Surprise! All-New 'Entry-Level' Noble M500 Unveiled With 550bhp

We love a surprise reveal, and somehow Noble has managed to keep its new ‘entry-level’ supercar under the radar. The M500 has been revealed at the Goodwood Festival of Speed, but don’t be expecting a rival to the Alpine 110 or Porsche Cayman. When it makes production, it’s expected to have around 550bhp – Noble’s entry point is clearly much higher than other companies.

All that power will come from a 3.0-litre twin-turbo V6 and, like the M600’s Yamaha/Volvo 4.4-litre V8, the engine has relatively humble origins: it’s sourced from Ford’s US line-up of SUVs. The engine will be in the middle of the car, and the power will be sent to the rear wheels through a seven-speed dual-clutch gearbox. Noble boss Peter Boutwood says the auto ‘box will be more popular, but hopefully a six-speed manual will follow suit.

With the M600 being the lairy, end-up-in-a-ditch-if-you-get-it-wrong car, the M500 will be easier to live with and slightly more refined. A few electronic aids will creep in, and the interior will be much more spacious and quite a bit less sparse. Creature comforts like sat nav and cruise control are probably going to be included.

Despite the extra features, Noble says the M500 should weigh just 1250kg. There’s no carbonfibre here – it’d make the car too expensive – so the production model will use a mix of fibreglass and aluminium. Boutwoot guarantees that it’ll still handle like a Noble, which is a good thing indeed.

We can’t back up that claim, because it’s not a working prototype. It’s a foam model without an interior; one that was only finished the day before the car’s big reveal. Boutwood himself sketched the design for the M500, and it doesn’t follow the M600’s wedgy squareness. The head and tail-lights might look like they’re borrowed from a Corvette and a Citroën C4 Cactus respectively, but it’s clear that this car will offer exotic looks to back up the performance.

The price-tag is still expected to be six figures, but it’ll be far less than the £200,000+ you need to buy an M600. Are you excited for a new Noble, CTzens?