowd, you'reamong good people.Hit that subscribe buttonand the notification bell.We're gonna be in a video game.That is a huge, huge thing for me.If you wanna watch moresciency stuff, like I said,check out this episodeof "Bumper to Bumper."Check out this episode of "Money Pit"where my buddy Zach is building a Miata.I love you.