THIS magazine has never used expletives to describe a car. It possibly never will. But if we ever did, now would be a good time to start. Neither pictures nor words can completely capture the sheer sensory attack that happens every time you put your foot down in a Noble M400… but we’ll give it a try.
It is not that the acceleration is so ferocious that it might give an unsuspecting passenger whiplash. It is the show the Noble M400 puts on while it attempts to blast your head clean off your shoulders. The overpowering memory is the noise… Quite frankly, there has never been car that sounds quite like this one. Grrr. Pffftt. Huhhah, Huh-hah. POW! Sometimes it sounded like Darth Vader was making love to a vacuum cleaner in the engine bay… It is the most amazing repertoire of hissing, spitting, coughing, barking and flatulent noises ever to have come from an engine, certainly from a humble Mondeo-sourced Ford 3,0-litre V6!
However, enabling it to cope with being twin-turbocharged, it first gets sent to Ford racing experts Roush Technologies, where the internals are modified to handle the huge power. It gets higher-lift cams and forged (rather than cast) pistons. Then two Garrett T28 turbos are added, boosting at 0,85 bar. This lifts power to 317 kW at 6 500 r/min and torque to 529 N.m at 5 000. The Noble M400 weighs just 1 262 kg (as tested), which means it has a power/weight ratio of 251 W/kg. Yikes!
Why is it so light? Well, that beautifully styled body is done in glass-reinforced plastic (GRP), and clothes a steel spaceframe with bonded and riveted alloy panels. There is also a full safety roll-cage, which together with the race harnesses and three-point safety belts, are the only safety equipment you get. It has to be said that a steel spaceframe is hardly cutting-edge…
So it’s sounding increasingly like a kit car… right? Obviously, this being a low-volume “race” car for the road, it was never going to rival Porsche’s 911 for refinement and quality of build. Then again, that was never the aim. What you are getting is a very well built hardcore performance car. The welding of the spaceframe is most impressive, as is the general quality of the both the GRP body and the paintwork.
You may even be surprised by the interior. There is air-conditioning that works. The windows never mist up because of good ventilation at the windscreen’s base. There is also a front-loading Rockford Fosgate radio/CD player located on the passenger side, and made accessible by means of a remote control. The Momo steering wheel can be adjusted for reach. Usable door pockets are fitted, and behind the seats are two bags that can swallow 112 dm³ of luggage. The M400 also has remote central locking, bixenon headlights, and full suede trim even on the Sparco race seats. And the absence of an overpowering fibrous smell is most surprising! The facia feels solid and the interior was free of rattles and squeaks… or maybe we just couldn’t hear them. And, finally, you can actually see out of the cabin, which is a refreshing change from some supercars.
However, the cabin is not without its faults. Getting in and out requires some gymnastics. The windows don’t go down all the way, and the winders look cheap, as do the door handles. And one or two buttons are completely unmarked, which, given that there was no owner’s manual, led to some confusion…
The driving position itself is actually quite good. Seats offer only fore/aft adjustment, but were comfortable even on longer runs. The top-mounted pedals are upright, in racing car style, and positioned slightly to the left, but there is still place for a small footrest. The centre tunnel is huge, and places the gearlever quite high, which is fine if it wasn’t for the irritating handbrake lever just behind it. The M400’s seats have deliberately been moved closer to the centre tunnel, so that there is effectively more headroom… for those who want to wear helmets.
Driving a Noble M400 for the first time is surprisingly easy. The clutch takes cleanly, and the steering isn’t heavy. And, as we’ve said before, you can see where you’re going. The only problem is a slightly crunchy feel when changing into second gear, but soon after that you’ll have other things on your mind…
Flex your ankle and you’ll be surprised by the engine’s tractability – there isn’t much lag. The engine sound is already menacing, but hardly frightening, and becomes more intensive as the revs rise. You may start to think it is quite serene.
Then everything changes. Your senses of depth perception and hearing are suddenly in a conflict of priority, because you don’t know which is more impressive – the way the M400 launches itself towards the horizon as if it was given a colossal kick up the backside by Superman, or the racket that is taking place in the engine compartment less than 60 cm behind your head. This is in total contrast to what’s happening in the cabin, because nobody ever talks when a Noble M400 is under full acceleration. You are simply stunned silent.
Exactly how fast is it? Noble says it’ll do 0-60 mph (96 km/h) in 3,5 seconds. We’d like to see them demonstrate this, because getting this car off the line is certainly not easy. The biggest problem is wheelspin, the quantity of which is difficult to get right. Our time of 4,47 seconds is about as good as most mortals will be able to achieve. Also bear in mind we tested with a crew of two on board, and a full tank of normal 97-octane leaded.
We did not do a top speed run, since the test car was a sales demo, but it should reach the quoted 300 km/h at 7 215 r/min in top gear. More impressive, however, is the Noble’s ballistic overtaking acceleration. From 80 to 100 km/h (third gear) takes just 1,08 seconds. To put that in perspective – a Lamborghini Gallardo needs 1,7 seconds. That’s a huge difference. And from 120 to 140 km/h in fourth, it is a full 0,9 sec faster than the Gallardo (1,47 sec vs 2,37 sec).
The M400 is a further development of the M12 GTO, originally launched in 2000. It uses the same all-round wishbone suspension, but with some minor adjustments. Wheels are 18×8,5J aluminium alloys in front, and 18x10J at the rear. Ventilated and cross-drilled disc brakes measuring 330 mm are fitted front and rear. There is no ABS. No EBD. And most certainly no traction control. The only rubber-saving mechanism in the entire car is your right foot.
Unlike some supercars, the Noble has quite a compliant ride. Sure, it is firm, but bumps and corrugations are handled far better than you’d anticipate. It remains so at speed, where this compliancy enables the Noble to put its power down effectively, even on bad roads. The steering doesn’t require Rambo arms to turn, and is scalpel 86 CAR January 2006 sharp and superbly direct. The result is that you guide, rather than “turn”, a Noble into a corner.
Of course, as the M400 has no electronic safety aids, getting the most out of this car’s chassis requires huge commitment, and preferably a race track. But at road speeds you’ll be impressed by the neutrality of handling, which is mostly due to the massive grip. Power oversteer is always available on demand: just gear down, get the turbos blowing and flick the steering.
The key to combining the searing performance and grippy handling to make the Noble one of the fastest cars on earth, is getting the gearchanges right. Once you’ve done that, you can confidently storm into a corner in the appropriate gear, point at the apex, and get the power on early without worrying about whether there is too little or too much power as you plan to savage the exit. And once you’ve got this rhythm right, not much is going to keep up with you… not even the hairs on the back of your neck.
Test summary
You may sniff at the Noble M400’s GRP body. You may snigger at the design of the interior. Or frown at the lack of safety features. You may say it is ridiculous to pay R820 000 for a car such as this. You may argue a Porsche 911 is a much more sensible buy. And you are right when you do. But if you have the means, and if you want ultimate driving enjoyment, the Noble M400 is probably without equal at the price. Unmolested by electronic driving aids, and with every bit of its 1 262 kg contributing to a breathtaking driving experience, the M400 exists for the sole purpose of putting a smile on the driver’s face. Isn’t that what the thrill of driving is all about?