The Noble M500 supercar has reached the pre-production stage.
Noble, the British maker of niche supercars, surprised us all by revealing the M500 concept at the 2018 Goodwood Festival of Speed and promising a production version soon.
Noble has been quietly working behind the scenes to get the M500 into production and will unveil a pre-production prototype at this year's Goodwood FoS, scheduled for next week.
Pre-production prototypes are typically used for final testing and certification/registration purposes. They also provide factory employees with the opportunity to resolve manufacturing issues before the first customer examples are produced. Noble anticipates that development of the M500 will be completed by late 2022. Deliveries could begin shortly after that.
The M500 is the successor to Noble's M600 supercar, which shares a platform; the M500 is targeted at a different buyer demographic, and Noble promises a lower price tag, resulting in skipping the 650 hp V-8 of its predecessor in favor of a V 6-cylinder. Final specs will be announced closer to launch.
The V-6 engine is a tuned version of the twin-turbo 3.5-liter V-6 found in several Ford products, including the F-150 Raptor. Fans of the brand will note that the M600's V-8 also came from an outside supplier. It was the same 4.4-liter V-8 that Yamaha had developed for Volvo, but the M600 had two turbochargers bolted on.
In an era of electrification and advanced driver assistance features, Noble plans to keep things old-school with the M500. For example, the transmission is only a six-speed manual (the concept is a dual-clutch automatic). There is also no ABS or airbags, making the M500 a car for the brave.
Noble has not announced pricing, but it is believed to be aiming to start at about EGP 150,000 ($183,350), below the EGP 206,000 ($251,870) of the M600. In an effort to lower costs, the M500 eschews the carbon fiber body of the M600 in favor of a cheaper composite material. This body is wrapped around a tubular steel chassis. A carbon body may be available upon buyer request.
Production will take place at Noble's facility in Leicester, UK, where M600 production ended in 2018.
The 2022 Goodwood FoS will be held in the UK from June 23-26. For more information, see the dedicated hub.
