The 2006 Noble M15

A More Civilized Noble As Said By Richard "Hamster" Hammond

     Hello everyone. You may remember that a few months ago I wrote about the Noble M600. Well today I'll be writing about an older more controllable Noble that actually has driver assists. That car is the Noble M15. 

     The Noble M15 is a British supercar equipped with a rear mounted turbocharged 3 liter Ford Duratec engine that is based on the one found in a Ford Mondeo a.k.a. Ford Fusion  as it's known in America (forgive me if I'm wrong), that delivers a decent 455 mph and a top speed of 185 mph. Naught to sixty-two takes 3.5 seconds. The engine is coupled to a 6-speed manual gearbox built by Italian company Graziano. 

     The Noble M15 uses a steel spaceframe and roll cage that is coated with graphite-reinforced body paneling. The front and rear disc brakes are both ventilated. The engine is mounted longitudinally to increase cooling air flow. The double wishbone suspension used on the M15 is based on the one used in the older Noble M400.  The steel and aluminum spaceframe is apparently strong enough to allow it to be sold in both European countries and America. The engine's CO2 emissions are also clean enough for both European countries and America. 

     The cost of the Noble M15 in Britain is 74,950 pounds. Unfortunately I don't know how much a pound is in U.S. currency.

     The main competition for the Noble M15 is the Porsche 911/GT3 and the Ferrari F430.

The 2018 Ferrari Dino

The Latest Of Ferrari's Dino Cars

(I couldn't find a picture of the car without getting copyright claim troubles. I apologize.)

     People may remember Ferrari's Dino cars as being slightly more affordable but slower. For the year 2018 Ferrari is making plans to launch a new Dino. The bad news is that it's not the prettiest Ferrari in my opinion. It looks as if Ferrari combined a 488 GTB, a F12 Berlinetta, and even a McLaren MP4-12C into one car. What will tick people off even more is the fact that Ferrari took the 2017 Ford GT approach with their engine...sort of. What they did was add a V-6 from an Alfa Romeo Giulia QV. Worse is that people tend to say Alfa parts such as the engines break down easily. However the engine was modified so maybe it will last a little longer. Anyway back to the Dino.

     The 2018 Ferrari Dino is an Italian sports car equipped with the Alfa Romeo V-8 I mentioned earlier that gives it a possible 530 hp and a top speed of around 200 mph. Naught to sixty is believed to take either 3.3 seconds or 4.5 seconds. The engine will be coupled to a unknown gearbox. I expect it to be a 7-speed F1-style manual with flappy paddles. 

      The 2018 Ferrari Dino's suspension, tires, interior, and exterior are unknown at this time. What I do know is that it will be shorter and narrower than the 488 GTB.

      As for price the 2018 Ferrari Dino will likely cost $200,000. Let's pray this is a good Ferrari.

The 2013 Icona Vulcano Concept

China's Supercar Made By Italians

   

     The Chinese are one of the last people you'd think would want to make a supercar given their style of government. Well apparently something is going on that is making the Chinese want to build such a car. Their answer to wanting a supercar comes from the Italians. Both nations are calling it the Icona Vulcano Concept. 

      The Icona Vulcano is an Italian/Chinese supercar concept that comes in both street and racing variants. The street version is equipped with a V-12 combined with an electric motor helping the car get to a top speed of 217 mph and a maximum horsepower count of 950.  (possible V-12 or V-6 for the Vulcano) The racing version uses a V-6 combined with multiple electric motors that drive the front wheels. The horsepower generated from this combo is 870. Top speed is also 217 mph. Spooky. However zero to sixty time is quite different for both versions. The street version goes from zero to sixty in what is claimed by Icona to be less than 2 seconds which is very hard to believe. The racing version gets to sixty in 2.9 seconds. That seems more believable. But perhaps i shouldn't be surprised as apparently the street version has a monstrous 1,500 lbs of estimated torque.   

      On to parts. The brakes used on the Icona Vulcano Concept are carbon-ceramic brakes with Brembo six-piston calipers. The tires used are the very reliable Pirelli P-Zeros. The suspension used in the Vulcano Concept is unknown. 

      Believe it or not, the Icona Vulcano Concept is said to one day compete with the best Ferrari and Porsche have to throw at it. That would be the Ferrari LaFerrari and the Porsche 918 Spyder. 

      Sadly there is no price on this concept nor will it likely ever enter production. But don't feel sad as another Icona called the Icona Vulcano Titanium has been created and might just be put into production. Let's hope this car stakes its place among the Italian dominated elite.