Noble M12: the ultimate budget British supercar?
Not faultless or for everyone - but an all-time hero in the business of extracting maximum bang for your buck
Welcome, everyone, to the noughties guide for building a supercar on a shoestring budget. First, you’ll need some glass fibre. You can make any shape you like with the stuff and it’s much cheaper than any of that carbon fibre nonsense. Next, you need weld some steel together in the shape of a spaceframe chassis and, finally, find an engine to drop in the middle of it. No need to make your own, that’s a fool’s errand. Instead, you can simply pinch one from something cheap and cheerful like, say, a Ford Mondeo. Follow those steps to a tee, get yourself a whizz at chassis tuning and with a dash of luck you should end up with something that looks a bit like this: a Noble M12.
It's an incredibly simple formula, but a mighty effective one. The standard M12 packed the same 2.5-litre V6 engine as the Mondeo ST200, with a couple of turbochargers slapped on it – resulting in that signature Darth Vader sound. The revised GTO-3 we have here upped the displacement to 3.0 litres and, with it, a power hike from 314hp to 357hp. Hardly gargantuan numbers by today’s standards, but with a kerbweight of just 1,050kg and, apparently, functional aerodynamics, the M12 is able to deliver endless levels of grip without flinching.
That sort of performance does, of course, come at the expense of luxury. A quilted headliner and an Alcantara-wrapped roll cage is about as plush as it gets, and there’s the usual mix of Halfords bits such as the Fast and Furious-style Momo steering wheel. But none of that really matters. The M12’s cabin is all business, and throwing in creature comforts would only weigh it down. Remarkably, the M12 is surprisingly cushy for a stripped-out plastic supercar. Noble did without anti-roll bars on all but the hardcore M400 model, allowing the M12 to ride gracefully over pimply British B roads, rather than crashing over them. It’s surprisingly civilised.
It helps that the owner of this particular car has gone to great lengths to up the rolling refinement, fitting beefier engine mounts and a bigger power steering cooler, all in the name of ironing out some of the, er, quirks low-volume British supercars are famous for. It’s currently up for sale with Hilton and Moss - which has looked after the car for the two previous owners - for £49,995. The dealer says the previous owner upgraded the car in a way that it could be driven to a track day, lapped endlessly and driven home without running into problems. Just the right amount, in other words.
For me, the only downside is the lack of stowage space to enable them to be enjoyed on a blast around Europe (I’m sure owners will point out that you can get little stowage bags that Velcro on here and there…?)
http://www.adrianmugridge.co.uk/m12.htm
I loved it, but the biggest issue was lack of boot space. We like to go away in the UK for a few nights 2 or 3 times a year, and I always wanted to go in it, but the missus wanted to go away in my shopping car, not because she didn't like it (far from it), but because packing was such a hassle. Yes, I know you can get the fitted set of bags (if you can find one that is), but it's still a right faff squeezing it all in the nooks and crannies.
But apart from that, it's a brilliant car.
I’d have this over a homogeneous hypercar any day.
http://www.adrianmugridge.co.uk/m12.htm
I loved it, but the biggest issue was lack of boot space. We like to go away in the UK for a few nights 2 or 3 times a year, and I always wanted to go in it, but the missus wanted to go away in my shopping car, not because she didn't like it (far from it), but because packing was such a hassle. Yes, I know you can get the fitted set of bags (if you can find one that is), but it's still a right faff squeezing it all in the nooks and crannies.
But apart from that, it's a brilliant car.
Having had the same dilemma as you last year they worked so well I kept the car !
The older these get,and the further away from the gargantuan stuff built today,the better they get.
If I had the space I'd love to have something like the M12. So many of the niche sports cars of that era looked a bit gawky and odd, whereas despite being a little bit parts-bin (Mondeo tail lights to go with the engine!) the Noble looks right and just gives off the aura that it's a cracking thing to drive. That seems to chime with the experience of those that have driven one. A true PH hero car.
Made a lovely noise!
I stepped out of a Lotus Esprit V8 into this, tried a Tuscan S thought it would kill me.
Apart from the new Exhaust cracking a couple of times until they worked out the problem it was great.
The next owner still has it on a private plate now, its old plate was KF52UTR.
One of my biggest regrets is selling that car.
I also kept having to have the exhaust welded back together everytime it went for a service. In the end a fitted a Rousch one and that sorted it.
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