Ariel: inside the British automotive start-up

If enthusiasm were the sole key to success, every start-up company in the automotive industry would be a success. But it isn’t – and the history books are littered with failures in which skill, business nous and cashflow simply didn’t make the grade. Ariel is different, though. It’s one of the rarest of rare beasts: a start-up that hasn’t only survived, but has thrived.

Seventeen years after Simon Saunders revived the name of an old British motorcycle company, Ariel has built some of the most exciting sports cars ever. By combining a top-quality, desirable product range with a viable, profitable business plan, it’s added to its initial offering – the Atom ­– with the ground-breaking Nomad and Ace motorcycle.

Simon’s son, Henry Siebert-Saunders – the man behind the Nomad, which currently accounts for 60% of the Ariel order book – proudly explains: “Buy one of our cars, look after it, let us service it and there’s no reason why, when you come to sell, you won’t get your money back.” He asserts that there’s no secret to this success: “Simply clear thinking, attention to detail and zero tolerance of corner cutting.”

Proving that you don’t need huge facilities and workforce to successfully build cars, Ariel’s base near Crewkerne in Somerset is essentially just a small assembly room, with no machines or production line. One person is allocated to build each vehicle in its entirety.

When we visit, employee James Cousins explains the pride and care this method instils: “There’s not enough space to have several people working on one car at once. And if you were just putting together suspension assemblies all day every day, you’d get bored very quickly and the quality of your work would suffer.” There are currently six people building Atoms and Nomads, and two building Aces.

Siebert-Saunders outlines how the design and development process of ensuring quality and reliability starts long before then: “Each new product takes two years to design and two to develop. The choice of suppliers is key.” A core of 80-100 outside companies supply 100 per cent of the components used in Ariel’s products. There’s the Honda engines, Arch Motors’ tubular steel chassis, Alcon brake calipers, Tilton pedals, Race Technologies dials, Pilkington glass... The big-name list goes on. Siebert-Saunders again: “We like to go to UK suppliers where possible, because the quality is usually among the best, and if replacements are needed, they tend to turn up quickly.”

Following the mantra “Test until it’s perfect, and if it’s not perfect, it doesn’t go on the car,” all models are tested literally to destruction. To this end, we witness a development Nomad being put through its paces on a gravel rally stage. It seems to spend most of its time in the air…

Ariel employees work their way up through a strict training programme, from servicing cars, to stripping and repairing accident-damaged ones, to finally being responsible for a full new build. James Cousins shows us how beautifully the various components fit together, in what is a relatively – and surprisingly ­straightforward manner.

All finished vehicles are driven to the local IVA (Individual Vehicle Approval) office for inspection. This exempts Ariel from the prohibitive full type-approval costs faced by more major manufacturers. Next, Ariel’s service area checks every nut and bolt, and the model is driven on a 45-mile road test. Only then will it released to the customer.