Noble M500 previews more affordable supercar

Carbon out (and V8 gone too) as Noble announces a new entry point to its range

Since its launch in 2010, the Noble M600 has attracted praise from all quarters. Just this Monday, we featured PHer Lee Sinden's Carpool article on his, where he said "the chassis and suspension setup is magical". In our 2016 drive the M600 was described as a "delight", with "rich, quality dynamics that rivals probably deem wizardry". And in 2011 it was the "weapon to end all weapons."

Quite some reputation then, one that Noble hopes to build on with this M500. Pitched as a more accessible, more affordable Noble supercar, the M500 has been shown at Goodwood today as a full sized model (i.e there's no interior yet).

The most significant change from 600 to 500 is the switch from the 4.4-litre V8 to the Ford Ecoboost 3.5-litre V6, as seen in the Raptor. Power is still expected to be in the region of 550hp, this being a Noble entry level car and all, so on that basis it will rival cars like the McLaren 540C, Audi R8 and Mercedes-AMG GT. A dual-clutch gearbox is set to be standard as well, further distancing it from the manual-only M600.

In another change from the 600, the 500 will be built from fibreglass instead of carbon fibre, although weight is expected to stick around 1,250kg because the newer car is smaller. The 500 is a very different looking car to the 600, too, with hints of many other sports cars in its design: see the Corvette-style front lights, buttresses like a Ford GT and the door/intake arrangement that's reminiscent of a Bugatti Chiron.

Autocar has suggested the M500 won't be in production until late in 2019, though we're told to expect an asking price comfortably below the M600's £300k. Certainly the £100-£200k supercar segment is not short of contenders at the moment, so it will be intriguing to see where Noble's latest fits in. More news as we have it!