The Ariel 3 was a sales flop whose £2M development cost contributed significantly to the demise of BSA.

[2] Cohn Atkinson attributes its failure to a remote management at BSA who "didn't even like bikes" and who "made the most appalling decisions" on production and marketing.

The pressed-steel forward section of the frame, supported by torsion bars, could swivel to enable the rider to lean the vehicle into bends like a motorcycle.

[3][4][better source needed] The front "fork" was a single-sided down tube with a rudimentary rubber block suspension.

A true moped, the Ariel 3's engine was started by first pedalling and then releasing a decompressor trigger.