New Fenix Supercar

Lee Noble’s answer to Noble’s M600 is finally starting to see the light of day. Although precise and in depth details of the car are rather scant at the moment (it doesn’t even have an official name yet!), what we do know points toward a very brutal machine. Although this latest supercar won’t bear that famous Noble badge because it stems from a new stable, that is Lee Noble’s Fenix Supercars, it’s a Noble in spirit I think.

The all important engine bay can be furnished with two American muscle options, the baby option is LS3 V8 from GM producing 480bhp/358kW. The other option is definitely something to get excited about however because the motor is the screamer from Corvette’s ZR1. For those of you who don’t know about the ZR1’s engine, no sorry nuclear bomb under the hood, is a 6.2L supercharged V8. All that forced induction capacity enables the motor to churn out a spine crunching 638bhp/476kW. If you still need convincing about the power of this engine, consider this, the ZR1 holds the Nurburgring lap record. The ZR1 being a fine example of American muscle has never even seen a corner in the States let alone know how to go round one. And the Nurburgring has 170 odd of the things. The only possible conclusion to draw from that record then is that the ZR1’s engine is spectacular.

So Lee Noble’s latest maniacal creation will have the power, particularly when considering that the car is said to weigh in at roughly 1,200kg’s. That’ll be light enough to allow the engine to propel the car from 0-100km/h in not much time at all. Getting to 160km/h or 100mph will be less than seven seconds and from there expect to see 200mph on the clock if you can find a nice enough road, that’s comfortably above the 320km/h mark.

Arguably the best bit of news about this supercar is that it will be built right here is sunny South Africa, Port Elizabeth to be exact. “Our first prototype is now in build and development will start in one month’s time,” says Lee. “We’ll be hot-weather testing the first prototype on the mountain roads around Port Elizabeth, South Africa, where the car will be manufactured. But I’m itching the get the car back to the UK where I can set it up on roads I know well…”

As far as looks go there seems to be a bit of Lamborghini Reventon in there at least at the rear, it certainly is very sharp and angular. The nose has a bit of an R8 cloning feel. Of course if they’re still in the prototype phase there is no guaranteeing what it’ll look like when it goes on sale. Lee Noble has said that the body will be far more aerodynamic than anything he has done before which would indicate the styling may very well stay the same. The hope at the moment is that full scale production will get rolling in 2010 but like the styling that remains to be seen.