Noble Blows Its Top With Black Beauty

Topless motoring has entered a new era. This is the Noble M12 GTC - and these are the world exclusive pictures you won't see in any other car magazine.

Auto Express Car Reviews

By Martin Sharp

26th May 2004

Auto Express has been given unprecedented access to the cabrio - making its world debut at this week's Motor Show - and we have all the details on the UK's most exciting new supercar.

The Leicestershire outfit revealed its intention to be roofless with the GTC convertible concept, unveiled at the 2002 British Motor Show. That was enough to convince 35 buyers to put their money down, and it looks as if the 18-month wait has been worth it.

Based on the M12 GTO coup΃©, the newcomer joins the line-up at ΂£44,950. That's ΂£4,000 less than expected, because Noble has sensationally sacked all its dealers. The firm will now sell the cars through three in-house showrooms. "Removing dealer margins has enabled us to introduce lower pricing across the range," explained a spokesman.

The convertible gets a 3.0-litre V6 turbo engine which sees output cut to 290bhp - compared to the 352bhp of the standard GTO. That's because the drop-top has a boot, and to make room for this all-new luggage area, the engine had to lose one of its two blowers and have the intercooler moved.

Not that the load space is that big; the fully trimmed boot has a total volume of only 90 litres. To put that in context, Vauxhall's VX220 has a 200-litre boot, while the Rolls-Royce Phantom's fuel tank alone holds 100 litres of petrol.

However, Noble buyers will be more attracted by performance than carrying capacity. Despite the power reduction, the V6 - mated to a six-speed manual box - gives the GTC a 0-60mph time of 4.5 seconds and a 160mph top speed.

Turning the Noble into a suntrap is straightforward because the removable roof consists of two panels and a rear section. A central latch is all that needs to be undone for the former to be lifted out and stored behind the seats. The rear section can also be taken out, but it can't be stored in the car.

Inside, the cabin might be fully trimmed in leather, but the list of creature comforts isn't exactly long - there's reach-adjustable steering, fore and aft seat movement and a CD player. Air-con is a ΂£2,000 option, but who'll need it when you can take the roof off? Following the dealer shake-up, the GT0-3R has a revised price of ΂£49,950, while the M400 is ΂£55,995.