Noble Automotive Reveals 550-Horsepower M500 Supercar
From the creators of the primitive-but-potent M600 comes the M500.
At the Goodwood Festival of Speed on Thursday, Noble Automotive revealed its first all-new model since 2010's M600, which it calls the M500, and intends to sell as a volume model at a price below the M600's £206,000 MSRP ($272,400 USD).
The M500 will reportedly be powered by a 3.5-liter Ford Ecoboost V6 like those found in the Ford F-series pickup truck and Ford GT supercar, according to Autocar, and will make 550 horsepower. This power will be transmitted through a dual-clutch automatic transmission, possibly the corresponding Ford transmission, though it may instead use the Oerlikon Graziano-derived six-speed automated manual found in the company's M600. The M550 is expected to be rear-wheel-drive only.
Unlike many modern supercars, the M500 will not use a carbon fiber body, but instead, one hewn from fiberglass, a less expensive alternative. Additionally, the M500 seen here is not a prototype, but a concept car, as the M500 is reportedly still in an early stage of development.
The Drive reached out to Noble Automotive for additional information on the M500, and we will update when we receive a response.
Primary competition in the entry-level supercar market will be its homeland rival, the McLaren 540C, whose U.K. MSRP of £126,000 ($166,600 USD) and horsepower output of 533 may serve as price and performance targets for the M500 to beat. With a marginal advantage in power, the Noble M500 may either undercut the McLaren 540C's price or come in just above.
We expect Noble to shy away from the 562 horsepower McLaren 570S, which demands $188,600, or its meaner sibling, the newly announced McLaren 600LT, though at an equivalent of $243,000 and with 592 horsepower, it is decidedly a departure from the entry-level tier occupied by the 570s, and soon, the M500 too.
