The Ariel Nomad is the Atom monitor automobile’s mud-loving alter ego, and having pushed each, I can inform you it’s each bit as enjoyable.

Sadly, it’s much more costly. An Atom 4 begins at $79,750 within the U.S. and the Nomad Tactical will set you again $92,250. Each are fantastically engineered, however that’s fairly severe cash for one thing you’re solely ever going to make use of sometimes.

However the guys at Automotive Throttle have an answer that offers slightly style of the Nomad expertise, or at the least the style of mud flying in via the gaps the place the doorways ought to be and touchdown in your mouth, for a fraction of the outlay.

The place to begin for his or her mission was a scruffy Mk3 Toyota MR2 bough for simply £100 ($139). Launched in Europe and the U.S. in 2000, the convertible MR2 was powered by a 1.8-liter inline-four with variable valve timing that pushed out 138 hp and 126 lb-ft of torque.

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Not big outputs, possibly, however then the MR2 was extremely gentle, weighing in at simply 2,195 lb (996 kg). Automotive Throttle managed to enhance on that by junking nearly all the bodywork and inside, however then add weight again in by becoming a protecting tube-frame exoskeleton, chunky off-road wheels and tires, and a hard-mounted exhaust that ought to hopefully stand up to any knocks the automobile will get when put via its paces.

Later, out on a muddy playground, the automobile proves that it doesn’t simply look the half, however can even stroll the stroll. It doesn’t appear to have as a lot entrance floor clearance as an actual Ariel Nomad, but it surely appears to be like like enjoyable and it survives the day. And it bought us fascinated with what different comparable automobiles may profit from the identical therapy. Early 986 Boxster S 3.2s are fairly low-cost lately…