Niche British supercar Marque Noble stunned us with the release of the M500 concept at the 2018 Goodwood Festival of Speed and the promise of a production version in short order.
Nobel is quietly working behind the scenes to bring the M500 into production, and the company will unveil a pre-prototype at this year’s Goodwood FoS, scheduled for next week.
Pre-production prototypes are usually used for the purpose of final testing as well as certification and registration. They give plant employees the opportunity to iron out any production problems before creating the first customer example. Nobel estimates that development of the M500 will be finalized by the end of 2022. Delivery will probably start after that date.
Nobel M500
The M500 is a replacement for Noble’s M600 Supercar, whose platform it shares. Targeting a different buyer, the M500 promises a much lower price, and as a result it avoids its predecessor’s 650-hp V-8 in favor of a V-6 that is estimated to spit around 550 hp. The final specification will be announced near the launch in the market.
The V-6 is a tuned version of the twin-turbocharged 3.5-liter V-6 available in multiple Ford products, such as the F-150 Raptor. Fans of the brand will notice that the M600’s V-8 comes from an outside supplier. It was the same 4.4-liter V-8 made for the Yamaha Volvo, although the M600 was fitted with a pair of turbochargers.
In an age of electrification and advanced driver-assistance features, Noble plans to keep old-school things with the M500. For example, the only transmission was a 6-speed manual (the concept was a dual-clutch automatic). No ABS or airbags, just making the M500 for the adventurous.
Nobel M500
Nobel has not announced the price, but the M600 is thought to be less than 206,000 British pounds ($ 251,870), with a starting price of around 150,000 British pounds (about 3 183,350). To help reduce costs, the M500 offers the same carbon-fiber body as the M600 for less expensive composites. This body is wrapped around a tubular steel chassis. Should a carbon body be made available, buyers should make a claim.
Production of the M600 was completed in 2018 where production will be conducted at the Nobel facility in Leicester, UK.
2022 Goodwood FoS runs in the UK from 23-26 June. For more coverage, visit our Dedicated Hub.