Lee Noble Reveals First Details of New Company & £75K Sports Car

Lee Noble

By Thami Masemola
November 20, 2009 1:00 AM
Filed Under: European, Specialty, Specialty Marques, Supercars

Lee Noble has returned with a new company called Fenix Automotive Limited. The founder of the Noble brand known for iconic supercars like the M12 and M400, who resigned from Noble Automotive in 2008, says his new entity will ensure a great performance-to-cost ratio.

"Our new car will offer buyers performance and dynamics that they'd normally have to spend well over £100,000 to experience, but at a far more affordable price," Lee Noble said. "It will combine simplicity, strength and agility, while its two-seat, closed body will ensure sensible levels of refinement for road use."

The still-nameless car will be using a mid-engine V8 layout and produce a 0 - 100mph (161km/h) time of below 7 seconds. It will feature lightweight construction materials and be as comfortable on public roads as it is on race tracks.

Development began about a year ago and the prototype is being assembled in Port Elizabeth, South Africa, where Nobles are also partly-assembled. The market launch is scheduled for the end of 2010 at a price expected to fall under the £75,000 line.

 

 


Press Release (Click to expand)

Lee Noble, the maverick designer and engineer who has defined the British low volume sports car market in recent years, is back in the hot seat of an all-new company, Fenix Automotive Limited, and is due to launch one of the most dramatic supercars of the century next year.

With successful production cars like the Noble M12 and M400 already under his belt (as well as the original Ultima and Ascari, among many others) Lee is investing his vast experience in delivering a lightweight, ultra-powerful mid-engined V8 supercar to market by the end of 2010.

The as yet unnamed car, which will cost from under £75,000, will trounce all previous Lee Noble-built Nobles for performance with a 0-100mph time of under seven seconds, and will target serious track day drivers, while also being completely usable on the public road.

"Our new car will offer buyers performance and dynamics that they'd normally have to spend well over £100,000 to experience, but at a far more affordable price," said Lee Noble. "It will combine simplicity, strength and agility, while its two-seat, closed body will ensure sensible levels of refinement for road use.

"And thanks to a feature which will be revealed nearer the car's launch, it will be amazingly practical too, for both track and road users."

With over 25 years' experience in the low volume sports car market, Lee's pragmatic approach to producing super-fast, giant-killing cars has won him credibility among buyers and the media alike. So while the first pictures of his new creation (due early next year) are sure to cause a stir, Lee's grounded philosophy to manufacturing will ensure that the car is a production reality.

In fact, development of the car began in earnest a year ago, and the first prototype, which will be used to validate the all-new chassis and powertrain, is currently being built in Port Elizabeth, South Africa, in the same plant that produced all the M12s.

More news of Fenix Automotive's new car will follow soon.

 

 

Comments

Lennox....
November 20, 2009 1:40 AM
wow 7 seconds :) nice noble is going user friendly :)

dbehmoaras
November 20, 2009 2:28 AM
Looking forward to this.

Cootje
November 20, 2009 3:40 PM
He probably should finish his engineering eduction before drawing a car. That rear is aweful and reminds me of those kind of people who put spoilers on cars that makes the car twice it weight. Does this come with standard neon light and a +1000 Watt stereo set?

Bristol411S3
November 20, 2009 5:51 PM
Lee Noble isn't known for his styling skills. You should Google the M10.

When it comes to a chassis though he knows his stuff.

By the way, isn't the point of a spoiler to increase weight?

Cootje
November 23, 2009 5:59 PM
A spoilers function is to increase downforce, not weight. Else they would make it out of led.

PaulDobson
November 20, 2009 3:48 PM
Don't act so depressed son.

tootall
November 20, 2009 5:55 PM
First Mclaren, now Noble... Soon, everyone will really begin to re-evaluate the way they put price to function. Designing a car that performs the same as a super car and that is comfortable, that cost less, is truly the way to go, especially in these tough economic times.

View Comment Rules

Add Comment

You are modifying your comment

Exisiting User

Username
Password
remember me

New Users

Username
Email
Password
Comment

Your account

username
password

Other links