All About Cars

I’m one of the few people in this country who have experienced a Noble on the track. While it was a few years ago and I wasn’t the one driving, I can still remember the visceral way in which the car attacked Mid-Ohio Race Course, so much so that my insides are still a bit tender. It’s truly one of the least expensive ways to experience a supercar in this country, even if some assembly is required. But some people scoff when the Noble is categorized as a supercar, saying that such a vehicle shouldn’t be powered by a 3.0L Duratec V6 from Ford, even it is pumped up by a pair of turbos. Well, how about a twin-turbo V8 from Volvo instead? Noble’s newest supercar, the M15, will reportedly be powered by a twin-turbo version of Volvo’s 4.4L V8 that normally does suburban reconnaissance missions in the XC90 SUV. Jacked up on force-fed oxygen, Volvo’s V8 should produce around 650 horsepower, which is more than enough oomph to slingshot Noble’s newest featherweight to ludicrous speed (or 60 MPH) in 3 seconds flat.