A couple of years ago, niche British sports car manufacturer Noble started teasing a new open-top version of its M600 supercar, dubbed the M600 Roadster. Noble said production would only take place if demand was sufficient, which it would seem hasn’t been as the green light is yet to be given for the M600 Roadster.
That doesn’t mean Noble has given up on its plans for the car, with the company’s current boss, Peter Boutwood, telling Autovisie that there are still plans to develop the M600 Roadster.
Previously, Boutwood said cars like the M600, which is billed as a pure driver’s car, needed a fixed roof in place. However, he’s since changed his tune as he now says the M600 minus the roof would perform almost identically to the fixed-roof version. He also explained that in certain countries there is strong demand for open-top supercars.
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Noble is now in the process of developing a prototype of the M600 Roadster. The design for the roof structure is yet to be finalized, so it’s still too early to say whether we’ll see a manual option used for removing the roof, like on the Bugatti Veyron Grand Sport, or whether a more complex system like the one on the Ferrari 458 Spider is used.
In his interview with Autovisie, Boutwood also revealed that Noble is working on a paddle-shifted gearbox for the M600. Currently, the car is available exclusively with a manual.
The M600 is Noble’s only model at present and according to Boutwood demand for the car has been sufficient. The company recently started exports to Asia and at this year’s Autosport International Noble showed off its first M600 featuring a body composed fully of carbon fiber.
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