The new Noble M600 is to be built in the UK and will go into production before the end of the year, Autocar can reveal.
The company has been carrying out final testing on the braking system (which will not feature ABS) at the Bruntingthorpe test track before signing off the car. A production-ready prototype will arrive next month.
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Noble boss Peter Boutwood told Autocar that the M600 is a car for “purists” with a minimal amount of driver aids.
However, we can reveal that the M600 will get a system similar to the Power button in a BMW M5, allowing the driver to switch between 450bhp, 550bhp and 650bhp, depending on road conditions. There will also be traction control, which can be switched off.
The British supercar will be quicker than its Italian rivals, the Ferrari F430 and Lamborghini Gallardo, with a top speed of over 200mph.
The car is fitted with a Yamaha-designed V8 from the Volvo XC90. Equipped with twin turbochargers, it now produces 650bhp.
Carbonfibre bodywork will reduce the car’s weight but push the price tag towards an estimated £100,000.
The M600 will be built in the UK and production will be limited to around 50 a year. Practically everything on the car, bar the engine and gearbox, has been designed in-house.
There will be no paddle-shift automatic or dual-clutch gearbox. Instead, Noble is opting for a Graziano six-speed manual transmission, likely to be the same as the unit used in the Aston Martin V8 Vantage.
Boutwood said the car would have formidable performance while being easy to drive. “This will be an incredibly proficient car,” he said. “It is a pure driver’s car and very user-friendly. It will blow your socks off.”
There are currently no plans to build any other models.
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