The Noble M500 has been revealed at the Goodwood Festival of Speed as the brand’s new entry-level model.
At launch, it will have around 550bhp, coming from a twin-turbocharged Ford V6 - the same unit that is used in the F-150 and Ford GT. This leaves a gap of around 110bhp between the M500 and the M600, which was introduced in 2010.
The transmission is a DSG dual-clutch automatic unit, and the car is expected to be rear-wheel drive. It's pitched as a more road-friendly model than the M600 - more akin to the McLaren 570GT than the 570S.
Noble company director Peter Boutwood penned the design, which takes a step away from the M600’s squarer lines, following other modern supercars with a slippery shape and flying buttresses.
The model on display at Goodwood is not a working prototype, but a full-sized model without an interior. Boutwood describes the M500 as being in the early stages of development, so it’s likely that the car won’t reach production until well into 2019.
Boutwood hopes that it can heavily undercut the M600’s circa-£300,000 asking price and that greater volume can be achieved with this lower entry point. This is not set in stone until further down the production process, though.
The M500's body will not be made from carbonfibre, like the Noble M600's, but fibreglass.
The M500 is likely to weigh around the same as its 1250kg sibling, although its focus on everyday usability could mean that comfort features bring the weight up.
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Slap on the lippy
It's really nicely styled, looks fast and sporty but is still quite pretty. The one think I don't like is something it shares with the Ferrari SP38 one-off from a couple of months back. That awful full-width grill. If it absolutely must have it for cooling, at least paint it body-colour so that there isn't that huge black gash spoiling the front.
It’s barely even a concept.
It’s barely even a concept. It’s got no interior.
I wish Noble well but to say this car has ‘arrived’ is stretching things a great deal.
C4 Picasso rear lights
I think the car looks a lot more cohesive than the M600, really good effort.