Ariel Logo: A Spirit of the Air Reborn

The Ariel name first flew on a Victorian bicycle named after the spirit of the air. In 1999 Simon Saunders brought it back for the Atom, a car with no doors, no windscreen and no roof.

Country: United Kingdom
Active: Since 1999
Founded by: Simon Saunders
Website: Official website ↗

A spirit of the air, twice

Ariel is a very old name on a very young company. It began with a bicycle. In the early 1870s James Starley and William Hillman built a light, all-metal machine with wire-spoked wheels and named it Ariel, after the spirit of the air. As Hagerty tells it, that spirit is the one from Shakespeare’s The Tempest.

Ariel itself dates its story to the Ariel Ordinary of 1871, designed by James Starley. Tricycles came in 1898, the first Ariel motorcycle in 1901 and the first Ariel car in 1902. According to Ariel, one of its cars took part in the first ever race at Brooklands on 6 July 1907 and came second. The firm, based in Selly Oak, Birmingham, became best known for motorcycles such as the Square Four. It was sold to BSA in 1951, and by the early 1970s the name had faded away.

Somerset picks up the name

The modern Ariel is not a direct descendant of the Birmingham firm. It is a revival. Car designer Simon Saunders wanted to build a modern take on the Lotus Seven. While working as a senior lecturer in transport design, he and his student Niki Smart created the LSC, or Lightweight Sports Car, shown at the 1996 British Motor Show.

Ariel Motor Company Limited was registered in June 1999. Saunders has said he started the new Ariel that year because there was too much heritage to lose if the name disappeared forever. The old firm’s phrase, he recalled, was “Leaders by Design”, and as a designer he had to try to resurrect the brand. Today the company builds its vehicles by hand in Crewkerne, Somerset, where one technician assembles each car right through to road test and signs it off.

From a horse to a circle

The best-remembered badge of the old company is the Ariel horse. According to Grace’s Guide, it was designed by Victor Mole, who took charge of sales in the mid 1920s, along with the slogan “Ariel, the Modern Motor Cycle”. These were the years of the “Black Ariels” of 1926 to 1930, and Ariel’s own history says the “Iron Horse” legend was born then too, with publicity feats such as riding 10,000 miles without stopping and climbing Mount Snowdon.

The Somerset company uses a different mark. On its official website the logo is a round symbol placed above the word ARIEL in capital letters. Ariel has not published an explanation of what the symbol represents, so we won’t guess. The meaning that is on record belongs to the name: a spirit of the air, which fits a company whose Atom famously has no doors, no windscreen and no roof.

Video: Ariel Atom 4 (Ariel Motor Company Ltd)

Exoskeletons, buggies and a Hipercar

The new Ariel has built far fewer models than the old one, but each tends to make a point. Since the Atom 2 of 2003, most of them have used Honda engines.

Landmark Ariels, from LSC to Atom 4

1996: LSC. The Lightweight Sports Car concept, shown at the British Motor Show, where Ariel says the Atom started.
1999: Atom. Launched in 1999 with first deliveries in 2000, a road legal car Ariel calls the original “no doors, no screen, no roof”.
2010: Atom V8. A limited run of 25 cars with a 3 litre V8 revving to 10,000rpm.
2014: Ace. A new Ariel motorcycle with a Honda V4, chosen as a nod to the old Square Four.
2015: Nomad. Launched at Autosport International and quickly nicknamed the “Atom’s mucky brother”, built to go off road.
2017: HIPERCAR. An electric sports car project whose name stands for High Performance Carbon Reduction.
2018: Atom 4. The first turbocharged Ariel, with only three parts carried over from before: the pedals, the steering wheel and the fuel cap.

The Atom’s roots lie in the Lotus Seven, the same car Caterham has kept alive for decades. And there is one more link to the past: according to Ariel, its 1907 Brooklands racer gave rise to the bonnet straps later seen on Bentley and Bugatti cars. For more old badges, see our classic car logos.

Frequently asked questions

Where does the name Ariel come from?

From the spirit of the air. James Starley and William Hillman gave the name to their bicycle in the early 1870s, and the modern company revived it in 1999.

Is Ariel Motor Company the same as the old Ariel motorcycle firm?

Not as a company. The Birmingham firm was sold to BSA in 1951 and the name faded out by the early 1970s. Simon Saunders started the new Ariel in Somerset in 1999 to bring the name back, and the company tells the old story as part of its own history.

What does the Ariel logo look like?

The current logo is a round symbol above the word ARIEL in capital letters. The old motorcycle company was famous for a horse emblem, which Grace’s Guide credits to sales manager Victor Mole.

Where are Ariel cars built?

In Crewkerne, Somerset, in England. Each Ariel is built by hand by a single technician, who carries it through to road test and personal sign off.