Spotted: a Noble M12

The Noble M12 entered the market in 2000 as the successor to the M10. Unlike the M10, the M12 has a fixed roof. A convertible version was planned, but ultimately did not make it to the production stage. Even more than its predecessor, the M12 is a track car for public roads: steel frame, integrated roll cage and body panels made of fiberglass composite. Although Noble developed the car itself, this time production was outsourced to South African Hi-Tech Automotive.

Various versions

The Noble M12 is always powered by a (slightly modified) Ford V6 engine, but there were a number of variants. The “base model” was the GTO, with the 2.5-liter V6 and an output of 231 kW (314 hp). The GTO-3 had a 3.0-liter version of the V6, producing 262 kW (357 hp). The GTO-3R had the same engine, but was even more geared toward track use. Even more superlative was the Noble M400, in which the V6 produced a whopping 317 kW (431 hp).

Performance Noble M12

Thanks to its weight of only about 1,000 kg, the Noble M12 GTO-3R reaches 100 km/h in just 3.7 seconds. According to the official factory specification, that is. The American Road & Track even managed to note the 3.3 seconds. The top speed is 298 km/h.

The Noble M12 in America

The only Noble model, the M12 was also delivered in North America, only as a GTO-3R and M400. Both models together ended up selling 220 units. For such an unknown sports car in the American market, that’s still quite a lot. It was enough for American 1G Racing (shortly thereafter Rossion Automotive) to buy the production rights. In slightly modernized form, they still produced the Rossion Q1 until 2018.

Successor Noble M12

Production of the Noble M12 itself ran until 2008. Back in 2004, the brand presented a production-ready looking successor, in the form of the M14. In practice, however, that was a prototype, which ultimately did not make it to actual production. A successor did arrive in 2006: the M15. It was larger and more geared toward daily use. Hence the M12 and M15 were delivered side by side for a while.

The spotted specimen

Not at a trackday or other event, but just in an ordinary parking lot in the center of Hoorn, the Netherlands, we saw this Noble M12 GTO-3R. The car has British plates and a license plate check reveals that the car was registered in September 2004. It has been with its current owner since April 2024. At the last MOT it had only 27,414 miles (44,119 km) on the odometer, although such mileage is not exceptional for this type of car.

What is exceptional is to encounter a Noble at all in the Netherlands. According to the RDW, there are only two on license plates. Both are an M12, one of which is a GTO-3R.