These are the first official shots of Fenix Automotive’s astonishing new supercar, which is due on UK sale in the second half of this year.

While Lee Noble has given a strong hint that the car will be a ‘natural, but even more focused’ successor to his iconic M12, his new design is fresh, bold and dramatic, with a premium feel normally associated with exotica costing over £150,000.

‘The M12 was hugely successful, but we needed to move the game on in terms of design,’ said Lee. ‘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 also announced that it will be offering a choice of two engines for the new car. GM’s 480bhp LS3 V8 will be the ’base’ unit, while the 6.2-litre supercharged LS9 V8, as seen in the recently launched Corvette ZR1, will provide customers with a 638bhp power option.

Factor in a target kerb weight of 1200kgs, and performance in either car will be prodigious, but Fenix estimates that the LS9-engined car should accelerate from 0-100mph in under seven seconds on its way to a top speed of around 200mph.

‘Our first prototype is now in build and development will start in around one month’s time,’ said 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 to get the car back to the UK where I can set it up on roads I know well.’

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• LEE NOBLE RE-ENTERS SUPERCAR MARKET WITH ALL NEW COMPANY

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.

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.

The as yet unnamed car, which will cost from under £75,000, will trounce all previous Lee Noble-built Nobles for performance with a 0-100mph time of under seven seconds, and will target serious track day drivers, while also being completely usable on the public road.

‘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.

‘And thanks to a feature which will be revealed nearer the car’s launch, it will be amazingly practical too, for both track and road users.’

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.

More news of Fenix Automotive’s new car will follow soon.

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