M12 : compared to (modified) Esprit S4
Discussion
Have not got a clue what your car feels like but.
Depending on whether you are talking about standard or modified.
They are all very rapid even as standard, obviously the modified ones are scarily rapid once you get over the 400 horses.
They ride on the road very well, much better than an exige I used to have, and more comfortable too.
Handling is very good, always depending on what tyres you decide to have, I believe the 888 are very good for track and
Enthusiastic driving but I guess the downside is the wear rate of the tyre.
I have bridgestone re050 on mine and they suit me fine as I have never tracked it and they seem to wear very well as well.
Hope that helps and I am sure others will be along soon
Depending on whether you are talking about standard or modified.
They are all very rapid even as standard, obviously the modified ones are scarily rapid once you get over the 400 horses.
They ride on the road very well, much better than an exige I used to have, and more comfortable too.
Handling is very good, always depending on what tyres you decide to have, I believe the 888 are very good for track and
Enthusiastic driving but I guess the downside is the wear rate of the tyre.
I have bridgestone re050 on mine and they suit me fine as I have never tracked it and they seem to wear very well as well.
Hope that helps and I am sure others will be along soon
Thanx for your reply ; my S4 is upgraded (est 330 HP) and guess 0-60 MPH within 4.5 secs
Just wondering about reliability on Noble (are they Ford mechanics ???).
Seen some GTO's & GT3's for sale, strangely they all have very low mileage ; don't know if that's good or not :S
Better handling even than Exige :P ? Wauw, amazing !
Car would be used on road (max 3000 km's a year), not track
Just wondering about reliability on Noble (are they Ford mechanics ???).
Seen some GTO's & GT3's for sale, strangely they all have very low mileage ; don't know if that's good or not :S
Better handling even than Exige :P ? Wauw, amazing !
Car would be used on road (max 3000 km's a year), not track
Think, best way to look at it is a std GTO3 is 352bhp although most only see 330 on the rollers. the official 0-60 is 3.7 so compare that and the weight difference i think you will be shocked when you drive one.
Handling i would have said is better than the Esprit but depends who much hndling mods the lotus has.
Check this out (the GTO 2.5), listen out to the bit about the Elise comment.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5pv_N4t5AWE
Bondy
Handling i would have said is better than the Esprit but depends who much hndling mods the lotus has.
Check this out (the GTO 2.5), listen out to the bit about the Elise comment.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5pv_N4t5AWE
Bondy
I had 4 Esprits before my Noble, the last being a Sport 350. The Noble and Esprit are very different cars. Looking at the figures; power of the V8 and M12-3 are exactly the same ( 350 against 352 ) but the torque of the V8 is quite a bit lower than the M12 ( 295 against 352 ). But what makes the difference is the weight, the Noble is 300 kg lighter, and that, combined with the torque of the Noble gives it a big performance increase over the Esprit.
Also, I think the Esprit ( especially the V8 ) is more of a GT cruiser; the V8 engine pulls like a train and just keeps going, for example, the range of 3rd gear is huge. But it's all much quicker when it comes to changing gear with the Noble ( but mine has the 6-speed box, so the comparison is not really comparable ). But when just driving round the town, I generally have the Noble in one gear higher than I used to drive the Esprit in ( again, you have to allow for comparing a 5 speed with a 6 speed ).
The Esprit is a bigger car ( about a foot longer, same width ) but it also feels much bigger as well. The Esprit feels like you are sitting over the rear wheels, but the Noble feels like you are sitting over the front feels.
Another thing I found was that at max speed ( I've has 166 from the Noble at Vmax, and 172 in the V8 ), is that at those speeds the Esprit was planted to the track and felt very solid. The Noble on the other hand feels very light and almost as if it's about the take off.
The only way to see the difference is to have owned both. For example, when I first test drove a Noble, I got out and said to the salesman "Well, it's a 350 bhp, mid-engined car, it's the same as the Esprit I've got". But that's the trouble with a test drive, you can't get a proper impression of any car really.
Also, I think the Esprit ( especially the V8 ) is more of a GT cruiser; the V8 engine pulls like a train and just keeps going, for example, the range of 3rd gear is huge. But it's all much quicker when it comes to changing gear with the Noble ( but mine has the 6-speed box, so the comparison is not really comparable ). But when just driving round the town, I generally have the Noble in one gear higher than I used to drive the Esprit in ( again, you have to allow for comparing a 5 speed with a 6 speed ).
The Esprit is a bigger car ( about a foot longer, same width ) but it also feels much bigger as well. The Esprit feels like you are sitting over the rear wheels, but the Noble feels like you are sitting over the front feels.
Another thing I found was that at max speed ( I've has 166 from the Noble at Vmax, and 172 in the V8 ), is that at those speeds the Esprit was planted to the track and felt very solid. The Noble on the other hand feels very light and almost as if it's about the take off.
The only way to see the difference is to have owned both. For example, when I first test drove a Noble, I got out and said to the salesman "Well, it's a 350 bhp, mid-engined car, it's the same as the Esprit I've got". But that's the trouble with a test drive, you can't get a proper impression of any car really.
Thank you Snuffy for your reply ; when you compare it to an Esprit, you compare it to the Sport 350, which is the "Ueber Esprit", my S4 is nowhere near that S350, so Noble is far ahead on my S4 
What about weak points ? What to look for on a Noble ? And what model to look for ? Any specific "bad batches" or weak points ?
What about weak points ? What to look for on a Noble ? And what model to look for ? Any specific "bad batches" or weak points ?
bzguy said:
Thank you Snuffy for your reply ; when you compare it to an Esprit, you compare it to the Sport 350.
I also had a GT3, which as a 4-cylinder is closer to your S4. But the GT3 has 240 bhp, so the S350 is more comparable on power. I'd say that when I went from a GT3 to a S350 it was a huge step up, and when I went from a S350 to a Noble M12-3, it was another big step up.
One other thing, as you know, the Esprit gets lots of attention on the road, but the Noble gets even more !
Evo article:
http://www.evo.co.uk/carreviews/cargrouptests/15603/lotus_esprit_v8_v_noble_m12_gto.html
Edit - Hyperlink doesn't work for me but you can cut and paste into your navigation bar.
Dom.
http://www.evo.co.uk/carreviews/cargrouptests/15603/lotus_esprit_v8_v_noble_m12_gto.html
Edit - Hyperlink doesn't work for me but you can cut and paste into your navigation bar.
Dom.
Edited by anotherdom on Wednesday 27th October 06:25
I am now on the hunt for a Noble M12 (preferably 2.5, tax wise most interesting).
Wanne haves :
- upgrades (LSD, gearbox, ECU ...)
- full service history
- full owner history
- perfect condition
- low mileage (that is < 30.000 miles)
- a good one
Found a LHD one in Italy, but is reserved for now
Anyone know where a good 2.5 or GTO-3 or GTO-3R is for sale ?
Thank you
Special thanx to Snuffy
Wanne haves :
- upgrades (LSD, gearbox, ECU ...)
- full service history
- full owner history
- perfect condition
- low mileage (that is < 30.000 miles)
- a good one
Found a LHD one in Italy, but is reserved for now
Anyone know where a good 2.5 or GTO-3 or GTO-3R is for sale ?
Thank you
Special thanx to Snuffy
I was thinking of an esprit after owning an elan but after test driving the noble i was hooked.Ive had mine for 3 1/2 years now and got 58000 on clock and i can confirm that the car in the evo article is still going strong you wont look back bzguy good luck with your search mate
Chris
Chris
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