Noble, the company responsible for the cool M600 supercar, has just introduced its first brand-new vehicle in years at the 2018 Goodwood Festival of Speed. It's called the M500 and will slot right under the M600 as Noble's entry-level sports car.

The M500 is a big step away from the M600 in both design, drivetrain, and materials used in the body, as Noble is looking to undercut the latter's high price and make the brand more appealing to new customers. The M600 retails from around £300,000, but Noble has yet to announce an approximate sticker for the M500. However, with the new sports car likely to be built in greater numbers, pricing should drop below the £200,000 mark.

Unfortunately, the M500 showcased at Goodwood is just a full-sized model. It doesn't have an interior, and there's no drivetrain underneath the shell. However, Noble did release info about the engine.

While the M600 uses a 4.4-liter V-8 based on the engine in the old Volvo XC90 but rebuilt by Yamaha, the M500 will get its juice from a twin-turbo V-6 from Ford. The mill is shared with the Ford GT supercar, so it's not exactly a downgrade from the M600. It will be, however, less powerful, generating around 550 horsepower. The M600 comes with 660 horses on tap, so the difference isn't that big. All that power will reach the rear wheels through a DSG dual-clutch automatic.

The M500 shouldn't be much heavier than the M600, but it all depends on what kind of comfort features it gets. Noble said that the new sports car is focused on everyday usability, so weight should increase due to new driving assist features, a more complex A/C system, and even an audio system.

Design-wise, the M500 looks decidedly more modern. While the M600 reminds of the 1990s through its angular lines, the M500 looks a bit more organic, in line with recent supercars from Ferrari and McLaren. It also looks more aggressive up front due to a pointy nose and sleek headlamps that extend toward the wheel arches. Around back, the integrated wing and the squared off taillights remind me of the Jaguar XJ220, but the M500 has its very own thing going on with that massive grille, the quad exhaust setup, and the big diffuser in the middle. Unlike the M600, which is made from carbon-fiber, the M500 has a fiberglass body.

The M500 is still in its early development stage, so we probably won't see it go into production until 2019.

Further reading

Read our full review on the 2011 Noble M600.

Read more Goodwood Festival of Speed.