From the IRC Day etherpad:

 Are there any plans to bring the NPC and playership versions of the Manticore closer to the same baseline (before equipment is taken into account)? Aside from graphics and name, they basically aren’t even the same ship.

george moromisato 15 Feb 2018:

In 1.8 Alpha 5 I've synchronized the core Manticore with the CC one. The core one now has 6 armor segments and the debuff to shields.