Noble replacement for the M15, M12 and M400

[mwmorph]

Th Noble M600 is going to be a twin turbo 4.4L Yamaha source motor found in the Volvo XC90 and Taurus SHO but in that form producing 650hp connected to a 6 speed manual Graziano gearbox. It'll probably be MR, in a spaceframe chassis and if the M15 is any indication, the interior should probably be very nice, it'll probably be built as nicely and solidly as the ZR-1 interior, which means not elite luxury by any means but really, really nice for a kit car. Also with a weight of under 1 tonne (2200lbs), it's going to be a hell of a screamer.


Personally, I'm excited, it'll probably be the strongest competitor to the ZR-1 and GTR Spec V since it'll probably be in that price range(well, a bit higher, i'm guessing $150,000?) and perform even better while still being easily streetable(like the M12 & 15) and livable unlike most kit cars.
http://www.autocar.co.uk/News/...ticle/AllCars/233685/#

 

[Don Vito Corleone]

With this much power and this little weight, why is it only set up for "close to 200 MPH"? I understand the car is probably set up for track handling, but with this kind of power and weighing less than a ton, it should presumably be capable of well over 220 MPH.

 

[mwmorph]

Originally posted by: Don Vito Corleone
With this much power and this little weight, why is it only set up for "close to 200 MPH"? I understand the car is probably set up for track handling, but with this kind of power and weighing less than a ton, it should presumably be capable of well over 220 MPH.

... Top speed is not influenced by weight, weight has absolutely nothing to do with top speed, that's limited by drag coefficient and frontal surface area. High down force usually means high drag and thus, lower top speed. With 2200lbs and 650hp, you'll want all the downforce you can get.

 

[Don Vito Corleone]

Originally posted by: mwmorph

Originally posted by: Don Vito Corleone
With this much power and this little weight, why is it only set up for "close to 200 MPH"? I understand the car is probably set up for track handling, but with this kind of power and weighing less than a ton, it should presumably be capable of well over 220 MPH.

... Top speed is not influenced by weight, weight has absolutely nothing to do with top speed, that's limited by drag coefficient and frontal surface area. High down force usually means high drag and thus, lower top speed. With 2200lbs and 650hp, you'll want all the downforce you can get.

Still it strikes me as odd that a road car with this much power wouldn't be set up for a higher top speed. I can understand it for a track car like a Caparo, but less so for a road car.

 

[alkemyst]

a car's power range and ultimately top speed is largely decided by gearing. By gearing a car for take off speeds you take away a lot of potential below that.

 

[Don Vito Corleone]

Originally posted by: alkemyst
a car's power range and ultimately top speed is largely decided by gearing. By gearing a car for take off speeds you take away a lot of potential below that.

I know this is a gearing issue - I just don't understand why it would be geared that way. This is a car with a better power-to-weight ratio than a McLaren F1, and it's RWD-only. I can't imagine it benefits significantly from gearing this short, since it will presumably just make it that much easier to vaporize the rear tires without actually making it quicker off the line in the real world. This is meant to be a road/track car, not a dedicated track-day car or a drag racer.

Obviously "nearly 200 MPH" is plenty fast, it just strikes me that this car should be significantly faster than that.

 

[mwmorph]

Originally posted by: Don Vito Corleone

Originally posted by: alkemyst
a car's power range and ultimately top speed is largely decided by gearing. By gearing a car for take off speeds you take away a lot of potential below that.

I know this is a gearing issue - I just don't understand why it would be geared that way. This is a car with a better power-to-weight ratio than a McLaren F1, and it's RWD-only. I can't imagine it benefits significantly from gearing this short, since it will presumably just make it that much easier to vaporize the rear tires without actually making it quicker off the line in the real world. This is meant to be a road/track car, not a dedicated track-day car or a drag racer.

Obviously "nearly 200 MPH" is plenty fast, it just strikes me that this car should be significantly faster than that.

Most likely it's underestimated, I wouldn't be surprised if top speed was 210 to 217ish. Just looking at the other performance spec, 0-60 times, you can tell Noble is probably being cautious and in true British fashion, understating the performance so they don't over promise and under-deliver like so many small manufacturers (tesla anyone?). I'd expect 0-60 times to be "under 4 seconds" obviously, probably closer to 3.0-3.2.

 

[Apex]

I hope they get it out one day, but I have my doubts. It's been delayed 2 years already, and with the latest news concerning Lee, things look grim.