Closing Ranks in the Automotive Aristocracy - The Noble M12...

When I attended last year's Petit Le Mans, I was introduced to Dean Rosen of 1G Racing, North America's Noble importer. In an effort to spread the Noble word, Dean was doing 'ride & drives' with just about anyone who stopped by.

Although he knew I was not in the market for a sports car (or any kind of car!), he was still open to letting me get behind the wheel. However, the gentleman who went before I did - an over-enthusiastic, throttle-exuberant know-nothing - went hot into a corner on some back road outside Road Atlanta, and then decided to lift.

The end result: The Noble went up an embankment - backwards - at about 110 mph, bounced off of the embankment, and found its way back on the ground. Dean took the wheel and coddled the car back to his vendor area at the track. Much to everyone's surprise, there was very little damage. He was still open to taking the car out again, but I took a rain check. He had enough already that day.

So this year - I was with the same friend as last year - we decide to stop by and see Dean. Dean and his salesperson remember us from last year without hesitation. Dean decides that waiting isn't even worth it - let's just go out right now.

So we hop into an M12 and he guides the car through the throngs at Road Atlanta, out to the street. He heads off toward some little side road he's been down a hundred times before. From the seat on the right, I can already tell that the acceleration is impressive, the suspension stiff and the steering tight.

He talks to me while he's driving - in his South African accent, he tells about the car, and about the new M12 replacement - the 400 - and is an all-around nice guy. He's a good driver, too. On one descending road where we turned just as the downhill gave way to an uphill, he cut the corner swiftly and managed to hang the tail out just a little.

He gunned the car down and around this twisty little street. Elevation changes, sweepers, sharp curves, mini-straights - it was like one of thousands of little racetracks, hidden away in north Georgia. The breathy whistle from the turbo chimed in every so often, as if reminding us that it needed to be used.

After a while, Dean pulled over and we switched seats. He said, "Now don't drive like I did!" and I explained to him that, after crashing a Ferrari a few months ago, I approached this sort of thing [driving] with a lot more respect and a lot more humility.

...that doesn't mean that I left my driving gloves at home.

My hefty frame fit very comfortably in the carbon fiber racing seats. I belted in, adjusted my mirrors and was ready to go.

"Put your hand on the gear shift", Dean told me. He put his hand over mine and guided the lever through each gear, explaining how close they were together.

"...and it's got a short clutch and a long throttle. Okay, whenever you're ready..."

With that, he lowered the e-brake and I put her into gear. Slowly, feathering my sneaker-laden foot, I found the clutch-gas interface point and we were on our way. The clutch is Honda-light and could be used to teach beginners how to drive. The gas is civil at first, letting you get acquainted with the laws of motion before you step into it and let the turbos try to break them.

After two stop signs, we were finally back on that long, twisty road. The Noble, though clearly eager to run free like a pack of wild horses, did exactly what I told it to do. The power steering is point and shoot; the turning radius sucks if you're making u-turns, but then again, you don't buy a sports car to make u-turns.

Like chips in a bag, my mind began to settle into the car and its controls. There wasn't enough time to learn its behaviors, but I got a general idea of the Noble. Slowly, I started carving each corner, downshifting before, steadying through and throttling out. The turbos really kicked in on the little straight bits of road and that just brought me closer, quicker, to the next turn.

Downshift, steady through, throttle out, upshift. Dean even began to encourage me.

"Okay, now downshift here... Now give it more gas as you enter the turn... More... More gas..."
We found the apex and he would continue...
"Okay, now down, push your foot all the way down..."

I leaned my toes into it and it felt like someone hit the fast forward button. In the rearview mirror, the road behind us seemed to come right out of the exhaust; and the louder it got, the faster the road came out. As we barrelled down a straightaway, I couldn't get past fifth gear. It's not that we ran out of road; I just ran out of balls.

Dean was happy with the way I was driving so we kept going. We even stopped for gas, then headed over to the road where last year's little incident occurred.

On our last little stretch, I really started to feel comfortable with the car. I was shifting more liberally and really putting some foot weight on the throttle. As we dashed down the road, I cut curves, leaning into the turns and rushing out. With each confident apex, my foot got closer and closer to the floor. We were really moving now. As we rounded one curve, I floored it getting ready for the next one. I braked, matched the rpms, downshifted, skated into and through the turn and nailed the gas, rocketing out and then just cruising as we approached a stop sign. As we came to a stop and I caught my breath, I looked over at Dean and said, "I babied it, didn't I?"

He just smiled; "Yeah, you babied it."

The Noble exhibits no turbo lag; when you step in, she steps out, just like that. There is no waiting, no build-up, no hesitation. Just ask and you shall receive. We all know nothing will ever trump a Ferrari. But for the price, the Noble is a damn good second. And with a four-figure cost to replace a totally blown engine, the Noble could very well replace many Ferraris as a weekend track car.

Now who wants to give me a ride in a 400...?
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Thanks, guys; it was a lot of fun...

 

Thanks, everyone...

I liked the interior...! It has a sort of Enzo feel to it - it's almost spartan-like - everything in it is there for a reason; everything has a purpose. Roll-up windows, a start engine button... It's not cluttered with all sorts of frilly crap - anything that's in there is purely for driving purposes - that's what a sports car is all about...

 

You can't go wrong with black wheels...!

I can't wait for a taste of the M400...

 

Would loved to have met you. Please stop me next time - a simply "Hey, Carbon!" shout always does the trick...


Chris, are those rock chips in the front...? If so, that's awesome... Nice to see people really driving these things...

 

Thanks, Tom...