ItalianStallion

On Boston Post Road (I think its also called Route 1), I spotted him and caught up. I told him he has an awesome car, he said my car sounded badass. Luckily, we get to a red light and are lined up. I ask if he wants to race, I got the

Light turns green, we roll to about 10mph and we both pin it. By the time we hit 45mph we were pretty close, then I heard his turbos and he quickly gained 2-3 car lengths at about 65mph. There was a car ahead of me so I didnt go any faster and we both stopped.

We both gave a and parted ways.

I had no idea that car was turbocharged, as soon as the turbos hit I was dead, thank God he didn't launch his car on boost or we didn't go any faster because it would've been ugly for me lol.

I took pics with my camera phone, I'll try and post them up later. This is a pretty rare car so I am just amazed I got a chance to run against it and witness it.

Improviz

...Car & Driver tested this one and ran 0-60 in 3.3 seconds and an 11.8 @ 118 mph 1/4 mile, over two full seconds faster than a CLK500.

Seriously, unless this thing was just whack screwed up, or unless this guy was a novice who couldn't handle that thing's power worth a flip, he should have beaten you by a pretty hefty margin, not by a few lengths. Those things are quick!!

AMG_55

im pretty sure the owner knew he didnt need full potential to beat a clk, any clk

those things are sick, i saw one on the fwy the other day, gave the dude a and then tried to run him but he wouldnt

ProjectC55

You should have raced him with the 750IL,no way would he have had a chance! Now hurry up and post the pic!

ItalianStallion

Yeah yeah, real funny.

Now here's the pics

Andrew-NY

I was ready to buy a Noble about 2 years ago. I decided to fly to Ohio and check out 1g racing; the only dealer in the U.S.

The car looks great from the outside, but the interior was the deal breaker for me. It was so cheap inside and I couldn't see myself spending $75k for the Noble. I admit the car handled well, but the acceleration wasn't at all what I expected. I've had many fast cars before, but the Noble I test drove didn't seem near as fast as they claim. I remember that 3rd gear had almost zero power. I would love to see a video of the Noble M12 (not the M400) doing the 1/4; I'd be surprised to see under 13s. I also question the claimed 0-60 in 3.3 seconds. That sounds a bit low to believe, maybe 4.5-5.0.

Andrew-NY

Improviz,

I really question the Noble that car and driver tested. Maybe it was running higher boost or had bigger turbos. Unless the one I test drove was a dud. I know how fast 3.3 is 0-60 and 11.8 in the 1/4; I've had a few cars doing similiar numbers including my current Renntech CL600. There is no way the Noble I drove was near as fast as the one Car & Driver supposedly tested.

R107SL

I dont know, because when i was up at laguna seca, during a track day, I witnessed an M12 literally kill 2 f430 challenge race cars on the front straight and pretty much every turn aafter that, so...

transferred

They'll hit 12s even if the driver falls asleep. 0-60 is sub 4 for sure. Not bad for a small compnay from Leicestershire.

You're right about the interior though.

Andrew-NY

Just keep in mind that I was talking about the car in stock form. The Noble is very light and I'm sure with a few mods (bigger turbos) the car would be very fast. I wasn't impressed with the one i test drove.

ItalianStallion

I'm sure if the race was from a stop and the guy was able to drop the clutch at high RPMs and let the boost build his 0-60 would have been sub 4, but from a 0-50 or so I wasn't impressed...because I'm pretty sure he was racing. After the race I had a 15 second chat. I told him how sick his car was and that I didn't know it was turbo. He said "yeah, the turbos had to spool. Nice rims, your car sounds mean." So, I guess he was racing me.

I found out that he parks his car about 1/8 of a mile away from where I work, so chances are I will run into him again. Maybe I can get him to go to a car meet or something and you guys can test it out for yourselves. All I know, is that an E55, SL55, 997TT, 996TT, and Lambo Gallardo (all of which I have raced) seem to be faster than this car from a roll...unless after a certain speed the turbos just transform this car into a rocket ship.

jmf003

A little more info...different M12 versions used different engines. The original M12 GTO ran a 310 HP 2.5 L Duratec engine. Reviews posted 0-60 times of around 4.0.

The later GTO-3 and GTO-3R versions ran a 350 HP 3.0 L Duratec. Reviews posted 0-60 times of around 3.7.

The M400 variant had the same 3.0 L engine but the turbos were boosted to produce 425 HP. Reviews posted 0-60 times in the low 3s.

Quite a range....

Improviz

Yeah, but any of those are quite a bit faster than a CLK500. Either this guy botched it, or his car isn't putting out anything close to these horsepower numbers. Even if it was only putting out 250 hp, at 2300 pounds or so it should have easily pulled him if everything was up to snuff.

Still, what happened happened, and that's that. A few years ago I ran dead even with an older Viper once to about 60 or so, but I knew if the guy could drive he'd have taken me--which made it that much sweeter, because he was not a happy camper!

Improviz

Here's Top Gear's test of an M12 GTO (they got 0-60 in 4.4), with a lap from the Stig at the end:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L16BwBkCuJw

ItalianStallion

I mean, keep in mind that my car is slightly modded (open exhaust, ecu, filters) so that might have given me a tad more hp and tq. Maybe around 355 or so tq? But, the Noble M12 is like 2500lbs or something...
Also, perhaps those dyno #s were produced when the car was on full boost. When I raced him and we were about even the turbos werent spooled. Once he was running then I immediately heard the turbos and I saw the car pickup speed.

I'll watch that vid when I get home. Thanks

Yup, anything can happen on the streets. I beat an E55 once. On a straightaway he was pulling me but as soon as it got twisty I was able to outhustle him and I beat him. Obviously, my car doesn't have a chance in hell against an E55 (twisties or straight) so no need for lectures lol. But I'm just stating that there are so many variables that can determine the results of a race. I think gaining car lengths from 45-65 is a pretty hard pull and I'm sure if it was up to 100+ it would have been even more dramatic. I think theres a guy on these forums with a username of Johnny Bravo or something and he has a Noble...

jmf003

DerekFSU is pretty active in the E55 forum and has both a highly modded E55 (10.950 1/4 mile) and a Noble.

I didn't mean for my comments on HP to take away from the other comments...just letting folks know that there's a pretty big significant performance range from the weakest engine to the strongest....

DerekFSU

Nobles are fast cars. Mine is bone stock

Here's a race against several other non-stock stock cars.

HD- http://www.whitisconsulting.com/vide...tartHD720P.wmv

SD- http://www.whitisconsulting.com/vide...blingSARRC.wmv

That is a 3rd gear rolling start. Andrew-NY musta gotten to 1G on a bad day. Out of curiosity, what color and what month/year was it?

Andrew-NY

Derek,

Cool videos. Your Noble seems very fast. How much HP compared to the stock M12 GTO.

I drove the Blue one that Dean was driving. I don't remember if his was a 2003 or 2004. I was there in 2004.

DerekFSU

Thanks, in that video I'm about 500rwhp. We're up to 625rwhp now. I've driven an M12 and found it to be quite quick. Their interior is only cheap if you're used to high end cars, not race cars. If you've spent any time in and around racecars, the interior makes perfect sense and is actually quite plush.

Andrew-NY

Wow!! Your car is a monster at less than 2500lbs. I'd be surprised if your car isn't a sub 10 second car with 625 rwhp. I noticed in the video how fast the car was with 500rwhp.

Do you drive the car on the streets? How much $$ did you invest in the car to get to 500 rwhp and then to 625?

AMG_55

got a ride in a noble not that long ago. after i got into my 997s(considerably faster than my clk55 was) i felt like i did when i dropped my clk off for service and got a 230 loaner.

DarrenCT

I saw 1 on I-84 in Hartford, Ct about 1 month ago.... pretty sweet looking ride, we could,'t race due to traffic, but I know that car would've whooped my '6.... at least to me, my v8 sounds better

ItalianStallion

It might have been the same guy. Was it dark silver?

And the guy kept complimenting me on my exhaust. I was like "you have the NOBLE M12GTO!" and he was like "yo, your rims are nice and your car sounds so mean!"

So, I guess he liked the sound of the Benz V8. I loved the sound of his V6TT.