Noble Introduces Production-Ready M600 with up to 650-horses

It's been a long time coming, but Noble has finally released the production version of its new M600 sports car. The British-made model comes with a full carbonfiber body and a mid-mounted 4.4-liter twin-turbocharged V8 engine from Yamaha that sends up to 650bhp at 6,800 rpm and 604 lb-ft of peak torque at 3,800 rpm to the rear wheels through a Graziano six-speed manual gearbox.

The M600 is equipped an Adaptable Performance Control (APC), which adjusts the power output and tailors the boost curve, traction and throttle response, allowing the driver to select from three different modes with 450, 550 and 650bhp.

It's curb weight of 1,200kg [2,645 pounds] is 50 kg less than the original prototype, and gives the M600 an amazing power-to-weight ratio of 520bhp per tonnes. The company states that the M600 can accelerate from 0 to 120mph [193 km/h] in a ridiculous 8.9 seconds en route to an estimated top speed of 225 mph [362 km/h].

One of the most eye-catching features in the M600's cabin is the fighter-jet inspired 'Missile Switch' which activates (or deactivates) the Traction Control system.

The M600 is poised to go on sale before summer with pricing to be announced closer to the launch date.

Source: Noble via Jalopnik

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Lee Noble Teases New Fenix Supercar, gets Corvette LS3 and ZR1 Powerplants

Lee Noble, former owner (until 2006) and boss (until 2008) of Noble Automotive, has released the first teaser photos of his new supercar venture with Fenix Automotive. The two-seater supercar will be fully revealed in a couple of months and first go on sale in the UK in the second half of the year. The lightweight supercar will be offered with a choice of two Corvette engines: the 480bhp LS3 V8 and the ZR1's the 6.2-litre supercharged LS9 V8 with 638bhp.

Not forgetting his previous company, Fenix Automotive's boss pitches the new supercar as a "natural, but even more focused" successor to his Noble M12

"The M12 was hugely successful, but we needed to move the game on in terms of design," said Lee. "The new car's styling owes nothing to what I've done before and has quite literally been a 'clean sheet' exercise from the start. It's edgy, with powerful lines, and aerodynamically will be in another league to any of my previous cars."

Fenix said that the car will tip the scales at around 1,200 kg or about 2,645 lbs estimating that the LS9-engined version should accelerate from 0-100mph (160km/h) in under seven seconds and reach a top speed close to 200mph or 322 km/h.

"Our first prototype is now in build and development will start in around one month's time," said Lee.

"We'll be hot-weather testing the first prototype on the mountain roads around Port Elizabeth, South Africa, where the car will be manufactured. But I'm itching to get the car back to the UK where I can set it up on roads I know well," he concluded.

Greek Court Dismisses Daimler's Claim Against Chinese Smart ForTwo Knockoff

Remember Shuanghuan Automobile's Noble, the Chinese minicar that blatantly copies the design of the previous Smart Fortwo? Well, the Noble has made its appearance in several European countries including Greece where Smart's parent company, Daimler, naturally decided to take the importer, 'China Motors', to court in order to block the sale of the car in the Mediterranean country on the basis that infringes its design copyright for the ForTwo. Easy decision, right? Wrong...

Believe it or not, according to China Motors, a Greek court in Piraeus has just dismissed Daimler's claim on the basis that "an informed buyer would not confuse the Noble with the Smart Fortwo."

The judgment goes on to say that "it is commonly acknowledged that a decision to buy a car should not depend solely on the vehicle's exterior styling, but also on the technical features such as the automobile's engine."

In this aspect, China Motors said that the court took into consideration the fact that the Noble differs significantly in technical specifications from the Smart Fortwo as it is longer (3meters vs 2.5meters), it has two extra seats at the back and it incorporates a front-mounted engine sending power to the front wheels whereas the Fortwo has a rear-mounted engine that drives the rear wheels.

As for the styling similarities, the court ruled that they are "the result of their common nature", referring to the fact they belong to the same category of vehicles (minicars)!

In other words, according to the Piraeus court's reason, Chinese automakers can sell any clone they want in Greece as long as the technical specifications differ from the original product. Yep, we're pretty much convinced by now that for this particular judge, the MacPherson strut and Ellie MacPherson's butt are one in the same...

According to China Motors, the Noble will go on sale in Greece sometime during the second half of the year.

Noble assigns US rights to past models M12 and M400 to Ohio’s 1g Racing

Now that’s a surprise. British sports car company Noble, has sold the manufacturing rights for its discontinued M12 and M400 models to its American distributor, 1gRacing. The Ohio based company will continue the production of the two models (probably in the US) but under an agreement between the two companies, 1gRacing will have to re-badge and re-name the cars by July 15th 2007. According to a statement by Noble’s owner, Lee Noble, the British company will now concentrate all of its attention on the development of the new M15. -Continued: Click “Read More…” below to check out the official press release

Via: Autocar & Noble

PRESS RELEASE: Retaining full rights to the car in the UK and control over the use of trademarks and naming, Noble Automotive has agreed to assign the manufacturing rights to the M12/400 series vehicle to 1g Racing. The assignment allows 1g, based in Hamilton Ohio, USA, to continue production of the vehicle which is still in demand in the USA and elsewhere.

Under the terms of the agreement, 1g is required to re-badge and re-name the car by July 15th 2007, and is permitted to modify the vehicle to suit the needs of the g1 customer.

In a statment, Lee Noble said:

'The M12 has been a very successful model for Noble Automotive and we have learned much from it. Our new model will be a big step forward and this will leave no room in our line up for the M12/400 as we need to coneentrate all of our attention on the development of our new model. However we will remain committed to all Noble owners, and will maintain the supply of all M12 and M400 parts for our owners and dealers.'

Technorati: Noble+M12, Noble+M400, auto+news, car+news, automobile, cars, automotive, vehicles, Auto Cars 2011, blogs, 2007, pictures, images

Noble assigns US rights to past models M12 and M400 to Ohio’s 1g Racing

Now that’s a surprise. British sports car company Noble, has sold the manufacturing rights for its discontinued M12 and M400 models to its American distributor, 1gRacing. The Ohio based company will continue the production of the two models (probably in the US) but under an agreement between the two companies, 1gRacing will have to re-badge and re-name the cars by July 15th 2007. According to a statement by Noble’s owner, Lee Noble, the British company will now concentrate all of its attention on the development of the new M15. -Continued: Click “Read More…” below to check out the official press release

Via: Autocar & Noble

PRESS RELEASE: Retaining full rights to the car in the UK and control over the use of trademarks and naming, Noble Automotive has agreed to assign the manufacturing rights to the M12/400 series vehicle to 1g Racing. The assignment allows 1g, based in Hamilton Ohio, USA, to continue production of the vehicle which is still in demand in the USA and elsewhere.

Under the terms of the agreement, 1g is required to re-badge and re-name the car by July 15th 2007, and is permitted to modify the vehicle to suit the needs of the g1 customer.

In a statment, Lee Noble said:

'The M12 has been a very successful model for Noble Automotive and we have learned much from it. Our new model will be a big step forward and this will leave no room in our line up for the M12/400 as we need to coneentrate all of our attention on the development of our new model. However we will remain committed to all Noble owners, and will maintain the supply of all M12 and M400 parts for our owners and dealers.'

Technorati: Noble+M12, Noble+M400, auto+news, car+news, automobile, cars, automotive, vehicles, Auto Cars 2011, blogs, 2007, pictures, images

NOBLE M15

Noble unveiled its new lightweight supercar, M15, equipped with a 3.0 V6 Twin Turbocharged engine that pumps out 455 bhp. The M15 will remain faithful to the company’s M14 concept as a user-friendly supercar –with 300 litres of luggage space divided between the front and rear compartments, but will have an all-new chassis, drivetrain configuration, interior and body - as well as more power.

With a guide price of £75,000 the M15 represents a major departure from Noble’s current models. It will target buyers who are seeking a more exclusive and driver-focused alternative to mid-engined cars in the £110-130k price bracket, while also tempting those who are eyeing up the 2007 Lotus Esprit.

“The M15’s fresh styling and engineering emphasise our desire to present a genuinely all-new car to the market,” said Lee Noble, Noble’s MD and design chief. “While the Noble M12 series continues to win us accolades for its performance and dynamics, we’ve worked hard to ensure that the M15 is in a different league altogether. As before, this has been achieved without us having to resort to big, heavy engines or trick electronics. The M15 will be nothing less than a pure-bred driving machine.”

Noble M15 Technical Specifications:

With a 455bhp version of the tried and trusted three-litre twin turbo V6 engine Noble has come to rely on, this is the quickest car ever to emerge from Barwell, Leicestershire. With the complementary figure of 455lb/ft of torque, all in a car that weighs slightly more than 1200kg, the M15 is devastatingly fast.

The M15 accelerates from 0-60mph in less than 3.3 seconds and 10 100mph in less than 8s. It keeps going all the way to 185mph, too, and has been tuned for rapid acceleration throughout the range rather than an easily achievable 200mph top end speed.

Weigh distribution has also improved over the existing model to 42:58 per cent, front:rear, due to the engine and gearbox assembly being moved forward by 300 mm

Noble M15 highlights:

• Dry-sumped engine with 455bhp/455lb ft of torque
• In-line drivetrain using a new, bespoke gearbox
• New, 57 per cent stiffer spaceframe chassis
• Generous boot space, front and rear
• New interior with high levels of standard equipment

Noble M15 Price:

The M15 will sit above Noble’s current models from launch, leaving the completed range as follows:

Noble M15: £75,000 (est)

Noble M400: £55,995

Noble M12 GTO-3R: £49,950

Technorati Tags: Noble+M15, autos, auto+news, automotive, pictures, images, press+release