British supercar builder Noble first unveiled the M500 at the 2018 Goodwood Festival of Speed, and promised a production version a short time later. They must have been on Elon Time. However, they will finally reveal the a pre-production prototype at next week’s Goodwood Festival of Speed. It’s still not production, but it’s getting closer.
The M500 is the replacement for the Noble M600 supercar. They share the same platform. The M500 is targeted at buyers looking for a lower cost supercar. Because of that, M500 skips the 650-hp V-8 of the M600 and replaces it with a V-6 used in the Ford F-150 pickup truck.
In the Noble M500, the twin-turbocharged 3.5-liter V-6 is a tuned to 550 hp, which is more than enough to move the M500’s weight of just 2,800 pounds. Noble claims zero to 60 mph in just 3.2 seconds
To help get the cost down, the M500 forgoes the carbon-fiber body used on the M600 in favor of less expensive composites. This body is wrapped around a tubular steel chassis. Noble says it’s aiming for a price around £150,000 (about $185,000 USD) to undercut supercar rivals like Porsche, Ferrari, and Lamborghini.
In an era of electrification and advanced driver-assist features, Noble plans to keep things old-school with the M500. The only transmission available is a gated 6-speed manual. There is also no ABS or airbags, making the M500 illegal for US sales.
Noble is a tiny car company with only eight employees. The fact that they even got to the pre-production stage is an achievement in itself. Look for the car to run at the 2022 Goodwood Festival of Speed from June 23-26.
