Noble's extraordinary M400 supercar, one of the world's finest driver's cars, shows a clean pair of back wheels to hypercars six times its price.
Owning a 911 or 360 shows means and desire, but no imagination. Most car nuts like to think that they could find a much better place to spend that money, or even a little less. That place is Barwell in Leicestershire, which the almighty Noble M400 calls home.
This car costs from £56,000 and nothing this side of a £300,000 carbon-bodied hypercar can compete in terms of outright pace, driving thrills and refinement. It's mid-engined, it's lightweight and oozes fighter-jet style cool.
It hits 100km/h in 3.5 seconds, 160 km/h in eight seconds and tops out at 298km/h. Power comes from a Roush Technologies-prepped Ford three-litre twin-turbo that delivers 425bhp and 390lb ft of torque at 5000rpm, with the name referring to the power-to-weight ratio of 400bhp/tonne.
It's a development of the firm's GTO-3R which was a flawed diamond, but the M400 is the absolute finished article - one of the world's finest driver's cars. Both sit together on the sales list for now, but it's hard to see a future for the 3R with a successor this good.
The M400 will edge out a Murcielago and stick with an Enzo in a straight line. On the test track we managed to touch 274 km/h down the straight, after a crescendo of gut-wrenching surges of torque-driven acceleration. These were launched with each flick of the wrist as the deceptively light and easy lever found the next gate in the Getrag six speed.
The kick in the back just doesn't let up until you get the wrong side of 241 km/h, and there's an added punch at the 5000rpm mark, with peak horsepower coming at 6500rpm and the redline set at 7300rpm. The last 2000 revs can be used to stroke the tail out of line at the apex of slower bends and hold the mid-engined sportscar in a graceful slide, tyres smoking under a steady right foot. A long throttle travel helps here, allowing sensitive inputs at the limit and on the exit of wet hairpins round town.
There is no traction control on this creation, only the right foot. Practice makes perfect and it didn't take too much wheel time to realise this car has the natural poise and balance of a Bolshoi dancer. It will flatter all but the least talented of drivers and won't punish a playful approach.
But at high speeds, with V6 growling, twin turbochargers whistling hard and the car flying into a braking zone that grows shorter with each lap, the true skills of this 2,330-lb missile shines through. The Noble M400 has carved itself into the ranks of superstars.
The beefy rear wing, sculpted bodywork, cooling ducts in the side and venturi all combine to create genuine downforce and beyond 190 km/h it feels planted to the tarmac in a way Prancing Horse drivers only dream about. Other cars float, but the Noble cuts into fast, sweeping bends. Few road-legal cars work so effectively.
It will take massive speed into the apex, scrubbing off an over exhuberant entry with minor understeer that's part dialled in and part down to the downforce oriented design. It's always ready to slingshot out of the bend and the knowledge that the nose will slip wide first means the M400 is a truly accessible supercar that won't bite too hard if the mistake's a small one. It oversteers only if you really ask for it.
Lee Noble's 20 years of experience in building supercars including the Ultima GTR and Ascari Ecosse have produced a light yet stiff steel spaceframe chassis reinforced with alloy panels, a full roll-cage and beams that make their presence known under the carpet of the sparse cockpit. It's not all about safety, it's about removing even a whiff of bodyroll, so the Noble can jink left and right like a skier at speed and avoid pitching in bends.
Anti-rollbars and a rather serious suspension set-up from Dynamics Suspension all help with the cornering capabilities, as do the Pirelli P-Zero Corsas which resemble cut slick racing tyres. Mechanical grip is huge - it corners so well it could give you whiplash.
A new super responsive steering rack now means that this beast is easily caught when the tail starts to wag on the exit of bends. It's also easily thrown round town, despite visibility problems through the rear. It's really no harder to pilot at slow speeds than any normal saloon.
The black Alcantara interior and embossed Sparco bucket-seats, together with both standard seatbelt and four-point race harness for track use, make a fine working environment that can handle long-distance driving as Noble has relocated the seat and reduced the pedal offset. It's no longer a case of sliding into a chiropractor's nightmare, the cockpit now works perfectly.
It's not too noisy low down the revs either, despite the ferocious horsepower exploding inches from your head. Heavy attack on the circuit bought a harder vulpine growl from the V6 - and it get downright dirty as it heads for the redline. This explains why so many English fanatics have transformed Noble from a cottage industry to a genuine force in British car industry and the holder of countless sportscar of the year awards.
And the ride, despite being firm, is well tuned to British roads at least, so that it rides the ridges and ruts. The Noble maintains its composure under heavy braking, too, even when shedding 90mph for the corner at the end of Bruntingthorpe's landing strip which the manufacturers often use for straightline testing.
On a concrete surface with numerous expansion joints that could send the car out of shape, the Noble simply soaked up the bumps and slowed like it had hit a wall thanks to race-style callipers clamping down on 330mm ventilated discs front and rear.
Nor is this car nervous at the front end on the public roads. It doesn't need constant correction to keep it on the straight and narrow. That couple of centimetres of play in the wheel would be a lifesaver on a long haul - it turns the Noble into a genuine daily driver with Superman-style capabilities behind the civilised Clark Kent veneer.
Except for the luggage space, you're restricted to what fits into six custom-made zip-up bags. So it's got enough space for a tuxedo, a change of clothes and a wash bag.
With acceleration like a lunar rocket, it could cut up Ferraris and Porsches in twisting bends like a scalpel-wielding crack addict. It's also less obnoxious than the opposition, so everybody will love this car rather than try to run you off the road.
Nothing will touch it on a hard charge. Leave the luggage at home - it's really not that important.