Noble Automotive Ltd. was established in the UK in 1999 by Lee Noble with the goal of producing low volume sports cars that would compete performance wise with much more expensive models from other companies. They succeeded.
Their second model was called the M12 and was a 2 door mid engine 2 seat sportscar that was originally planned as a hardtop and convertible however no convertible was ever produced. All M12s were powered by some form of modified Ford Duratec V6 engines in various states of tune and with boost. The M12 GTO was powered by a 2.5L turbo Duratec that produced 310HP and the M12 GTO-3R featured a 352HP 3.0L turbo Duratec engine.
The body of the M12 is a fiberglass composite atop of a full steel tubular frame and integrated roll cage. This created a very rigid and light car with an amazing power to weight ratio. The body shell is manufactured by Hi-Tech Automotive of Port Elizabeth, South Africa and shipped to Noble in England where the engines and suspensions are added and the car completed. Because of the stiffness of the chassis, there were no anti-roll bars used in the suspension which allowed for great handling on the track and some comfort on the road.
Noble M400
In 2004 Noble released the M400 which was an evolution of the M12 and featured a 3.0L Twin Turbo Duratec V6 producing 425HP/390TQ and was able to hit 60mph in around 3.5 seconds. In order to reach those power numbers, some modifications to the Ford powerplant were required including better cams, forged pistons, oil coolers and of course two intercooled turbos. Transferring the power to the ground is a Getrag 6 speed manual transaxle with a Quaife differential. The car's top speed is around 185MPH and max conering Gs have exceeded 1.4. This amazing performance is possible due to the car's very light weight of around 2337lbs.
Noble has now moved their focus on to new models the M15 and M600 which are targeted to take the performance and price up a notch. Their performance target with the M600, which will feature a twin turbo Volvo V8 with 630HP, is the Ferrari F40.
The M12/M400 however are not dead. Noble sold the rights to the M400 to a US company, 1G racing from Ohio. 1G was originally an importer of Noble cars to the US. Since the cars were not legal for sale in the US, 1G bought the bodies and engines separately and sold them to US customers as kit cars to get around local laws regarding production car crash testing and emissions. The have now changed their name to Rossion Automotive and have began manufacturing a modified M400 called the Rossion Q1 that maintains the performance of the M400 but adds luxury to the car to bring it up to the standards of modern sportscars.
Rossion Q1
The Q1 sports a 450HP/400TQ 3.0L Duratec and will blast to 60mph in about 3.3 seconds. It also uses a redesigned body that develops more downforce and is more aerodynamic than the original M400. The bodies are still manufactured in South Africa and they are shipped to Rossion for completion of the car. Prices for the new Rossion Q1 are over $100,00 US.
I can't wait to win the lottery. So many cars to buy and this one would definitely make the list.
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