Ariel Motor Company
Ariel discovered bramble when they were on the lookout for low-cost CFD simulations without the steep learning curve that usually comes with it. Who says you can’t have affordability and ease of use? But before we get into that, let’s properly introduce Ariel Motor Company.
Based on the outskirts of Crewkerne in Somerset, Ariel was established in 1999 and quickly made waves with the launch of the now-iconic Ariel Atom in 2000. Since then, more than 2,500 Atoms have been produced. The Atom has evolved into its fourth generation and has been joined by two other performance vehicles: the Ariel Ace motorbike (2014) and the Ariel Nomad (2015).
Ariel also has in-house expertise across a wide range of technology, structures, and drivetrains in niche volumes. This capability was most recently showcased with the 2022 launch of the HIPERCAR, a four-wheel-drive, range-extended electric supercar.
The challenge
It’s well understood that using CFD simulation early and often in the product development lifecycle can reduce development costs. As well as shortening time to market, and improving profit margins. However, access to simulation tools isn’t always straightforward. For many niche vehicle manufacturers like Ariel, cost and knowledge remain significant barriers to fully adopting CFD within their internal development processes.
Previously, Ariel had been utilising external CFD simulation services. While these services provided valuable insights, their associated expenses presented a significant financial constraint. As a result, the number of simulations was limited. Recognising the need for a more cost-effective approach, Ariel sought ways they could continue to develop their vehicles without dramatically increasing the cost.
A bramble solution
To meet this challenge, Ariel turned to bramble – a cloud-based platform that delivers pay-as-you-go (PAYG) low-cost CFD simulations without the burden of licenses or long-term subscription fees. This flexible approach meant Ariel could access advanced aerodynamic tools only when they needed them, keeping costs under control while still benefiting from powerful simulation capabilities.
Getting started was refreshingly straightforward. After just a single morning of training, Ariel’s engineers were confidently running simulations using bramble’s intuitive interface and guided best-practice workflows. The platform’s built-in safety features ensured that results were accurate and reliable, even with limited or minimal CFD knowledge.
Because bramble operates entirely in the cloud, Ariel also avoided the significant expense and complexity of purchasing and maintaining high-performance computing hardware. Instead, the team could focus their efforts directly on engineering challenges. This streamlined their internal workflows and made high-fidelity aerodynamic simulation a practical, everyday tool for a compact engineering team without a large IT infrastructure.
Value realised
Before adopting bramble, advanced aerodynamic development was often out of reach for Ariel’s compact engineering team. The cost and complexity of traditional approaches meant that detailed CFD work had to be carefully balanced against budget and resources.
With bramble, that changed. Its intuitive design meant that even with minimal CFD knowledge, Ariel’s engineers could confidently set up and run detailed aerodynamic studies themselves. What once felt like a specialist, resource-heavy task became an accessible part of their everyday workflow.
By unlocking low-cost CFD simulations on demand, bramble gave Ariel the freedom to explore more design ideas, refine concepts faster, and take vehicle development further than ever before. All without compromising on quality or reliability.
Access to bramble CFD software has given us in-depth insight into the aerodynamics of our vehicles. It has helped indicate and solve problem areas that would have never been found otherwise. This level and speed of analysis would not have been financially viable for small companies like us without a ‘PAYG Do it Yourself system’. We now use bramble on every project.