The Noble M600

[cribbj]

Passing through London last week I picked up the latest Top Gear mag, and one of their lead stories was on the Noble M600.

Nice looking little car I think. Big improvement over their M400, and finally has some grunt with a TT 4.4l V8 (albeit it's a Volvo).

Should be a real scorcher at an attractive price tag, if it follows the usual Noble philosophy of value/£££.

Then I reached the end of the article and found the price tag. £200,000 - Ouch!

This would be a great little £100,000 supercoupe to blow the doors off nearly anything on the road. But at twice the price, hmmmm don't think so.

Anyone else think this car is around £100,000 overpriced for what it is, and who it's from?

 

[stevechumo]

It's a nice looking car for sure. Wondering about its material used and the performance comparing to other established brand name cars.

 

[cribbj]

Steve, Noble build some very impressive machinery, but traditionally they've been a niche manufacturer. Their forte in the past was to provide a very high performing car for the investment, because their roots are/were in the kitcar market. But this thing is way beyond kitcar (at least pricewise). It has some really nice lines though, matter of fact, I couldn't find an ugly line on it.

IMO, this is the kind of styling that Nissan, Toyota and Lexus should be doing for their supercars, not that garbage that looks like it came straight out of a Transformers movie. But the Japanese just don't get it anymore, and they're building some seriously fugly cars.

Shoot, even Hyundai are building nicer looking cars than Toyota.

 

[JBrady]

Here are some details:

Click here to save all images Image credits: Wouter Melissen




With the M600, Noble Automotive have finally revealed the long expected replacement of the highly acclaimed M12 and the more hardcore M400. First introduced at the turn of the century, the V6-engined sports car had already reached the end of its development cycle some years ago. The M12's main problem was the transverse engine, which started to cause cooling and gearbox reliability problems as the power of the twin-turbo increased.

The issues were first noted and addressed in 2006 when Noble Automotive debuted the M15. Slated as the M12 replacement, the thoroughly redesigned machine featured a longitudinally mounted engine. This was still the same Ford Duratec derived engine, which produced around 450 bhp. The M15 was well received and got a great review in the popular TV-show Top Gear but Noble nevertheless concluded that more was needed to really take on the likes of Ferrari and Porsche.

It took a further three years before the M600 was deemed ready. Its styling clearly carries on where the the M15 left off and it is not unfathomable that the two cars will be produced side by side. What sets the two cars apart is the adoption of a new V8 engine in the M600. To be more specific a turbocharged version of the Volvo 4.4 litre V8 that was originally developed by Yamaha. Equipped with two Garrett turbos it can produce up to 650 bhp. For runs to the local store, the ECU can limit the power to 450 or 550 bhp.

The Volvo sourced V8 is mounted in a steel spaceframe chassis, which is clothed in light weight composite body panels. Like its predecessor, the M400, the new M600 is aimed at the hardcore enthusiast; its option-list mostly reads 'not available.' There is no ESP, ABS and the gearbox is a six speed manual with no flappy-paddle option. This minimalistic approach has helped to keep the weight down to around 1275 kg. Accordingly the M600 accelerates to 60 mph (96 km/h) in under 3 seconds and has an estimated top speed of 225 mph (362 km/h).

Announced in the summer of 2009, the Noble M600 was actually first shown to the public during the Goodwood Revival Meeting in September of that year. The 50 car per year production is expected to commence early in 2010. Priced at £200,000, it is directly aimed at the Ferrari 458 Italia, Lamborghini Gallardo and also McLaren's upcoming MP4/12C. For now the M600 is only available in Great Britain.

The 3/4 rear shot has a bit of Nissan GTR flavor IMO:

 

[cribbj]

Thanks John; I think this thing is supposed to be in a car show at Birmingham later this month. Unfortunately, I'm not leaving the sandbox until the 1st of Feb.

The 50 per year production figure explains the outrageous price tag, but I still can't believe anyone with any sense and $300,000 to burn would consider this over, say, a 458 or a 599GTB, a Gallardo, or an R8 Turbo, or even a ZR1 for that matter

With this car, Noble are trying to play at the top of a league that they've never even had sight of before, much less played in.

If they cut the price in half, they could probably sell all they could make, but I wish them luck finding 50 people a year to buy it for their asking price.

 

[spf_lexus]

I like the lines, very unique. The headlights really stood out to me. Looks like a blnd of RX-7 and supra headlights but very fitting for this car's style.

 

[stevechumo]

Wow! The photos at the auto show look much better in close-up distance. I know many people will not agree about the price, but hey many super cars begin with a no name. This is the same for Lexus LFA. It has all the newest technology (Oh, I love its digital gauges..the best), power, look, and performance. But many people say it's not worth the price at $350,000 because mainly it's just a Lexus. The LFA performance has just proved to bypass the Lambo and Ferrari. I think the LFA is worth every penny for its value. But if it already has exotic name like the established Lambo or Ferrari, it should be worth more.

Please check it out here: 1) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bFxII5cwvsc 2) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FB2dnNDpS6k&feature=related.

 

[Zuffen]

People who shop at this end of the market also look at retained values.

The depreciation rate on new player's products in the supercar area is enough to make you stop driving.

When a Ferrari 430 will drop $100,000 in the first year and used Pagain's are almost unsellable why would you sink GBP200,000 into a Noble? It looks just a little to plastic/fibreglass for my liking, but still looks very sexy.

Performance is good but with these toys it's almost like wearing an Armani suit. They're worn so people know you have "taste" and "money". You'd never see me in an Armani suit because I just can't see the value in it.

 

[SC400TT]

The Noble is a performer, no doubt, but not for the money. I would definitely rather have the Lambo, Ferrari or the R8. BTW, the paint color pictured in this thread is butt-ugly, IMO.

Nice car though.

Ryan

 

[XR8tt]

People who shop at this end of the market also look at retained values.

The depreciation rate on new player's products in the supercar area is enough to make you stop driving.

When a Ferrari 430 will drop $100,000 in the first year and used Pagain's are almost unsellable why would you sink GBP200,000 into a Noble? It looks just a little to plastic/fibreglass for my liking, but still looks very sexy.

Performance is good but with these toys it's almost like wearing an Armani suit. They're worn so people know you have "taste" and "money". You'd never see me in an Armani suit because I just can't see the value in it.

The BIG drop in value is due to good ole tax's..
Take the luxury tax off and the value is about right..