Considering a NOBLE??

[leemarkadams]

Hello all,

Currently have 2 'toy' cars that spend a lot of time in my garage (TVR Cerbera and a Bike Engined Caterham thingy). I use the Caterham thingy for track days and the occasional weekend blasts and the TVR for the weekends.

Now, I am thinking of maybe selling them both and going for a Noble, as I reckon that would allow me to do track days and the occasional long journey.

Also considering a F355, but the running costs I reckon would be pretty severe!

So, a few questions:

1. How much is servicing on a Noble, say an M12 GTO?
2. Are they that good on tracks?
3. What about on the road?


Thanks

Lee

[mrdemon]

I was the same, and I also looked at the F355

but that thing is just scary to run circa 5k a year if you want to use it, and then if you do use it resale it hurt by mileage.

Noble on the Road is amazing, it rides better than my Lotus and is just perfect on road.

Track use, running costs are going to be higher than a lotus depends how many you do.

Maybe worth looking at an Exige with a moddeed SC if you want a track car which is cheap to run.

But as I have had 2 Lotus I had the scratch the Noble itch

[AMG Merc]

leemarkadams said:

2. Are they that good on tracks?

Yes, as trains are

[sjc]

Without going off topic, I'd be interested to hear your experiences with the bike engined thingy?

[Stella Artois]

leemarkadams said:

1. How much is servicing on a Noble, say an M12 GTO?

6000ml dealer approx £650
12000ml dealer approx £1015
6000ml third party service approx £425
12000ml third party service approx £700

leemarkadams said:

2. Are they that good on tracks?

Having done sevaral track days, 3 in the last 5 weeks, they are a blast, there is very little which will get past them, including Cats/Westies in the corners. A very planted car and very forgiving even when pressing on.

leemarkadams said:

3. What about on the road?

Use mine daily, circa 8000ml in the last 4 months and its a joy to drive, easy around town and stretching their legs. The benefit of a closed cabin for rainy days, but they do suffer from water ingress, predominantly through the floor pan. Luggage space is at a premium and they do get a bit noisy after a while. But all in all, the best car I have owned, and this is my 41st car.

Edited by Stella Artois on Wednesday 11th November 10:14

[leemarkadams]

sjc said:

Without going off topic, I'd be interested to hear your experiences with the bike engined thingy?

For the money....awesome! Acceleration is amazing, road handling amazing and IF the engine goes POP you are looking at less than £1000 for a replacement R1 engine! Oh, and a six speed sequential gear box for free!

Downsides......just look at them, no doors, no roof, no windscreen etc.. Also, have to be worked very hard to get the most out of them. Top speed about 120, and for motorway driving looking at 7000rpm for 70mph!

Lee

Edited by leemarkadams on Wednesday 11th November 13:37

[david.mt]

My neighbour has a Caterham Fireblade and my Noble will pull away from it in a straight line - the corners are a different matter but that is also down to driver ability - it doesn't take much skill to accelerate in a straight line and I can do that quite well. Another neighbour has a Zetec Caterham and that cannot keep up at all.

I clearly have all the creature comforts such as windscree/roof, heater/air con, stereo and electric windows .

[NickyTwoHats]

Had both, kept Cerbera for 18 months the Noble has been part of the fleet for 7 years and isn't going anywhere...it's too good.

[elf63]

Lee,
If you fancy a back to back comparison, i have both in my garage.
Trust me, you won`t bother with a 355 after a stint in the Noble.
Mail me if you fancy it.

Steve

[John D.]

david.mt said:

My neighbour has a Caterham Fireblade and my Noble will pull away from it in a straight line - the corners are a different matter but that is also down to driver ability - it doesn't take much skill to accelerate in a straight line and I can do that quite well. Another neighbour has a Zetec Caterham and that cannot keep up at all.

Wow, I want to live in your neighbourhood!

[arabian]

sorry, bit of a late entry to this topic, but my view of the Noble (being a newbie to the scene) is that it is awesome. I had a caterham (K-series) which i loved and was great fun, then a porsche 996 - both awesome handling cars. the Noble is a different class though. For staters, everyone appreciates how they look and sound. the turbo feel took a while for me to suss when accelerating as it lurches quite a bit if you just nail it . In this respect quite different from both the 7 and the 996 which were pretty instant/linear. then the turbos kick in and surroundings become a blur.

I havent tracked my noble yet, but intend to as soon as finances allow (and when i can find a sensible insurance policy to cover track days). I do know that my 7 was fast round Brands but was done by a Noble.

The 996 was a hard ride in comparison to the Noble, which is comfortable although the pressure in the cabin can build up a bit if you thrash it (well, mine does anyway).

Whilst I still want a 7 in my garage for solely track use, and am still waiting for someone to deliver a free Gallardo onto my drive, i wont be getting rid of the noble. best car i have driven by far.