Noble
M15
The
Noble M15 supercar is a development of the Noble M14 concept from 2004. Both
cars use a 3.0 litre twin-turbo V6, although the power output of the M15's unit
is 455 bhp, 55 more than the M14's. The 0-60 time was also improved, by exactly
one second. The Noble M15 is designed to compete with the likes of
Lamborghini's Gallardo and the Ferrari F430.
Inside,
you get a Volvo Sat Navigation system that works, Air Conditioning that works,
traction control that works, leather seats and two luggage compartments (one in
the front, one in the back) that you can actually use. Brilliant! And it just
gets better from there.
It
meets all EU crash test regulations. It has airbags. And unlike the M12 and
M400, it's not made of South African plastic, but British Aluminium. This means
it's stiffer than the M400, and so is more forgiving.
The
one major thing that sets this car apart from previous Nobles is that its
engine is pointed Front to Back, not sideways. This means better weight
distributions, the engine can be mounted lower down for a lower centre of
gravity and better visibility, they can turn the two turbochargers up, and best
of all, where the M400 only had a Mondeo gearbox, Noble have gone to Graziana,
suppliers to Ferrari, Lamborghini and Aston Martin, so now the M15 has a big,
proper gearbox that can put all the power through those big rear wheels.
All
these changes have made the M15 a phenomenal car. The twin-turbocharged V6
produces 455 brake horsepower, 0-62 is dealt with in less than 4 seconds, and
the top speed: 196 M.P.H.! So it goes like a super-car, sounds like a
super-car, looks like a super-car and handling is just amazing. It just doesn't
understand spinning, unlike the Ferrari 360 which spins the second you push it
hard. The Noble does everything like a super-car then. Except two things.
It
doesn't drink like a super-car. Because it only has a 3-litre V6 engine, when
you drive it normally it does 20 miles per gallon. Even when you're tearing
round a race track, it can still do 6. And it isn't priced like a super-car;
for a whisker under £75 000 it's a lot cheaper than most Ferraris and
Lamborghinis. However, there's a big problem. If it was just this against the
911s, it would be an easy victory against all of them, besides maybe the GT3RS.
But Noble's not the only company to stand up to Porsche.
