Sunday, 20 November 2011
NOBLE M600
The wheels of the 2010 Noble M600 spin as the Michelins do battle with a wet
track and 650 horsepower. We're already doing over 100 mph. Now 120 mph and the
twin-turbo V8 sounds ever more urgent. At 160 mph, the Noble starts to feel a
little light as we crest a brow on this old British airport runway. Into 6th
gear and at 180 mph the acceleration starts to tail off a little. The throttle
stays buried, the turbos strain and the speedo needle swings past 200 mph.
Down through the gears, enter a right-hander at 60 mph and then another burst of power before another 90-degree right-hander. Now careful with the throttle; this car has a better power-to-weight ratio than a Bugatti Veyron 16.4 and no stability control. Feel the rears slip a little and then we're back on the straightaway. The 2010 Noble M600 has arrived.
The Noble Story
Conscientious enthusiasts will recognize the Noble name. Lee Noble originally achieved fame as a development engineer and went on to found his own supercar company. The original Noble M10 was capable and ugly, but the M12 that followed became an extraordinary beacon of what could be achieved with limited funds, a dedicated team and a liberal dose of talent. The M12 and the subsequent M400 were brilliant, and they were even exported in bits to the U.S. In 2003 1G Racing began assembling and selling the cars in the U.S. and then ultimately bought the rights to the M400 in February 2007, transforming it later into the Rossion Q1.
For a while, Lee Noble was the hero of every backyard supercar builder, but then he made the classic error. Attempting to replace the M400 with a more sophisticated supercar meant to be a Porsche 911 chaser, he ran out of cash. Salvation came in the form of Peter Dyson, an American entrepreneur who kept the name and the heritage but not the founder. Lee Noble left to form Fenix Automotive and start again. Today, Noble Automotive employs a team of 15 people and is led by the genial ex-racer Peter Boutwood.
The Thrust of Twin-Turbos
It turns out that Dyson has an enviable supercar collection that includes a Ferrari F40. "The F40 was the inspiration for the Noble M600," explains Boutwood. "We wanted to go back to a pure, no-nonsense supercar that would reward the committed driver. We've reinvented the F40 for a contemporary audience."
As a result, the 2010 Noble M600 is defined more by what it doesn't have than what it does. There's no stability control, no ABS, no electronically adjustable damping, no all-wheel drive, no automated manual transmission with shift paddles and no airbags. It does have low-speed traction control, but this can be switched off using a missile launcher button pinched from a Tornado jet fighter. Politically correct this car is not.
The Noble M600's own thrust is delivered by a DOHC 4.4-liter Yamaha V8, an
engine originally developed to fit transversely under the hood of the Volvo XC90, which is why it has a 60-degree angle between its
cylinder banks. The 4,439cc V8 is manufactured in Japan, then shipped to
Motorkraft in the U.S., where a forged crankshaft, forged connecting rods and
forged pistons are substituted before bolting on a pair of Garrett
turbochargers. The rebuilt unit is then shipped to Noble's facility in
Leicester, England. Boutwood reckons that peak boost pressure from the turbos is
less than 15 psi.
The 2010 Noble M600's only concession to modernity lies with a switch on the
center console that controls the engine's output. Road mode offers 450 hp, Track
mode makes possible 550 hp and then Race mode takes you all the way to 650 hp.
The twin-turbo V8 is officially rated at 650 hp at 6,800 rpm and 604 pound-feet
of torque at 3,800 rpm. It doesn't seem like much power until you consider that
the M600 weighs only 2,886 pounds, which is 1,260 pounds less than a Bugatti
Veyron 16.4 and 840 pounds less than a Ferrari 599 GTB.
From the Cockpit
When you fire up this engine from Yamaha
(noted for the V6 engine it provided for the original Ford Taurus SHO and its
development of overhead-cam technology for Toyota), the twin-turbos muffle the
soundtrack, so it doesn't have the bark of a Ferrari V8 or the scream of a
Lamborghini V12. But you wouldn't spend $360,000 on the Noble M600 for its
symphonic aspirations but instead for the way it goes about its business.
Noble claims the M600 will get to 60 mph from a standstill in 3 seconds and
reach 100 mph in 6. On our wet track, we had no hope of verifying this but
neither figure sounds implausible. In Road mode, the Noble feels as fast as a
Porsche 911 Turbo, while in Track mode it becomes a Ferrari 599 GTB. Once you
have all of the performance at your command in Race mode, you're in a whole
different frame of reference and the sheer ferocity of the acceleration is
disconcerting.
Even on a wide airfield circuit, the Noble feels brutally rapid. Above 6,000
rpm, the thrust is so venomous that you instinctively brace and make a grab for
the shift lever. It's extraordinarily addictive.
Booming and Zooming
Straight-line thrust, as any
back-street hobbyist can attest, is not too difficult to achieve, but what
really impresses is how the 2010 Noble M600 manages its power. This car should
be hugely intimidating but you soon learn to trust its instincts.
There is nothing especially sophisticated about its construction. A steel
spaceframe forms the bones of this midengine supercar and the car's 2,866 pounds
(including 19.3 gallons of fuel) are distributed 40 percent front/60 percent
rear. A double-wishbone suspension with coil-over dampers lies at every corner,
as do wheels with massive Michelin Pilot Sport tires, 255/30ZR19 in front and
335/30ZR20 in the rear.
The steering action is nothing less than sublime. It's direct without being
nervous, accurately communicating what the front wheels are doing. The effort
level is just right, so the overall impression is like that of a Lotus
Evora, which is high praise. And the ride is also Lotus-like in its ability
to combine supple damping with taut control.
As the limit of adhesion approaches, the M600 talks you through the process.
With so much power on offer, oversteer is never more than a toe-twitch away, but
it's hard to think of another sports car (let alone another supercar) that's
this easy to slide. This car makes you feel like a hero.
It takes time to adjust to the Alcon brake system's steel rotors, but you
learn to appreciate the firm pedal and the remarkable, fade-resistant stopping
power. There's no ABS, but you shouldn't lock the tires.
It's nice, too, to drive a supercar with an old-school manual transmission,
although Graziano is more famous these days for its automated manual
transmissions for Ferrari and all-wheel-drive hardware for Lamborghini than for
this six-speed box. There's pleasure to be had in achieving a proper gearchange,
something often denied these days by do-it-all electronics.
The Economics of Supercar Production
If you go around to
Noble Automotive, you'll be
able to leave with a 2010 Noble M600 as soon as you hand over about $300,000.
The company hopes to sell as many as 50 per year.
There's not much chance of federalizing a car like this for sale in the U.S.,
and Noble also has no plans to simply export the parts for assembly elsewhere,
as Boutwood and his team are serious about building their brand as a legitimate
carmaker.
It will not be easy to do so. Although Noble has some recognition among
hard-core enthusiasts, there's none of the cachet of a prancing horse or a
raging bull. Nor can it be denied that the M600's carbon fiber lacks either
beauty or visual drama. The cabin, while nicely finished and surprisingly
practical, also has a workmanlike aesthetic.
You can't help but hope that the company succeeds. This is a true
super-performance car, not just a super luxury car, and that makes it ever so
different from what Audi, Bugatti, Ferrari, Lamborghini and the rest are doing
these days. That 15 people in an industrial unit somewhere in Britain have been
able to produce a car this good is a staggering achievement. It is one of the
most surprising cars we've ever driven, and one of the best.
The manufacturer provided Edmunds this vehicle for the purposes of
evaluation.
