996 gt3 rs has competition

PeteBrown · 11-21-2003, 01:03 PM

I think the 996 GT3 and GT3 RS have some competition.

Per a post here and/or on rennlist (which I cannot find in searching), I visited 1G Racing in Hamilton, Ohio yesterday to take a test drive of the Noble M12 R3. The distributor is 1G Racing who is part of or least housed in the same location as Dynamic Motorsports, a Cobra and Lotus 7 replica dealership.

DYNAMIC MOTORSPORTS, OHIO
2647 Morgan Lane, State Route 128
Ross, OH 45013
Tel: (513) 738-4000 Fax: (513) 738-4005
E-mail: info@dynamicmotorsports.net
WebSite: http://dynamicmotorsports.net

The cars are manufactured in South Africa by Superformance right next to the Cobras and S1 roasters.

All I can say is that Dean Rosen the owner, and former '86 targa owner, could not have been nicer. We took the car out for a ride and once he knew I DE'd a 911, he handed me the keys. The Noble is a wonderfully smooth car with a weight of only 2,100 lbs, 370 hp from the twin Garrett turbo charged 3.0 litre Ford Duratec, and full double wishbone suspension riding on Bilstein coil-overs and H&R springs. There are no sway bars and the ride is actually very soft. Handling was amaizing with absolutely no understeer and throttle controlled oversteer.

The body had a very nice finish but the interior felt a little kit car-like due to the Ford stalks and a/c controls. Unfortunately, I did not have my digital camera but I receive a handful of photos from Dean. I will scan them later this weekend to share with you all.

If you are ever in Cincinnatti - you have to spend and hour and go see the Noble.

FYI - no affiliations or relation, YMMV.

TRE Cup · TRE Cup's Garage

Wasn't Noble the company that made lotus 23 replicas as well? They had several of their earlier V8 chassis sold here- one of them participates in the New Years Day rally each year. Some capable stuff if put together with the right parts

ZCAT3 · 11-21-2003, 01:27 PM

Is this the car:

http://www.supercars.net/Pic?s=1&id=2226&i=0&p=2002_noble_m12_gto-1.jpg&y=2002&m=Noble&o=M12%20GTO-3

RickM · RickM's Garage

If it's the car ZCAT points to then I say "Very Nice". Actually resembles a Carrera GT a bit. Any idea of cost?

Bothari · 11-21-2003, 01:49 PM

The latest EVO tests the GTO-3R (the lights are diferent from that pic, btw) and on the same track it was *very* slightly faster than a gt3 (not an RS) with 78.8 secs vs 79.6 for the GT3..

rs911t · 11-21-2003, 02:04 PM

There's a review at http://www.pistonheads.com/doc.asp?c=47&i=2764
Somewhere out in Web Land is a video review that's just amazing. Can't remember where I saw it ....

89911 · 11-21-2003, 03:16 PM

I read a review that this car, (Radical sr3) posted a lap time 10 seconds faster then a GT3.

TRE Cup · TRE Cup's Garage

just what you want to drive on the street? oh , i suppose there are those days.....

1fastredsc · 11-21-2003, 04:02 PM

looks like an mr2 with a body kits and a slight injection of steriods

Wayne 962 · Wayne 962's Garage

It's about time someone made a true enthusiast's car again, instead of the overpriced plastic stuff that seems to be coming out these days...

-Wayne

Wayne 962 · Wayne 962's Garage

What's the price on this?

-Wayne

89911 · 11-21-2003, 05:10 PM

http://www.radicalracecars.com

I think the price is a little shy of 100k, so still less then a GT3. I saw it on a piece in "Super 2tuner TV" filmed in California. I's sure some track guys out there have seen some. 1100 lbs. 255hp. 2.0 g's lateral. Not street legal in US but can be in UK. It is interesting to check out, none the less.

Lukesportsman · 11-21-2003, 07:25 PM

The Noble is available as a turnkey minus for mid 50k's. I had a chance to look them over at Road America this summer. They can be ordered in from the distributor this way to avoid some of the smog/crash standards that a finished car would have to pass. I think the latest add in "Autoweek" was for 53K USD. Believe me, it doesn't remind you of an MR2 in person at all. I actually thought a refined Lotus Exige! Everyone seems very pleased with the handling. Looked pretty cool as a 904 passed it

Bothari · 11-22-2003, 12:18 AM

yes, the sr3 is faster than the noble, but it is aracecar with plates, after all, it's faster than *anything* out there. On the same magazine, an sr3 was beaten by a few hundreths by a gsx-r1000 with highly worked suspension and a blueprinted engine...

The Noble is a street car, perfectly comfortable in rain and bumps...
However, it costs something like £56k in the UK and something similar in the rest of europe. It is cheaper than the GT3, but it's a plastick-bodied special, handmade with Ford swithcgear.

gumba · 11-22-2003, 09:21 AM

One of the guys in our pca/ggr club has a Radical, and is a distributor. He quoted me around $50K for the base version and $60 w/high per. motor. We were at Thunderhill together a few weeks ago. He left me in the corners like I was standing still.

911nut · 911nut's Garage

I saw this car at the Autorama show in Detroit last winter. The price for a roller was interesting as was the car itself.

PeteBrown · 11-23-2003, 05:19 AM

The price for the car minus engine and transmission is about $53,000. Add the powertrain, labor and a few options and you are looking at about $70,000, which is a lot of money and at that price you can buy a lot of cars. But, it was still fun to drive.

PeteBrown · 12-18-2003, 09:25 AM

FYI, 1G Racing's website is now up and running at

http://www.1gracing.com/index.html

There are some nice shots of the car, reviews and videos.

magilla · 12-18-2003, 09:33 AM

But will it go 200k miles? That is worth something, too.

Jeff · 12-18-2003, 10:33 AM

Pete, I used to live in a town next to Ross, Don't know if Dynamic was there at the time. My largest client now is in Ross, next time I am back there I will stop in.

Just so happens My friend and I are going to pick up his frame from the powder coaters today or tommorow. We are building a Cobra copy for him to race.

Anybody know where I can find a used (preferably rebuilt) Jerico transmission?