After making the M600 in limited numbers Noble set their sights on making a more user-friendly supercar, and that is exactly what the M500 promises to be.
After extracting every ounce of power from the old 3.0 liter Duratec engine, effectively culminating in the M15, they switched over to a Volvo V8 for the M600, not just any Volvo V8 but the famed Yamaha-developed engine. Now, with that officially out of production, they have switched back to a Ford engine, modernized their design, and removed everything they deem “non-essential,” including ABS brakes. It is as pure a supercar as money can buy.
10 Driver-Focused
Noble promises to put the driver front and center, with no driver aids or even the usually mandatory ABS, everything depends on the driver’s reactions. It will likely be a car that will engage you like nothing else, but will also make for a rather terrifying car to drive on the limit if your talent runs out, and you run out of tarmac.
9 Lightweight Chassis
It won’t be quite as light as the old M600, but it is still going to be very light if they keep to their word and get it delivered at around the 2,800-pound mark. The reason it will be slightly heavier than the M600 is that they will be using a more affordable glass fiber composite as opposed to the carbon fiber structure used in the M600, although, in truth, anything under 3,000 pounds is going to be competitive thanks to the power it is making.
8 EcoBoost V6
As the name implies, the Noble will be good for 500 horsepower, ample power considering the relative light weight and the complete lack of driver aids. For those pouring over the spec sheet, that is the same 3.5 liter twin-turbo version of the EcoBoost that you might find in the Ford GT, mounted transverse, slap-bang in the middle, sending all those untamed horses to the rear wheels.
7 Manual Transmission
Initially, they were going to make it with a paddle-shift automatic transmission, fearing that the market would want that, but they have since reversed that decision. It will now only be available with a manual 6-speed Graziano transmission in an effort to bolster their claims of this being a pure drivers’ car.
6 Junior Supercar
As stated by their management, and underlined by their marketing, they have no ambitions of taking on the modern hypercars. This is very much a return to their roots, it is far simpler than the M600, makes far less power, and is actually a bit heavier, but in many ways is actually that much better.
5 Elegant Design
It is pretty hard to fault the design of this, their latest offering, but those of you who are familiar with their very direct competitors might feel like there has indeed been some idea “sharing.” It is hard not to notice the similarities between the latest Noble and the other Brit hypercars, it might be a coincidence, it might not, all we can say is that they all look fantastic.
4 A Real Noble
This isn’t to say that the M600 wasn’t a true Noble, but it still feels as though they might have bitten off a bit more than they could chew in an effort to take on the other hypercars, and ultimately failed to compete with them anyway. This, on the other hand, is a far simpler car. It is a powerful engine sitting in the middle of a tout, lightweight chassis, and that is about it, the rest is more or less up to the driver.
3 Exclusive Price Tag
In the world of high-performance supercars, it feels like less is always more, or at least less costs more, and the new M500 is a pretty good example of that. Even though this embraces a back-to-basics, manual transmission, no driver aids kind of philosophy, it is still going to set you back over $200,000.
2 Incredible Potential
Even though a Porsche that costs half as much as this will ultimately wipe the floor with it on track and as a road car, this isn’t trying to compete with that. The Noble offers a bespoke experience, it is admittedly a very exclusive vehicle, but it doesn’t pretend to be anything but that and comes from a company that encourages its buyers to meet all the people involved in building these cars.
1 Not Destined For North America
Much like the previous M600, this will be made in limited numbers and has not made any attempt to pass any US-mandated emissions or crash tests. It is certainly going to be road legal in Europe, and the company aims to make its first deliveries by the end of the year.