M12 - How many?
Discussion
NOBLE PRODUCTION FOR THE US
There were only 91 M12 3R's and 129 M400's in the US. There was never a #13 VIN in the US (someone was superstitious about the #13, I guess) and 1g Racing (the US Distributor) kept the last M400 built (VIN# 221) for posterity.
We've lost a few to accidents, but those are the official figues here.
The first M400 sold in the US was #63.
Craig (owner of #61 of 91 3R's)
There were only 91 M12 3R's and 129 M400's in the US. There was never a #13 VIN in the US (someone was superstitious about the #13, I guess) and 1g Racing (the US Distributor) kept the last M400 built (VIN# 221) for posterity.
We've lost a few to accidents, but those are the official figues here.
The first M400 sold in the US was #63.
Craig (owner of #61 of 91 3R's)
Edited by caccobra on Tuesday 23 December 12:36
I have it from a reliable source that no more than 500ish engines were built across the board 20ish or so engines were rebuilt from a batch that were built in the USA I make that 520 world wide (Very Reliable Source)so unless they fitted a vast amount of engines from else where .I would go with it, another simple exercise post the last 7 nos or your chassis number on the private forum or some one will have to volunteer to collate the data via pm ,just a bizarre thought
Hi Joust, long time since we've chatted! Before I left the Lee Noble-run Noble Automotive, the figure was near enough 1000 models world-wide. Around 180-190 ended up in the States and about 50 were dotted around Europe. We even sent a handful to Oz and NZ!
That level of production - which is, apart from TVR, almost unmatched in the UK's low-volume market - was testament to Lee's grounded approach to manufacturing and his thorough understanding of the British sports car market. My only hope is that Mr. Noble will be back to wow us again with something special.
Great, great shame that he's parted company with Noble Automotive. My feeling is that buyers in this low-volume sports car market do care about the guy behind the badge, and the fact that you could walk into the factory and grab a coffee with the same chap who designed, engineered amd developed the car you owned. Without that unique quality, any future Noble - and especially one that commands a £100k+ price tag - will to my mind be a dubious proposition.
I also don't think that anyone else can re-create the unique 'feel' that Lee engineered into all Nobles on the road today. Even seven years after the M12 first went on sale, there are few cars that combine such utter competence on road and track as a Noble. And funnily enough, in these straightened times, when the auto industry is being berrated for producing bigger, heavier and less economical cars than ever before, the old M12 looks strangely appropriate. It weighs little more than a tonne, eschews the need for unnecessary, weight-adding equipment and as a result is (relatively) economical, lithe and blindingly quick.
My Christmas wish is that Lee will be back sometime soon with a car that has all the above in a bang up-to-date package.
Happy Christmas to all!
Simon Hucknall
That level of production - which is, apart from TVR, almost unmatched in the UK's low-volume market - was testament to Lee's grounded approach to manufacturing and his thorough understanding of the British sports car market. My only hope is that Mr. Noble will be back to wow us again with something special.
Great, great shame that he's parted company with Noble Automotive. My feeling is that buyers in this low-volume sports car market do care about the guy behind the badge, and the fact that you could walk into the factory and grab a coffee with the same chap who designed, engineered amd developed the car you owned. Without that unique quality, any future Noble - and especially one that commands a £100k+ price tag - will to my mind be a dubious proposition.
I also don't think that anyone else can re-create the unique 'feel' that Lee engineered into all Nobles on the road today. Even seven years after the M12 first went on sale, there are few cars that combine such utter competence on road and track as a Noble. And funnily enough, in these straightened times, when the auto industry is being berrated for producing bigger, heavier and less economical cars than ever before, the old M12 looks strangely appropriate. It weighs little more than a tonne, eschews the need for unnecessary, weight-adding equipment and as a result is (relatively) economical, lithe and blindingly quick.
My Christmas wish is that Lee will be back sometime soon with a car that has all the above in a bang up-to-date package.
Happy Christmas to all!
Simon Hucknall
I'm PR Manager for Vauxhall and VX Motorsports in the UK - been at GM since February, and it's been a busy year with the Insignia and BTCC. And fortunately a successful one in both cases!
Bentley was a great opportunity, but for personal reasons I was unable to re-locate up North and the commute became unbearable. Despite all the woes that you here about in the press, though, GM is by far the best large company I've worked for; a great team here at Luton and fascinating products coming up in future.
Still have very fond memories of my time with Lee and the team. Great to see that there are still plenty of familiar names on this forum, too.
S
Bentley was a great opportunity, but for personal reasons I was unable to re-locate up North and the commute became unbearable. Despite all the woes that you here about in the press, though, GM is by far the best large company I've worked for; a great team here at Luton and fascinating products coming up in future.
Still have very fond memories of my time with Lee and the team. Great to see that there are still plenty of familiar names on this forum, too.
S
Hi Simon,
Good to hear from you again. You may not remember Cecilia and myself - we met you at MPH 05 and were very impressed by how enthusiastic you were about the cars. We were the ones hanging around for ages just looking at the car. Thank you for talking to us for so long even though we said we were thinking of getting a used 3R privately at the time. We ended up a few months later with an M400 from the TVR Centre now Noble London and have had great fun with it. Long may it continue! I'm sure you're doing a great job at Vauxhall. Best wishes for Christmas and the New Year.
Conrad.
Good to hear from you again. You may not remember Cecilia and myself - we met you at MPH 05 and were very impressed by how enthusiastic you were about the cars. We were the ones hanging around for ages just looking at the car. Thank you for talking to us for so long even though we said we were thinking of getting a used 3R privately at the time. We ended up a few months later with an M400 from the TVR Centre now Noble London and have had great fun with it. Long may it continue! I'm sure you're doing a great job at Vauxhall. Best wishes for Christmas and the New Year.
Conrad.
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