Noble M500

Noble has been working on expanding the sports car market for more than three years. Below the well-known M600, the company wants to offer the smaller M500 from mid-2022. Originally, the small company from Leicester planned to install a three-liter Ford six-cylinder engine. Now, much closer to production, they published new information and first pictures. Deviating from the plans from 2018, the 3.5-liter V6 biturbo engine from the Ford GT is now planned. Compared to the American supercar, however, the output is to be limited to around 550 hp. Power is sent to the rear wheels via a six-speed manual gearbox from Graziano and a mechanical limited-slip differential. Here, too, the final vehicle differs from the original plans, which showed a seven-speed dual-clutch transmission.

Interior with lots of Alcantara

The images that have now been released also provide a glimpse of other new details. For example, the Noble M500 actually gets a mechanical handbrake with a classic lever. This is an unusual step when the vast majority of competitors now have electronic handbrakes that can be activated at the push of a button. The steering wheel, seats, dashboard, headliner, center tunnel and door panels all wear Alcantara. Behind the airbag-free steering wheel and centrally in the dashboard are two digital displays for the instrumentation and infotainment system. As with the M600, customers can choose from almost infinite color palettes for the upholstery, decorative stitching and bodywork. Some modifications have also been made to the exterior. The lower bumpers, for example, feature a new design. The headlights of the Corvette C7 and the taillights of the Citroën C4 Picasso have been retained from the 2019 study that debuted at Goodwood.

Only intended for UK market

Unlike its larger model brother, the M600, the body of the M500 is made of fiberglass-reinforced plastic. Compared with carbon, this material is somewhat heavier but also cheaper and easier to process. It also requires less production time. A specially developed tubular steel chassis forms the torsionally rigid basis of the car underneath the bodywork. Little is known about the chassis so far. However, we can assume double wishbones all round and adjustable spring/damper combinations. ABS, on the other hand, isn’t available for money or good words. Noble hasn’t yet made any statements on the price. In the competitive environment with the new Maserati MC20 or the Audi R8, one can assume around 150,000 GBP. Officially, the M500 will be offered exclusively in Great Britain, which saves Noble the homologation costs for the EU.

Images: Noble