Fenix Supercar ultra-powerful mid-engined V8 Announced By Lee Noble

Fenix Supercar ultra-powerful mid-engined V8

Lee Noble’s love for cars remains as young as it used to be. I can say so because even when he left the company he built, Noble, his newest creation, Fenix supercar. Leicestershire – Lee Noble, the maverick designer and engineer who has defined the British low volume sports car market in recent years, is back in the hot seat of an all-new company, Fenix Automotive Limited, and is due to launch one of the most dramatic supercars of the century next year. 

Fenix Supercar ultra-powerful mid-engined V8

Fenix supercar is believed to be the sequel of the iconic M12 which was a great success but Fenix is a start from the scratch as far as the designing part is concerned. Fenix will be having two models for the grab whereby GM`s 480bhp LS3 V8 will be the `base` unit, while the 6.2-litre supercharged LS9 V8 will provide customers with a 638bhp power option. And powered with 638bhp engine, as Fenix claims, car will get from 0-100mph in less than seven seconds and go on to reach more than 200mph.

 Fenix Supercar ultra-powerful mid-engined V8

With successful production cars like the Noble M12 and M400 already under his belt (as well as the original Ultima and Ascari, among many others) Lee is investing his vast experience in delivering a lightweight, ultra-powerful mid-engined V8 supercar to market by the end of 2010.

“Our new car will offer buyers performance and dynamics that they’d normally have to spend well over £100,000 to experience, but at a far more affordable price,” said Lee Noble. “It will combine simplicity, strength and agility, while its two-seat, closed body will ensure sensible levels of refinement for road use.

 Fenix Supercar ultra-powerful mid-engined V8

With over 25 years’ experience in the low volume sports car market, Lee’s pragmatic approach to producing super-fast, giant-killing cars has won him credibility among buyers and the media alike. So while the first pictures of his new creation (due early next year) are sure to cause a stir, Lee’s grounded philosophy to manufacturing will ensure that the car is a production reality. In fact, development of the car began in earnest a year ago, and the first prototype, which will be used to validate the all-new chassis and powertrain, is currently being built in Port Elizabeth, South Africa, in the same plant that produced all the M12s.

Fenix Supercar ultra-powerful mid-engined V8

Fenix supercar’s first edition will be launched in UK in the second half of the year whereas its prototype is under construction in South Africa. Lee believes that he can roll out 100 editions a year and it will cost somewhere around £70,000 per unit.

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Fenix Supercar M14 and M15 a New Noble Supercar

Fenix Supercar M14

Although the man has been separated from the company that bears his name for a while now, as we revealed when PH interviewed Lee Noble before Christmas he's still hard at work in the business of producing sports cars. Despite having left his namesake British supercar company Noble Automotive, Lee Noble is back in the game and plans to begin development on an all-new supercar.

His new company is called Fenix Automotive and the first Fenix is planned to be a lightweight, mid-engine coupe that can capture a sub-seven-second 0 to 100 mph. The car will feature a powerful V8 engine and is intended to be ‘one of the most dramatic supercars of the century’ thanks in part to the moderate price tag of 75,000 pounds (app. $125K). Noble also mentioned an interesting feature that will make the first Fenix practical both on road and track, though apparently didn’t elaborate from there.

Fenix Supercar M15

The Fenix supercar prototype is currently in build at Fenix's facility in South Africa, and the car will do its initial hot-weather testing there before heading to the UK for further development.

"The M12 was hugely successful, but we needed to move the game on in terms of design," says Noble. "The new car's styling owes nothing to what I've done before and has quite literally been a 'clean sheet' exercise from the start. It's edgy, with powerful lines, and aerodynamically will be in another league to any of my previous cars."

 Fenix Supercar M15

But despite Noble's protestations of a clean-sheet design, we can't help but think of the Fenix as the hoped for successor to the sharp, focused, track-honed M12 series, and that's no bad thing. That the looks seem to bear a passing resemblance to the stillborn M14 and M15 is far from a tragedy, too. The Fenix will be powered by an LS3 GM V8 pumping out 480bhp, while the truly power hungry can specify the 638bhp LS9 V8 as seen in the Corvette ZR1. Fenix reckons that the LS9-engined car should accelerate from 0-100mph in under seven seconds and hit a maximum of 200mph.

 Fenix Supercar M15

"I always said I wanted to build a car with the performance of an Enzo for less than £100k, and that's what I'll deliver this time round," said Noble when we interviewed him, and it looks like he might manage it. The base model is expected to cost around £70k, with the supercharged version set to come in at less than £100k.

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