Noble to launch new M500 supercar in 2022

The M500 is a myth no more it seems: Noble says the working prototype you see here – looking pretty much the same as the 2018 model – will be in owners’ hands this year and, true to its raison d’etre, will have a “far lower” price than big brother M600. That car, launched in 2010, would set you back £200k or more. Britain’s newest supercar is expected to come in around £150,000.

Differences between the two Nobles? Both are mid-engined two-seater coupes but the M500 boasts a new design, as neatly executed as the M600 but more contemporary and with a rounded Bugatti-like sweep ‘twixt glasshouse and air inlets in place of the M600’s side pods. We think it looks fab, and will do even when parked next to a McLaren or Ferrari.

M500 and M600 are about the same size, share essentially the same chassis and the Noble ethos of “back to basics” handling with the emphasis on immersive driver control rather than electronic nannying – Noble’s calling card from the off.

A “junior” Noble supercar means a big change in the engine bay: out goes the V8 and in comes the twin-turbocharged 3.5-litre V6 from the Ford GT. Target power is 550PS (410kW), around 100 horses down on the V8 M600. Noble says it will offer a “less visceral” driver experience.

And gearbox? In 2018 the Leicester-based firm said it was going for a double-clutch automatic, something that Noble MD Peter Boutwood said at the time “breaks our hearts” to do but made sense because customers expected it. It appears they have had a rethink on that; according to Autocar this week the M500’s rear wheels will be hooked up to a six-speed manual ‘box.

“Less visceral” should hardly mean much slower. Kerb weight is expected to be a 1,250kg and the M500 should be a match on acceleration with assorted McLarens and Porsches. To keep price down, the body is likely to be GRP instead of carbon as used by the more hand-built M600. Other things we can expect from the Noble M500 include a more user-friendly car with easier entry and exit, and a roomier cabin.

In its day the M600 was something of a legend among supercars, an ambitious step up on previous Nobles like the M12 but a giant-killer with a reputation for superlative handling. Can the M500 do it all over again for a new generation of drivers?