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Extremely Rare, Ford-Powered Noble M400 Can Bring Supercar Status for Half-Price

Every now and then, we stumble across an exciting vehicle offered for sale at an auction. If you're not that big of a petrolhead and are more interested in the actual commuting capabilities of any given vehicle, chances are you might have not even heard about Noble Automotive or its quest to produce supercar-challenging vehicles at a fraction of the cost.
Noble M400 43 photos
Photo: Bringatrailer
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This brings us to the vehicle at hand, which we found on Bring a Trailer: a 2005, one-owner Noble M400. Built between 2004 and 2007, the underpinnings of this vehicle might seem a bit strange at first. That's because the manufacturer is based in the United Kingdom while the building process was outsourced to a company from South Africa. The chassis and bodywork were purchased preassembled through 1g Racing of Hamilton, Ohio.

The powertrain, a twin-turbocharged 3.0-liter Ford Duratec V6 paired to a six-speed manual transaxle, was installed by Fain's Automotive of Abilene, Texas. Most official numbers state that only 75 of these vehicles were ever built, but some say that the number might actually be higher, as some of them might have lived on through the Rossion Q1 model; that's what the car was named by 1g racing after it had obtained the production rights for the M400.

Back to the vehicle at hand, it has only traveled 3,300 miles (5,310 km), which makes it even more special. There are car magazines and reviewers who have gone as far as to compare the capabilities of this car to those of a Porsche 911 or even a Ferrari Enzo. The specs do look impressive, as the Ford engine puts out 425 horsepower and 390 lb-ft (529 Nm) of torque, while the car only weighs 2,337 lbs (1,060 kg).

The current bid stands at $40,000 with seven more days to go, and even though this is not as fast as the newer Noble M600, a car which was faster than a Bugatti Veyron 16:4 or a Ferrari Enzo around the Top Gear test track, the M400 might become a true classic in five or ten years from now. Given its overall very good condition, you can even get to enjoy it on the racetrack or even around your own city if doing the speed limit isn't going to be annoying for you.

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About the author: Dragos Chitulescu
Dragos Chitulescu profile photo

The things Dragos enjoys the most in life are, in no particular order: cars, motorcycles, diecast cars, and drifting. He's seen (and driven) many vehicles since he started his writing career back in 2009, but his garage currently houses a 1991 Mazda RX-7 FC3S Turbo II and a 1999 Suzuki SV650-S.
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