One-of-five Noble M600 CarbonSport for sale
Apparently everyone wants a wild-looking, analogue supercar these days. Here you go
It surely says something when Aston not installing a manual ‘box in its latest V12-powered sledgehammer was considered a talking point last week. At its most expensive point, the market’s affection for three pedals and many cylinders is now well established. When asked about its decision to build the new 12Cilindri Manuale, Ferrari simply pointed to the demand: in stark contrast to the all-electric Luce, it was the car customers frequently asked about. It is a similar story when it comes to the new GMA S1.
Of course, while all these cars speak volumes about the immersive feeling so obviously absent from the rest of the industry, they are all underpinned by very modern architecture and maintain a clear interest in making life seem comparatively easy (none more so than the 12Cilindri, which may still be driven as a full auto if you prefer). The time when a six-figure supercar could be very fast and very light and very manual - and therefore faintly alarming - has probably gone the way of the phone box.
As ardent love letters to this period go, you can hardly do better than the M600 that Noble introduced back in 2010. Before it turned up, Lee Noble’s outfit was famous for cars like the M12 and M400 - machines overtly intended to embarrass costlier options on track while still making sense of a B road. But the V8-powered flagship was something else entirely: less an alternative to a Porsche 911, and more like something with the power and presence to turn the head of a wannabe McLaren MP4-12C customer.
As you might expect, the six-figure market proved a more difficult nut to crack. Noble did not have a billion quid to invest in R&D; it had a 4.4-litre V8 originally developed by Yamaha for Volvo, and some Garret turbochargers to attach to it. Compromises were required by those brave enough to place deposits. But the M600 earned its name on the output front, and besides the six-speed Graziano manual, you got Road, Track and Race power settings, switchable traction control, a limited-slip diff, adjustable coil-over suspension and the ticking money bomb that was 355-section rear tyres.
The car looked like it could do 225mph, and Noble said that was true. But more importantly, it looked and sounded and drove like nothing else. Were it launched today - especially in uber-rare CarbonSport format, which added an abundance of visible composite throughout - the M600 would surely have had more success on the sales front, it being as mechanical as an 18th-century pocket watch and about as far from battery powered as a supercar can get.
But the CarbonSport turned out to be more end-of-the-road than glorious rebirth. This places it among the most cultish examples of a modern cult classic - a notion reflected in its eye-popping £459,995 asking price. That does get you a wonderful example, mind, one exclusively maintained by Noble Leicester, and even wearing an odometer reading that reflects actual, enduring use on the road. Naturally, you’ll have your pick of umpteen, ultra-fast alternatives from the same era - but precious few of them are quite like the hard-charging, take-no-prisoners Leicestershire legend. Accept no substitute.
There was one at Bicester heritage a year or 2 ago and what surprised me was how small these are. In pics they look big and wide, but in the metal it was about Cayman sized (or at least it seemed it). Would have one on the lottery list... Even at this price
There was one at Bicester heritage a year or 2 ago and what surprised me was how small these are. In pics they look big and wide, but in the metal it was about Cayman sized (or at least it seemed it). Would have one on the lottery list... Even at this price
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