Deep Singh

Dreaming as I always do of the day I can afford a $50k car.The Noble seems to have a power to weight ratio unrivalled at the price.Any comments from those who have driven one?

J1nxy

I was lucky enough to drive one on track last year. It was available for laps at a Ferrari track day I had for my birthday.

I drove a 360 and a 328 before hand but the noble blew them into the weeds. The noise of the twin turbos spooling up, the grip and acceleration were just out of this world, it just ran like it was on rails, and not scooby type rails either........

If I had £50-60K I'd have one sat in the drive tomorrow........

Steve

kamikaze

Plenty of cheaper cars to match its power to weight ratio
How about tvrs? new t350 for example at under 40k

Noble was only 2 second quicker round the top gear trak than an elise 111, so rekon an elise 190 or vx220 turbo would be on par.

[Edited by kamikaze - 4/24/2003 7:35:43 PM]

J1nxy

As I cant afford the noble I'm gonna try to get a Cerbera next year........

Having driven the Cerbera, if I could afford the Noble I'd still buy it, its not just top speed etc its how it drives..and the Noble drives brilliantly.

steve

Old_Fart

Sat in but not driven one, Mole Valley down near Chessington always has one or two sitting on their forecourt.
To be honest I've never seen a car that looks soo overpriced. Sure it's quick and it works, the engine is very good, but at the end of the day it's a blown Mondeo engine, Mondeo switchgear, Mondeo rear light clusters and a plastic body. It'd be a great car at £30k, but at £50k it's far too expensive. Get a £30k 993 and a £20k Caterham or Exige for the track instead...or spend £50k on something thats worth the money. Even a Lotus Esprit has more badge Kudos..and from posts in the past I know you'd be unhappy driving what is effectively a kitcar with no heritage/class.
Chuck

DavidBrown

I may be talking complete bishop, but if memory serves

1. They don't have baffled sumps and the engines are prone to oil starvation on track.

2. They don't have an LSD making it tricky to get the power down properly through the twisties.

Indeed when I asked a salesman on the Noble stand at the NEC he told me it wasn't ideally suited to track use, more of a "fast road" application.

Puff The Magic Wagon!

iTrader: (2)

I was lucky enough to blag a passenger lap @ BA at the fateful SIDC day last year

It was a bit damp & the car was struggling to get the power down & didn't seem overly fast BUT the sound is just AWESOME All the turbos & d/valves etc 6 inches behind you - aural orgasm

Driver nearly stacked it into the back of some guy who came to a virtual stop at the hair-pin

I just think it looks lovely (so does an Exige) & the sound inside....

Chris L

Lovely cars - I think they represent pretty good value for money when you consider what you would have to pay for Porsche to get similar performance - and a lot rarer too!

Power-to-weight wise, there are a couple of cars that are in the same league for a similar price - TVR Tamora (36K, 350 bhp per ton) or how about a Caterham R400 (30K, 408 bhp per ton )

Chris

dhorwich

The only thing that concerns me is how long will that turbo'd (MONDEO) engine last..!!!!

Saw one of these at the john nobles rolling road and it looked awsome, but the words 50 grand and mondeo engine just seemed plane wrong..

Dan

Old_Fart

Well this got me thinking again so I've booked a test drive and will report back. The GTO-S gets the rear LSD and a little more power..but is over £48k OTR now...the R is another £3.5k but you get a 6spd box and MORE power.
I'd still argue price is main problem..it you wanted all-ability and no pedigree you'd be better off with a psycho-sevenesque car.
Comparing it with a Porsche..well on paper it looks great (PWR) but, apart form Clarksons, most reviews seem to imply the Noble has more work to do with chassis, steering and gearchange to become a first-class car....but I'll know for myself pretty soon
Chuck

V-techland

Oggled over a lilac one at Gatwick airport!!!! The car was a raffle prize, the tickets were £45 each..............................why oh why didn't I get the credit card out????

V-techland

If its Jeremy Clarksons "best handling car" then its good enough for me..........he's driven bloody everything!!!

BT52b

I'm not convinced by it.

If it is a bare-stripped out track aimed car then it is damned expensive considering that it is virtually no quicker than say, an Exige.

If it isn't a track-oriented car (as suggested above) then it makes a rubbish road car for the money due to it's TOTAL lack of any luggage space whatsoever, so again, no benefit over an Exige.

Seems to sit uncomfortably between the two scenarios to me, neither fish nor fowl.

P1 Enthusiast

Erm quote - the best chasis on the planet!!

Also, it was the same time as a Zonda on the Top gear track if memory serves, thats a car 6+ times its price. Its ideal for track and to be fair imho its probably the ideal driving car for sheer performance / handling / pleasure - its not about luggage space, its about staggering fun - my aim is to blag a free test drive in one before i get rid of the P1 - using it as bait to get the salesman to take me!

Kosy

iTrader: (2)

BT52B.... a M12 is a hell of a lot faster than an Exige!

Old_Fart

Read Evo if you want different quotes..they only rate it(the Noble GTO) 4 stars and it lost to the Esprit in a group test. Mag reviews aren't the be all and end all..to me personal opinion all that counts, but if you want to quote them be aware there is always an opposing opinion!
C

Chris L

Read Car this month - the Noble fairs very well. Sum up: Sublime dynamics (I think we can say the chassis is sorted ), incredible performance, loud engine ( ), big price, but well worth the money.

"Lee Noble says that the reason the M12 is successful is that firstly, he's got a good product, secondly he's selling it at a competitive price for the performance bracket and thirdly; he's concentrated on making sure that his one car is the best it can be"

Come the lottery the win, the first visit (after Porsche, to order my new Turbo ), will be to Mole Valley to order an M12.

Chris

BT52b

Kosy, not on track it isn't.
I have yet to come across one, including 3 litres, that can keep up with our Exige around Donington. And I have come across a few, including their demo car.
One owner even admited that his previous Elise was nicer to handle as a track car. He said that turbo lag was a noticeable problem.

Sure on a track with longer straights I wouldn't see it for dust, but that's not really the point. For that money it should either be faster round Donington, or offer significant benefits in other areas, such as touring ability.



[Edited by BT52b - 4/29/2003 8:36:09 AM]

Old_Fart

7 month wait if you spec out a new Noble today...thats a good thing for the residuals anyway
C

LanciaChris

Some fool took one of these out on a test drive and stacked it when they floored it, then tried to get out of paying for repairs claiming that no one had told them it would accelerate fast....