Noble M400
Theres more to a performance car than go, stop and steer. Discuss. This argument tends to sort the committed petrolhead from those merely looking for a quick and comfortable ride. Quite how focused you want your performance car to be is down to personal preference, running from a barely road legal lightweight special at one extreme up to a massively powerful super saloon at the other.
In between these far reaches of the performance car spectrum are some certainties. If you want a two seat occasional track day car with a roof, theres little to touch Nobles M400.
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The issue many have with the car is that its starting to look expensive. When the M12 first burst onto the scene, we praised the fit and finish and raved over the way the car performed and handled. This was largely in the context of a car that was retailing at forty-odd grand, going toe to toe with TVR and Porsches Boxster. Buoyed by a favourable press, the price of the M12 crept insidiously higher, and when the M12 GTO 3-R was launched albeit with a bigger three-litre engine the asking price had crept over £50,000.
The M400 retails at £61,995 which is nicely specified Porsche 911 Carrera money. Suddenly detailing and idiosyncrasies that can be papered over at a lower asking price become an issue. Air conditioning will add another £2,000. The seating position, though improved, is still far from ideal.
"The M400s performance and handling capability is akin to that of a £126,000 Porsche 911 GT2. Now try grumbling about the £61,995 price tag"
Noble will doubtless point to the fact that the M400 isnt offering performance on a par with a Porsche 911 Carrera. If anything, the performance and handling on offer is closer to that of the £126,000 911 GT2. Now try grumbling about the value proposition. If you care not a jot over equipment and the badge on the bonnet and merely want the fastest, most capable coupe that £62,000 will buy, youre looking at it here.
Powered by a 3.0-litre Ford Duratec V6 tweaked to produce a banshee 162bhp per litre, the M400 will rocket to 60mph in a claimed 3.5 seconds and run on to a top speed in the region of 185mph. This 21 per cent power list and 11 per cent torque boost comes courtesy of larger Garrett T28 turbochargers churning at 0.
85 bar of boost. More aggressive engine mapping has been carried out by Roush Technologies, the company responsible for fettling the engine of the Ford GT supercar. Higher lift cams, forged pistons, an oil cooler and a meatier baffled sump help to explain where the premium over a GTO 3-R has been spent. Although it looks broadly similar to the M12 GTO 3-R, the black alloy wheels and side scoops shouild give the game away to ardent spotters, even if the owners have chosen the delete option for the rather hideous M400 decal that adorned the press car.
Underneath there are more extensive changes, the dampers being stiffened, the tyres getting bigger and stickier and, for the first time, theres a fitment of a front anti roll bar to quell lean through corners and to improve overall body control. All of which leads me to wonder how tough it must be to be Lee Noble. Just as it must have been a hard gig when tasked with building a better BMW 5 Series, Nobles commander-in-chief cant have had an easy mission improving the handling of the already stonking M12. Nobles training came through driving and building specialist racing cars.
"Having raced sportscars and Formula Three, about twenty years ago I decided to try to build better myself." A succession of specialist vehicles followed, most notably the Ascari and Ultima models, two of which were used as development vehicles for early McLaren F1 prototypes. "Thats how I learned the chassis and suspension tuning, through many years of trial and error." The M12 has become a familiar sight at many UK based track days and the M400 offers more of the same. The body shape is like a five-eighths scale Group C Le Mans racer, but the design is elegant and the badge is developing a healthy kudos. Visibility is good, and Noble have worked at trying to improve the driving position, moving the seats 15mm further inboard to try to alleviate the pedal offset that caused some complaints amongst M12 owners. The gear linkage has been reworked to offer better feel.
Racing harnesses are fitted as standard, as is an inbuilt roll cage and a dual pressure/temperature gauge. The seats are trimmed in grippy black cloth with Alcantara trim topping the dash and even across the quilted headlining. Its hard to think of a coupe at any price that can match the performance and handling of the Noble M400. No, it doesnt have a great deal of heritage behind it, and quite how durable a 425bhp Ford Duratec V6 is going to be remains open to question but there are no doubts whatsoever about this cars astonishing capabilities.
As an all-round ownership proposition, it may be a little less convincing but if youve already owned a Porsche 911 or a TVR and need something that will lop whole seconds from your best track day time, heres a genuine option.
Facts At A Glance
CAR: Noble M400
PRICES: £61,995 on the road
INSURANCE GROUP: 20
PERFORMANCE: Max Speed 185mph / 0-60mph 3.5s
FUEL CONSUMPTION: 18mpg (avg)
WILL IT FIT IN YOUR GARAGE?: Length/Width/Height mm 4089/1828 / 1143mm
