PH Buying Guide: Noble M12
Fast, fun, and affordable - your Noble experience starts here...
Pretty and purposeful, the M12 arrived as a closed two-door coupe rather than the open-top of the M10. A 2.5-litre Ford V6 from the Mondeo ST200 was mid-mounted and had two Garret T25 turbochargers bolted on for good measure to produce 310bhp. That gives a power-to-weight ratio of 316bhp per tone, just shy of a contemporary Porsche 911 GT2's 317bhp per tone, so it's clear from a performance perspective the M12 aimed to mix with the best sports cars in the world.
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Unfazed by such competition, Noble also rocked the performance car establishment with the M12's price of £45,950. When a standard Porsche 911 cost around £60,000, the M12 was a bargain that could see off 0-60mph in just 3.9 seconds.
The M12 evolved into the GTO-3 and 3R and eventually the M400, all offering amazing performance and handling for the price. A stillborn GTC convertible was shown at the 2002 British Motor Show and priced at £48,950, but it was dropped from the line-up before any were sold. Noble even went as far as detuning the 3.0-litre V6 engine to 290bhp by switching to one turbocharger, which also helped free up luggage space in the engine bay.
Although no longer available new in the UK, the Noble M400 lives on the USA under the Rossion banner. Called the Q1, it continues to use a 450bhp 3.0-litre Ford V6 engine, but the car is sold with the engine supplied separately to avoid US type approval regulations. The upside is it means parts supply for existing Noble owners is excellent and plenty of modifications to improve the car have been developed in the USA, where many owners race their Q1s.
(Pics by Brett Fraser, car for photography supplied by Kerridges)
Noble M12 Buying Guide Index:
Introduction(viewing now)
Powertrain
Rolling Chassis
Body
Interior
Insurance Quotes
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If other considerations hadn't got in the way in the meantime, I'm sure I'd be driving one now...
I watched.
The man from Kerridge's strode over, and I thought he'd invite the man to have a look - after all, it was a classic and sports car show and poeple show interest in classic and sports cars such as this.
Not at all - he just glowered at the man who opened the car, alarmed the car again and stalked back to his place on his stand.
Was I impressed ? What do you think ??
Not at all - he just glowered at the man who opened the car, alarmed the car again and stalked back to his place on his stand.
It's the classic "it might look like a spotty kid now but he'll be back in 5 years and buying something expensive" situation - every salesman should understand that - it's about more than sitting there waiting for your job to come to you.
Odd this should come up because I looked out of the window yesterday and an M12/M400 (can't tell em apart!?) went past - BRIGHT YELLOW - can't say I've ever seen one before and definately not driving past the house!!
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