Ariel motorcycles reborn
Niche UK sports car company Ariel plans to enter the motorcycle market with new Honda-powered naked and sports bikes
Famous for its Ariel Atom exoskeleton cars - high performance, ultra-light niche vehicles that cost a lot of money - the tiny British firm Ariel is now turning its hand to motorcycles.
Two bikes are reportedly in the works, one streetfighter and one superbike, both of which appear to make use of single-sided swingarms if the teaser sketch is anything to go by.
The designs appear to be fairly conventional, which is in stark contrast to its cars (pictured) which are best described as radically different to anything else available. The superbike features twin underseat exhausts while the naked bike is presented with side pipes and bar-end mirrors.
Pitched as rivals for the world's most exotic motorcycles, the new Ariel bikes will compete against the top tier models from Ducati and Aprilia and there is talk of a £20,000 price tag - roughly $30,000 in local coin.
Both the naked and sports bike will be powered by Honda engines, while Ariel will build the frames and design the bodywork. The UK company has used Honda engine's in the past for its radical Ariel Atom sports cars, and it's expected to use the 999cc engine from the CBR1000RR Fireblade.
In its standard state of tune the Honda Fireblade can belt out around 178hp (133kW) at 12,000rpm and 115Nm of torque, though there's every chance Ariel will tweak the engines for a little more pepper.
It will be interesting to see if the new Ariel motorcycles adhere to the company ethos (and the meaning of the word Ariel) of ultra light weight, or spirit of the air to use a literal translation. Anything more than 180kg would be considered too lardy.
Ariel Ltd, which has no connection with the historical Ariel Motorcycles except the recycling of the name, has pledged to build around 200 bikes a year at its Somerset base. The owner of the company, Simon Saunders, is said to be a mad keen motorcyclist and with sales of its cars steadily increasing it now has the capital to invest in a new venture.
The Ariel Atom sports cars are much-loved by television show Top Gear and you can bet your bottom dollar the new bikes will be given plenty of promotion through the popular program.
Will that be enough to convince riders to part with $30,000 for such a vehicle? Would you consider one? Leave your thoughts in the comments below.
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