The Noble M14 Sports Car

Noble M14 Image

from Classic to Modern

THE CAR

Designated the Noble M14 sports car, the next addition to the Noble line-up of super cars was introduced, in late 2004, at the British Motor Show with a price tag of £74,950.

Its designers had an eye to it competing with such prestigeous rivals as the Porsche 996 Turbo and Ferrari 360 Modena.

The styling was to be distinctive, and moving away from that of its predecessors, whilst incorporating forceful features in the front section.

The rear of the car featured an arc of six different lights, and the two exhaust pipes were positioned centrally, for maximum impact, and above the rear diffuser.

Since the M14 was now marginally longer and wider than the M12, this led to an increase in available space within the cabin, as well as creating an additional luggage facility in the front.

The interior received leather trim throughout, whilst wool carpeting covered the floor area.

No expense was spared when it came to the seating, which had a carbon fibre frame, and was covered in leather. The position of the sets was fully adjustable in all directions.

With an eye to the driver, the M14 was fitted with air conditioning, electric windows, a heated windscreen, an immobiliser, and optional satellite navigation.

It had a composite glassfibre body on a steel space frame chassis, and the cabin was constructed with an integral roll over cage for additional safety.

The additional luxurious fitments increased the curb weight from 1080 kg to only 1150 kg.

It used 33 cm AP Racing vented and drilled disc brakes all round, 18 inch alloy wheels, a redesigned steering wheel, and power-assisted steering.

Noble M14 Image

THE ENGINE

Following on from the M12 GTO-3R sports car, the Noble M14 was powered by a highly tuned 3 litre, Ford Duratec V6 engine, fitted with two Garrett T25 turbochargers that produced 0.7 bar of boost, together with two intercoolers, that were positioned behind the rear wheel arches, and helped to produce additional storage space at the rear of the car.

Linked to this unit was the same six speed manual gearbox used in the M12 series, with gear ratios chosen to produce relaxing high speed driving.

With a compression ratio of only 8.5:1, this arrangement developed 400 bhp at 6100 rpm (redline was 7200), and 385 ft/lbs of torque at 4750 rpm, the majority of which was available at around 3000 rpm, so increasing the engine's flexibility

This produced a top speed of 190 mph, with a 0-60 mph time of 4.3 secs.

Technical Data M14      M12 GTO-3R      M12 GTO-3
Production 2004             2005 2000-2005
Engine, cc 2968 2968 2968
Cylinders, bhp 6, 400 6, 360 6, 352
Torque ft/lbs                              385 358 350
Top Speed mph            190 170 165
0-60 mph, secs           4.3 3.5 4.0
0-100 mph, secs                         9.5 8.1 9.5
Standing 1/4 Mile, secs - 11.8 12.6

Noble M14 Image

COMPETITION

Typical competition for the Noble M14 included the following sports cars: Porsche 996 Turbo S, and Ferrari 360 Modena. Noble performance:

Porsche Ferrari
Technical Data M14           996 Turbo S       360 Modena
Production 2004 2004-2006 1999-2005
Engine, cc 2968                3607 3586
Cylinders, bhp 6, 400 6, 450 8, 395
Torque ft/lbs 385 455 275
Top Speed mph 190 191 189
0-60 mph, secs 4.3 4.0 4.2
0-100 mph, secs 9.5 8.9 10.3
Standing 1/4 Mile, secs          -                    - 13.0

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