Noble M600
GUEST CAR
Weighing 1275kg, the M600’s longitudinally mounted, twin-turbo V8 engine will give the car 520bhp per tonne — enough for 62mph in 3.0sec, 100mph in around 6.5sec and a maximum speed of 225mph.
The M600 is the first Noble to use a V8 — a 4.4-litre Volvo unit fitted with twin Garrett turbochargers and a Motec ECU. In development tune the engine has been providing as much as 750bhp, but in the finished car it will be slightly reined in.
Drivers are able to cycle between three ECU settings, providing 450, 550 or 650bhp at 6800rpm. In the highest-output setting the engine will also serve up 604lb ft of torque at 3800rpm.
The M600 has a 40 per cent front/60 per cent rear weight distribution. It runs on 19in painted alloy wheels at the front and 20in wheels at the rear, both wearing Michelin Pilot Sport tyres.
It will come with a switchable traction control system that’s deactivated using the missile launch switch from a Tornado fighter bomber. It has no conventional ESP system, though, and no anti-lock brakes.
“This is a car designed to provide a pure and uncorrupted driving experience that you’re totally in control of,” says Peter Boutwood, Managing Director of Noble Cars. “The driving experience we’ve targeted is closer to that of a Ferrari F40 or a McLaren F1 than those of more modern, more ‘civilised’ supercars. The M600 will do nothing on the driver’s behalf.”
In that vein, the new Noble has fixed-rate dampers, a fixed-ratio steering system and Alcon brakes with iron discs and only a very modest level of servo assistance so that, according to Boutwood, they have plenty of feel and are easy to modulate.
Although semi-automatic, paddle-operated gearboxes are becoming de rigueur on supercars at this price point, the M600 has a six-speed manual unit made by Graziano.
“We tested various paddle-shift systems during the conception of the M600, such as the one on the Ferrari Enzo, and found them all to be pretty unsatisfactory,” said Boutwood. “A good manual gearbox is just as fast, easier to maintain and gives the driver better control.”
Noble have appointed RS Academy partner Romans International to be an official dealer for the Noble M600. If you are interested in test driving the M600, please get in touch.
