Nope, the spelling isn’t wrong, Ariel is merely using the word differently, a contraction of ‘High-Performance Carbon Reduction’. So 'Hipercar'. Carbon emissions rather than carbon fibre. There’s a lot of the latter, although underneath the chassis is aluminium and most body sections are weighty 3D-printed test panels. It’s 1,759kg as it sits here, but Ariel is confident of dropping that below 1,500kg with full carbon panels and carbon wheels. The jet turbine is a range extender – it exists to charge the 56kWh battery, not drive the wheels. Available as either 2WD or 4WD, with or without the jet turbine, full-house versions are likely to knock on seven figures' doors. That’s a complete sea change for Ariel, for a car without classic hypercar elegance. But this is new tech, new age, new customer base. It’s something totally different, something wild and outrageous, the essence of Ariel in electric form.

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