Noble Automotive
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"Perfection is a road, not a destination"
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| Private | |
| Industry | Automotive |
| Founder | Lee Noble in Leeds |
| Headquarters | Leicester, England |
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Key people
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Peter Boutwood – managing director |
| Products | Sports cars |
| Owner | Peter Dyson |
| Website | Noblecars.com |
Noble Automotive Ltd., more commonly known simply as Noble, is a British sports car manufacturer.
It was established in 1999 by Lee Noble in Leeds, West Yorkshire, for producing high-speed sports cars with a rear mid-engine, rear-wheel drive layout. Lee Noble was the chief designer and owner of Noble. He sold the company in August 2006. He resigned from the company in February 2008 and announced his new venture, Fenix Automotive in 2009. The company has since moved to larger premises at Meridian Business Park near Leicester.
Noble is a low-production British sports car company, its past products include the M12 GTO, M12 GTO-3, M12 GTO-3R and Noble M400. The M12 GTO-3R and M400 share chassis and body, but have minor differences in engines and suspensions. The M15 has a new space frame chassis. The body and chassis of the Noble is built by Hi-Tech Automotive in Port Elizabeth, South Africa alongside Superformance cars. Once the body shell is completed, it is sent to the Noble factory where the engines, transmissions, etc. are added.
In 2009 Noble released the M600, a car which takes Noble into hyper-car territory. With 650BHP available from its purpose built 4.4-litre V8 Yamaha twin turbocharged engine, the carbon fibre, light weight bodied car is aimed firmly at the established Ferrari/Porsche brands. Deliveries to customers are expected mid-2010. The retail price is GBP 200,000.
Only 220 Noble GTO-3Rs and M400s were imported to the US. They are the only Nobles available to the American market. The US distribution rights to the M12s and M400s were sold in February 2007 to 1G Racing from Ohio. Due to high demand of these cars, 1G released its own copy, named Rossion Q1.
The Noble M10 is a two-door, two seater model built in convertible form only. It is powered by a naturally aspirated (i.e., no forced induction) 2.5-litre engine. It was introduced in 1999, but is no longer in production, having been replaced by the M12. Only a few were ever made, as customers moved deposits onto the M12 as soon as its credentials were announced.
Like the Noble M10, the Noble M12 is a two-door, two-seater model, originally planned both as a coupe and as a convertible. All M12s have been powered by specially tuned turbocharged Ford Duratec V6 engines.
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Wikipedia