Avatar
167
Aesthetics
Noble have a great attitude and their philosophy is broadly in line with my own when it comes to cars. Most importantly, they're one of those rare, but very special companies in the modern automotive industry, which are headed by passionate car enthusiasts. When you have someone at the helm who is truly devoted to all things petrolhead amazing cars can be produced. Looking to the past, at companies like Ferrari and Lamborghini, it was Enzo's and Ferruccio's respective adoration for the cars they produced that was key. Now that these brands have become, for the most part, corporate behemoths, there is a distinct lack of that certain je ne sais quoi that imbued all their creations and made them so special. People like Peter Noble and Horacio Zonda are the successors to these men, but they're increasingly few and far between.
That said, whilst I think the cars are great, I dislike strongly their looks. Not enough effort has been invested, I think, in their design and there's something kitcar about all their models. Obviously, this is a personal thing, but when you sit a Noble next to other sports cars in that segment, there's a drabness to their designs that really lets down what is otherwise fantastic cars.
NOBLE M600, for those who love to drive ....
Or as the Bim would say: " When you're tired of being catapulted through the gears without having to blink an eye, buy yourself an M600 " . This car is all about REAL driving. These past years we have all been "spoiled" with double clutch gearboxes, ABS, ...
Aesthetics
Noble have a great attitude and their philosophy is broadly in line with my own when it comes to cars. Most importantly, they're one of those rare, but very special companies in the modern automotive industry, which are headed by passionate car enthusiast...
M10 ...
.. up to the M15 / M400 had indeed those quitter looks ... but if you are referring to the M600 i think you are wrong. As i mentioned in my post i find them even better built than a McLaren 650 ... The M600 is really a car to be seen in the flesh .... and...
Subjectivity
Again, those were purely my own opinions regarding the car's looks. The design is definitely a vast improvement over previous models, as you say, and I agree with you on that, but I still feel it somehow needed a little more refinement. There is, for me, ...
Front end ...
... is indeed the most difficult design-wise ... the complete car had to be 'simple' in a way ... technically, design, engine .... it had to have the spirit and madness of an F40 ... which IMO was a brilliant idea. Performance can be compared to a ... Le ...
Thank you
Wow, looking at that first car it's strange to think how long they've actually been going now and, equally, it''s great they've managed to not only survive but prosper. Personally, for a long while I thought they might not survive as they have that genera...
Factory visit ...
.. At Noble depending on decisions by my friend :-) In the meanwhile a visit to a certain sportscar producer in the Netherlands is in the pipeline, you probably know which brand i'm talking about :-) Filip
Vencer
Unsure whether that is correct or not, but it would an interesting visit. Meant to say, that Noble M600 reminds me a lot of the McLaren 12C in many ways. With the latter, whilst it wasn't so much that I disliked the design of the car, I just thought it wa...
Not Vencer ...
.. it does look like a cool car, still a bit unsure if they'll be able to make a competitive car .. anyway .. we'll be visiting Donkervoort :-) ... that's another piece of cake concerning REAL driving :-) ... my friend just wants to try the cars he really...
When I see the words RUF...
on a Porsche it turns me on LoooL :-) that would be an awesome visit. S
Superb article, Filip. I like the line of this car, a bit from the Seventies / Eighties.
And I love even more the idea behind the car. ;) What's the price range? Best, Nicolas
Price range is not an issue for you ;-)
You would love this car, but since you asked it's 192 K British Pounds excl. VAT. The perfect car for you, you can't probably park it in the rue des cowards :-) but you know a place with plenty of room ;-) You can leave the keys there as well ! Bim
A Purist Exotic
Wonderful Report and Post Filip, I first encountered a Noble in 2006, a M400, I went out for a drive in my 355 Spyder with it and it was a beast but the finishing was not as good as the M600, they have really improved the quality and the design. I love th...
A British freakshow on an overseas mission !
<iframe width="560" height="315" src="" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> The onboard footage gives you an idea :-) Filip
Bloody good manual ...
... and the left leg didn't have to work hard. Off course i was so careful driving of the Noble-driveway i stalled it :-) ... this car can be driven by anyone ... the question is .. who can drive it hard ? Steering was perfect as you would expect, at high...
That is quite...
...impressive work; to build a manual box for that amount of twist and still have a good gearshift feel, not to mention the clutch action (single plate??). Noble must be one of the last customers of Graziano manual gearboxes now that nearly every manufact...
Brembo drums ?
:-) Grazing box indeed ... wonderful mechanic IMO ... especially remembering a drive in a 348 a couple of years ago ... what a nightmare :-) Bim
In-house drums...
...not some rebranded Brembo...back when Alfa was a real company.:-(
Wow...
The photo of the carbon fiber passenger cell being lifted by your friend is amazing... Thanks for sharing Bim! Trading in your BMW for a Noble?
Haha !!
The man lifting the carbon cell is Peter Boutwood, the designer of the M600 :-) .... and test driver as well. Here you can see him with the M600 we drove :-) <iframe width="560" height="315" src="" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> Fil...
Wonderful report bimbeano
I don't think I've ever seen a Noble car before. Never knew they existed before. I too agree that the exterior of the M600 looks slightly dated for me but that's my opinion. Also, the tail lights are too reminiscent of Ferrari if you ask me. I can feel yo...
The chance of encountering ...
.. a Noble on the streets is very minimal ... only 19 M600's built until now, but a few 100 of the M10/12/400 were built as well. I've only seen one ever on the road just 5 miles from my door :-) ... . The exterior doesn't really looks dated, maybe the he...
A Question....
Have they made any in LHD? is the car compliant with US regulations? S
Yes LHD !!!
Compliant with US i guess, i think they already sold to the US ... i'll ask ;-) Filip
US compliance :-(
"Regrettably, at this time, due to strict federalisation rules we aren’t able to supply the M600 to the US" Unfortunately it's not possible at the moment, but i guess they're working on that. Filip
Struggling to identify...
It was black and had the trident symbol I can see on the back of some of the cars actually on the front air-intake where the licence plate normally is. I can't find on Google... maybe my memory is playing tricks on me but it was definitely a Noble! (not a...
So it wasn't an M600 ..
... the Nobles models before the M600 were already seriously fast cars ... i sat in one of those and amazingly my 198 cm fitted :-) ... . Filip
nice review of the M600
Never driven one, it looks like an impressive car. Cool report bim. Regards, ED-209
Thanks ED ...
The M600 is impressive in many ways indeed ... if you ever have the chance don't hesitate :-) Filip
Beautiful M400 Azure Blue
A fast beast my friend :-) It seems they have a lot of serious cars where you're living ... I believe this car was faster than the 430 Scuderia on the Top Gear track ... Bim
Not sure it's fast; it hadn't moved far in 30 minutes!
i went back for more photos. ...
No numberplates ?
I used to ride my Bimota without numberplates, only had to outrun the police once ... I was a young man, i hope the Noble owner knows what he's doing :-) Bim