The Noble M500 breaks a years-long silence from the boutique automaker.
Last year, the well-known luxury and exotic car makers fared extremely well, despite the challenging circumstances. But what about the boutique marques? It’s not often you’ll see a major update from British firm Noble, for example — the last time any rumormill chatter emerged was nearly four years ago.
If you need a refresher, Noble built the twin-turbo V8-powered M600 supercar way back in the early 2010s. Now, after going dark since 2018, the company’s ready to reveal its “little brother” — the twin-turbo V6-powered M500. Drawing clear inspiration from its sibling, you still get about as raw and unassisted a supercar experience as you did a decade ago: No anti-lock brakes, no airbags or really any other hyper-modern driver assistance tech to help you out. Just a Ford-sourced 3.5-liter EcoBoost engine with 506 horsepower and 594 lb-ft of torque.
That powerplant fires all its power through a 6-speed Graziano manual transmission (surprisingly, not an ever-fashionable dual-clutch setup). You also do get hydraulic power steering and double-wishbone suspension, as well as a composite body over the steel tubular chassis. The apple doesn’t fall far from the M600, but this car should still be a fun handful for even experienced drivers.
Noble’s claiming a £150,000 ($200,000-ish) price tag for the new M500, though it likely won’t actually hit the streets for awhile yet. Strangely (or perhaps not), the company’s website says its due for a late 2021 release, though we’re just seeing the car now. And while you’ll occasionally see an imported Noble over here in the States, don’t expect the small automaker to sell their new M500 over here in the U.S. anytime soon.
While a Noble is definitely a rare sight, we have tested out one of its ostensible rivals — the Lamborghini Huracan STO:
