When most people are quizzed about automotive exotica or 'supercars', Italian and German speed machines like the Porsche Carrera GT, Ferrari Enzo and Mercedes McLaren SLR are usually the first to come to mind.

The Brits have cars like the Aston Martin DB9, and TVR has the manic Sagaris in its stable of lightweight track specials, but these vehicles aren't yet household names.

With a number of failures in the past and nothing exotic from internationally recognised Jaguar in quite some time, it's not really surprising.

But British are not out for the count yet, and the 2004 British Motor Show uncovered a slew of speedsters that may go some way to putting Great Britain back on the supercar map.

The first of the two new models is from Noble, who took the wraps off its M14, which the marque reckons will be on par with, and compete against the Porsche 911 Turbo and Ferrari's 360 Modena.

Big words, to be sure, but Noble's got an impressive record when it comes to building limited numbers of ridiculously responsive sportscars, and seeing as this new one packs a forced induction 3.0-litre V6, perhaps Ferrari and Porsche should take notice.

The M14 is a highly aerodynamic supercar with a rear wheel drive transmission, a mid-mounted engine and a low kerb weight.

Like the M12 GTO and the GTO-3 before it, the M14 is very light, and with about 300kW of power on tap it's expected to surpass the triple ton (300km/h), while accommodating more luggage space than you'd expect.

Where the M14 differs from its predecessors is in its appearance. While the car is technically similar to what Noble has been building for five year, the body work and its profile are much less 'track special' or 'kit car' and much more 'exotic supercar'.

Take a look at the front end for evidence - it's got a very 360 Modena look. There's the flat, sloping bonnet, large twin air dams and the clear lens headlight clusters that are reminiscent of Italian styling.

From behind, the new Noble screams exotica, what with the small, round, individual tail lights and road-hugging ground effects, including diffusers flanking the integrated exhaust pipes.

As one of the stand out models at the British Motor Show, the new supercar is available for £74,950 (AU$192,000), which makes it the flagship of the Noble range, falling into place above the existing M12 models.

The M14 is assembled in Port Elizabeth, South Africa, and thanks to the turbocharged 3.0-litre V6 Ford engine, it cranks out about 300kW and a whopping 522Nm of torque.

Noble claims the new M14 will hit 100km/h from standstill in 4.3 seconds thanks to its blown V6 mill and a low 1150kg kerb weight, putting it firmly in supercar territory.