The race-bred Noble M12, which has rocked the British market with its Porsche Turbo-bashing performance and dynamics, is now available in Australia.

Since the car’s original UK launch in 2000, the M12 has evolved considerably, spawning three different models to date. The current range-topper – the Noble 3.0 litre V6 twin turbocharged 262 kW M12 GTO-3R – will be the version sold in Australia.

This car has become a firm favourite with the British press, who have now started to use the Noble as a benchmark for scintillating performance and awesome dynamics, at a sensible price.

Evo magazine hammered the Noble across desolate Welsh roads and noted that: “In an amazing display of damping and body control, the Noble surges along, oblivious to the jagged tarmac, V6 blaring hard in third and fourth, revs occasionally spiking as the rear wheels skip over the worst ridges. It never scrapes its nose, rarely troubles its bump stops. Rally specials aside, I can’t think of another car that would cope better.”

Auto Express, comparing the M12 GTO-3R with a Porsche GT3, TVR 350R and a BMW M3 CSL as quoted as follows, “No production Ferrari or Lamborghini can match its 3.7 second 0-60 mph time, and it was a full second ahead of the Porsche and TVR by the time 100 mph was passed. Thrust builds rapidly and at 3,000 rpm, the 3R fires forward with a ferocity that will literally take your breath away.”

And finally, the well known motoring journalist, Jeremy Clarkson, has been singing the Noble’s praises on his television programme, Top Gear, since it was originally launched. But when he wrote about the 3R in the Sunday Times, he was genuinely taken aback. “This (Noble GTO-3R) doesn’t accelerate when you press the pedal. It explodes. In the time it takes an Audi to select a gear… the lightweight Noble has added 10 mph to its speed, your eyeballs are fastened to the back of your skull and your left kidney has come off…. In a world obsessed with image, you can’t beat a Porsche. But in a world obsessed with time, a Porsche is a library. A TVR is the internet. And the Noble is broadband.”

All Nobles are hand-built to order and will hold a deep appeal for those drivers who crave exclusivity at a reasonable price, without sacrificing the build quality and durability associated with more established sports car manufacturers.

It also promises to startle its more established rivals with its heady mix of blistering performance and secure handling. Priced at $199,990, the Noble has unrivalled performance per dollar, going head to head with cars like the Porsche 911, Maserati GT and BMW M3 CSL.

Michel De Vriendt, Managing Director of Motor Group Australia and importer for Noble said; “With its combination of outstanding performance, style and everyday drivability; we are confident it will carve its own niche in the upper sports car market. Its appeal is to those drivers who not only want something that is unique, but can deliver performance that is unquestionably without peer. The Noble represents arguable the fastest road registerable vehicle currently available in Australia.”

Over the next 18 months MGA plan to further expand the Noble range with the introduction of the M400, M12 GTC convertible and the flagship M14.

The GTO-3R is best summed up with the words of Lee Noble, the M12’s designer: “I always wanted to design a car that was civilised and spacious, rode well, and that anyone could drive fast without feeling intimidated. The Noble M12 GTO-3R represents the pinnacle of that ideal.”