Noble M600 Carbon Sport
In Leicestershire in Great Britain, a wild supercar called the Noble M600 has been in the making for eleven years. As a Coupé and Speedster, a total of just 50 examples are to be built by hand. Those who expect an uncompromisingly open car when they hear the name “Speedster” may be disappointed. Compared to the Coupé, it only has a removable roof section above the passengers’ heads. For the closed variant, Noble introduced an optional full-carbon body under the name Carbon Sport in 2015. To showcase these lavishly finished components, they are basically finished in visible carbon and can only be colored via the clearcoat. So far, in addition to the examples in typical black carbon fiber, there is also a vehicle in red and one in green bare carbon. Blue and brown are other possible colors.
55 kg lighter thanks to carbon
The wedge-shaped body of the standard M600 is made of glass fiber-reinforced plastic. Underneath, all variants have a steel tub with a bolted-on tubular aluminium frame. Noble had already developed this chassis for the M15, which never got beyond prototype status. The standard version has an unladen weight of 1,305 kilograms, while the Carbon Sport version is 55 kilograms lighter. Inside, Alcantara and leather as well as carbon, aluminium or wood as well as wool carpets are used, depending on the customer’s wishes. The majority of the instruments were developed specifically for the M600. However, Noble also uses components from Aston Martin and Jaguar. The pedals and steering column can be adjusted to the size of the driver. A rotary switch on the center console controls the engine power in “Road”, “Track” and “Race” modes. You won’t find an infotainment system.
Engine from Volvo and Yamaha
Noble sees the M600 as one of the last real driver’s cars. Therefore, the British manufacturer does without modern driver assistance systems apart from a traction control system that can be completely deactivated. A 4.4-liter V8 biturbo engine works behind the passengers. This engine with the internal abbreviation B8444S originates from a cooperation between Volvo and Yamaha, which was terminated a few years ago. At Volvo, this engine powered the S80 and XC90 without turbocharging. In the Noble M600, up to 492 kW/669 hp and 820 Nm of torque are available in Race mode. In combination with the six-speed manual gearbox, the sports car accelerates from a standstill to 62 mph in three seconds. Noble assumes a topspeed of over 225 mph. A steel brake system with six pistons at the front and four at the rear ensures the best possible deceleration values, but comes without ABS. A Speedster prototype features an automated manual transmission with paddles behind the steering wheel.
Number 16 at DK Engineering
A Noble M600 Carbon Sport is currently for sale at DK Engineering in the UK. It is production number 16 in green bare carbon. The car was created in 2017 as an exhibit for the Geneva Motor Show. Subsequently, it served as a demonstrator for various equipment options. The entire body received a stone chip protection film. It wasn’t until early 2021 that a customer was found, but he is now offering the car for sale again with just over 300 miles on the clock. Included in the package is a custom luggage set from Aspinal. Seriously interested parties can find out the price on request from DK Engineering.
Images: DK Engineering, Alex Penfold
