All-New Noble Supercar to Launch In April

[BMWteamPTG]

A radical new Noble is set to wow the public when it's unveiled on April 4th. Named M15, the car will remain faithful to the company's M14 concept as a user-friendly supercar, but will have an all-new chassis, drivetrain configuration, interior and body - as well as more power.


With a guide price of $130,000, the M15 represents a major departure from Noble's current models. It will target buyers who are seeking a more exclusive and driver-focused alternative to mid-engined cars in the $190-230,000 price bracket, while also tempting those who are eying up the 2007 Lotus Esprit.

"The M15's fresh styling and engineering emphasize our desire to present a genuinely all-new car to the market," said Lee Noble, Noble's MD and chief designer. "While the Noble M12 series continues to win us accolades for its performance and dynamics, we've worked hard to ensure that the M15 is in a different league altogether. As before, this has been achieved without us having to resort to big, heavy engines or trick electronics. The M15 will be nothing less that a pure-bred driving machine.

Among the Noble M15's highlights will be:


* Dry-sumped engine with 455 bhp and 455 lb-ft of torque.
* In-line drivetrain using a new, bespoke gearbox.
* New, 57% stiffer spaceframe chassis.
* Generous boot space, front and rear.
* New interior with high levels of standard equipment.



More details and pictures will be available on April 4th.

 

[YSSMAN]

I read about this car earlier this year, and I'm glad to see it comming to production so soon. I just wish they would grow some stones a drop a V8 in instead of using the twin-turbo (Minivan!!!) Duratec V6.

 

[Sting]

I read about this car earlier this year, and I'm glad to see it comming to production so soon. I just wish they would grow some stones a drop a V8 in instead of using the twin-turbo (Minivan!!!) Duratec V6.

Ya but you gotta ask yourself, does it really need a V8? I mean a small supercar doesn't need a huge engine all the time. Sure people would love to see a V8 in the new Noble, me personally, I don't mind either way just so long as it looks and sounds good.

 

[TheCracker]

British small-volume sports car makers have a long history of using Ford V6's - Noble's twin-turbo version does pretty well in their other cars, why bother changing?

 

[Dave A]

Ya but you gotta ask yourself, does it really need a V8? I mean a small supercar doesn't need a huge engine all the time. Sure people would love to see a V8 in the new Noble, me personally, I don't mind either way just so long as it looks and sounds good.

Small, who said it's small, the M14 was like a Gallardo in size. This car needs a bigger engine than the M12 as well, it would be crap marketing to give this a V6.

 

[Pebb]

I think the V6 they used can go much futher. They could of used a supercharger on the V6 insted.

 

[Dave A]

But it wouldn't have created the more GT image they're after, think about it, the average buy might look at the V6 and wonder why that car's costing so much more when the engine is no better. Also a V8 creates a totally different character, now I'm all up for V6's and inline 6's in sportscars, but the M15's going for more upper market buyers than M12 buyers. I also don't see any relevence to tunability, people don't tend to tune cars like Nobles exept for racing, and if they do that it's going to be an M12 over an M15.

 

[G.T]

I think it's great that they are using a bigger engine. If they are to keep up with the market and the ever increasing power, they will have to change the engine. The V6 is only a Ford Duratec in the end. I doubt it can take much more power.

Personally I'd hate turbolag, even more so if they upped the power of the V6. But I suppose the turbolag adds to the thrill though when you do cane it around a track.

 

[DQuaN]

 

[Dave A]

There are no pics, the car's not been shown yet.

 

[Poverty]

Because a V8 would take more money to make and a whole load of money to make it revv like its on crystal meth.

 

[Onikaze]

Really?

High Revving V-8's are a dime a dozen these days.

BMW, Audi, MB, Koenigsigg, Chevrolet, Radical.

Me, I'd like to see a screaming I-6 in there, slanted way over to the side.

 

[Poverty]

Really?

High Revving V-8's are a dime a dozen these days.

BMW, Audi, MB, Koenigsigg, Chevrolet, Radical.

Me, I'd like to see a screaming I-6 in there, slanted way over to the side.

It depends on what you see as high revving.Im thinking of around 9K.

BMW and Audi spent alot of money making their V8's rev. The koenigsegger is unreliable snd I dont know how high the radical revs to.

 

[Driftster]

Radical SR8 redlines in the 10,000 rpm range.

It makes it's peak HP at about 9,000

 

[BMWteamPTG]

the ONE i could muster i have posted...so just have a little patience...one will show up sometime soon ...i persoanlly think its not worthless if this many people have been replying too

 

[G.T]

Radical SR8 redlines in the 10,000 rpm range.

It makes it's peak HP at about 9,000

Yes, but that engine is two Hayabusa bike engines nailed together.

Talk about the lack of torque in a heavier car for example...

 

[Driftster]

I know....just lettin poverty know..since he didn't know

 

[YSSMAN]

Ummm, they had said before it was going to be pretty close to the M14...

Noble could use some of the Ford V8 lineup. The 4.6L 3V unit in the Mustang GT is good for 300HP, and can easily be modified to go north of 400HP with some simple strap-ons from Rousch or Saleen. It may not be in Noble's way of doing things, but it works. Koenigsegg uses a modified version of Ford's old 2V 4.6L unit in the CC8... Noble could also use Ford's new supercharged 5.4L V8, good for 475HP, which will debut in the Mustang GT500 this summer. It is practically the same engine from the Ford GT, but with a few minior changes.

...I vote for Noble to go for Chevy power... Its cheaper, more cost-effective, and extremely adaptable to almost any situation. The LS2 that sees duty in the Corvette is a gem, and seemed to work out well in the TS0. But hey, I always pull for Yankee power...

They would probably be better off going to someone like VW looking for a good engine that can accept a good ammount of modification and deal out a good ammount of performance. Being that the 3.2L VR6 that sees duty in everything from the Passat to the TT can push out upwards of 550HP (check out HPA Performance) in some situations. The platform makes good ammounts of power in most RPM ranges, is fairly compact, and is overall pretty cheap to buy and maintain.

 

[Wolfe]

Really?

High Revving V-8's are a dime a dozen these days.

BMW, Audi, MB, Koenigsigg, Chevrolet, Radical.

Me, I'd like to see a screaming I-6 in there, slanted way over to the side.

How could you possibly talk about high-revving V8s and not include Ferrari?? 💡

...

Ummm, they had said before it was going to be pretty close to the M14...
*omg, its an img!*

Holy crap! 👍 It looks like a...Ferraguarghini...with a nice kit/fender-flare treatment.

I'm definitely looking forward to this car -- Noble's previous offerings have been great performers, but they weren't really attractive...

Another problem is that their engines have never made me salivate, and it seems they're going to stick to the same one... The only V6's I've ever liked are the Nissan VG and VQ, and the NSX's V6.

 

[TheCracker]

I think if they go down the V8 route, they'll go for the BMW V8 - it seems to be the V8 of choice for this sort of thing at the moment.

 

[YSSMAN]

The offical story and pics of the M15 are up:

Noble today unveiled its latest supercar, the new M15. The 455 hp M15 accelerates from 0-60mph in less than 3.3 seconds and 10-100mph in less than 8 seconds. It keeps going all the way to 185mph, too, and has been tuned for rapid acceleration throughout the range rather than an easily achievable 200mph top end speed. “The M12 is a great car, but it’s very focused and I wanted to produce a supercar people could use every day,” said founder Lee Noble. “It was time for Noble to take a big step up in terms of refinement, practicality and style.” The car is priced at £74,950 in Britain. No word if it’s coming to the U.S.

 

[skip0110]

No word on what engine it uses

 

[Dave A]

I don't like the back end, but everything else looks just great.

 

[Jay]

I quite like it, including the back end, except the steering wheel looks generic and they plastered a badge on it. Will interesting to see more detailed specifications on it.

 

[YSSMAN]

Well, the specs are certainly up to snuff to compete with the world's best supercars. I'm thinking it still uses the same turbocharged minivan (ok, I'll stop the minivan joke since they don't build the van anymore) engine, its has just been thuroughly redone in order to create more power with a smoother delivery.

About the design:
- Did they steal the headlamps right out of the 'Egg CCR?
- The ass-end reminds me of the Honda/Acura HSC concept car from a few years back...
- The interior looks great, don't get me wrong, but does anyone else see a Volvo S40 when they look in there? (see center console)

 

[G.T]

Woah, I really love the styling! I do agree that the back end is a little odd, but I can see it growing on me.

 

[amp88]

Yep, it's a 3 litre twin turbocharged V6 (according to Noble's site).

http://www.noblecars.com/specification.htm

 

[Dave A]

About the design:
- Did they steal the headlamps right out of the 'Egg CCR?

No, obviousely not, they're a completely different shape.

- The ass-end reminds me of the Honda/Acura HSC concept car from a few years back...

It's similar in that they're both pretty flat, I guess if you remove the lights they'd look more a like.

- The interior looks great, don't get me wrong, but does anyone else see a Volvo S40 when they look in there? (see center console)

And finally, again I have to dissagree, they both has a silver coloured center console, that's it, again just like a lot of cars do.

 

[Dropout.]

Oh yay. I rather like Noble.

*jots down all the facts*

 

[joseph dobson]

i think it will be a great car!