Noble M500 Gets Introduced With 550HP
Since 2010, British sports car manufacturer Noble has been making one car only—the M600. But at this year’s Goodwood Festival of Speed, the automaker has introduced an all-new concept in the form of the Noble M500. It has a fiberglass body and packs in the powerful twin-turbo EcoBoost V6 engine.
The M500 is only a concept car for now, and the car that was showcased during the festival is still in early development, so the actual production car might not be launched until 2019. It was reported that the M500 will have a rear-wheel-drive system with a fiberglass body and a direct-shift dual-clutch automatic gearbox.
Under the hood, the powerful twin-turbo EcoBoost V6 engine can produce 550 horsepower. The engine comes from the same family of engines that are in the Radical RXC Turbo, Ford F-150 and Ford GT. There’s a difference in power, though, since the GT produces 647 horses. The figure also leaves a 110hp gap between the M500 and the M600.
Unlike the M600 which is made with a carbon fiber body, the M500 will use fiberglass for its frame. It will put it at par with the M600’s 2,756 pounds of weight, though the M500 will likely be heavier as it focuses on being more of a comfortable daily car.
Noble is positioning the M500 to be more of a daily car than the M600. It will also be priced lower so that it can bring in more volume and customers.
Noble company director Peter Boutwood was responsible for the design of the M500, which is really a step up from the M600. The company moved away from the squarer design of the M600 and follows other modern supercars with a slippery shape and flying buttresses.
The car isn’t expected to be in production until well into 2019 and pricing hasn’t even been set yet. But based on Noble’s decision to lower the price of the M500, it should be way below the M600’s $272,000 price.
