New /// Noble M600 2011

Noble, constructeur britanique de bolides, a présenté les premiers clichés de la version de production de son coupé ultrasportif M600. Ce dernier troque sa carrosserie en fibre de verre et plastique pour une coque en carbone plus légère.

La Noble M600 de production utilisera du carbone pour sa carrosserie à la place de la fibre de verre et le plastique prévue au départ sur les premiers exemplaires de pré-production. Voilà qui fait encore gagner quelques kilos à la M600 qui pèse plus que 1 250 kg.

Grâce à ce poid limité, et à son moteur 4.4 V8 biturbo de chez Volvo poussé à 660 chevaux et 820 Nm de couple, la M600 passe de 0 à 96 km/h en à peine 3 s, voire en 8,9 s pour atteindre les 193 km/h. L'Adaptable Performance Control permet au conducteur de limiter la charge jusqu'à minimum 450 ch. La puissance est envoyée aux roues arrière et est contrôlée par une boîte manuelle à six rapports.

Noble compte vendre 50 M600 au prix de 200 000 livres sterling, soit environ 230 000 euros.

Source & photo: Noble

Album Photo /// Noble M600 2011

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Greek Court Dismisses Daimler's Claim Against Chinese Smart ForTwo Knockoff

Remember Shuanghuan Automobile's Noble, the Chinese minicar that blatantly copies the design of the previous Smart Fortwo? Well, the Noble has made its appearance in several European countries including Greece where Smart's parent company, Daimler, naturally decided to take the importer, 'China Motors', to court in order to block the sale of the car in the Mediterranean country on the basis that infringes its design copyright for the ForTwo. Easy decision, right? Wrong...

Believe it or not, according to China Motors, a Greek court in Piraeus has just dismissed Daimler's claim on the basis that "an informed buyer would not confuse the Noble with the Smart Fortwo."

The judgment goes on to say that "it is commonly acknowledged that a decision to buy a car should not depend solely on the vehicle's exterior styling, but also on the technical features such as the automobile's engine."

In this aspect, China Motors said that the court took into consideration the fact that the Noble differs significantly in technical specifications from the Smart Fortwo as it is longer (3meters vs 2.5meters), it has two extra seats at the back and it incorporates a front-mounted engine sending power to the front wheels whereas the Fortwo has a rear-mounted engine that drives the rear wheels.

As for the styling similarities, the court ruled that they are "the result of their common nature", referring to the fact they belong to the same category of vehicles (minicars)!

In other words, according to the Piraeus court's reason, Chinese automakers can sell any clone they want in Greece as long as the technical specifications differ from the original product. Yep, we're pretty much convinced by now that for this particular judge, the MacPherson strut and Ellie MacPherson's butt are one in the same...

According to China Motors, the Noble will go on sale in Greece sometime during the second half of the year.

source: http://carscoop.blogspot.com