Car Lust–Noble M12 GTO-3R
It may not have much name recognition on this side of the pond, but the Noble M12 GTO-3R is one of the all-time great performance cars the world has ever seen. Like the Ariel Atom, the Noble is available in the United States under kit-car regulations if assembled here. But don’t let the kit car designation fool you; this is no VW Bug that looks like a mashed Lamborghini, or a Pontiac Fiero made to look like a lumpy Ferrari.
No, the Noble is a thoroughbred. The light, intricately designed mid-engined chassis and aggressively voluptuous body were designed specifically for the Noble, without intrinsic family car-based compromises. The Ford Duratec V-6 started off as a family car plant with Ford Contour–not typically a great foundation for exotic performance. But, with the addition of two big turbochargers, and an output of 352 horsepower and 350 lb. ft. of torque, with less than 2,400 pounds to haul around, it holds its own.
The result is a car so exotic and with such a broad performance envelope that it makes a Corvette look like a grocery-getter. The Noble rips to 60 mph in less than 4 seconds and handles with such a blend of stability and agility that, across the pond, it is held up as the gold standard of roadholding.
The combination is a car that can easily outduel any Ferrari or Porsche with the exception of the hugely expensive and exotic Enzo or Carrera GT–and even then the Noble keeps things respectable. What’s even more remarkable is the fact that the Noble costs less than $100,000. That doesn’t sound like a bargain until you consider that it can run with cars that cost twice as expensive or more. It’s not quite the bang-for-the-buck howitzer the Atom is, but it’s a unique lightweight English approach to high performance. I think of the Noble as sort of a 21st century Lotus Esprit.
These two photos are courtesy of Flickr user rikusrautenbach, who also has some nice pictures of of the M12’s replacement, the slightly cushier but still lethal M15.
Below, the typically fantastic Top Gear review. As reference, the Ford Mondeo they refer to is the UK name for the US Contour.
–Chris H.