We have re-observed the field of M 74 in January 2003 with XMM-Newton , 11 months after the X-ray detection of SN 2002ap .
From a comparison of the two XMM-Newton observations we obtain more accurate values for the X-ray luminosity and colours of the source five days after the event , and a limit on its decline rate .
We compare its X-ray behaviour ( prompt soft X-ray emission , relatively low luminosity ) with that of other Type Ic SNe , and speculate that SN 2002ap may share some physical properties ( low mass-loss rate and high-velocity stellar wind from the progenitor star ) with the candidate hypernova/gamma-ray-burst progenitor SN 1998bw , but with a lower ( non-relativistic ) speed of the ejecta .
We suggest that the X-ray emission observed in 2002 is likely to come from the radiatively-cooling reverse shock , at a temperature kT \approx 0.8 keV , and that this soft component was already detected 5 d after the event because the absorbing column density of the cool shell between the forward and reverse shocks was only \sim 10 ^ { 20 } cm ^ { -2 } , ie , the shell was optically thin in the soft X-ray band .
The new XMM-Newton data also allowed us to continue monitoring two bright variable sources in M 74 that had reached peak luminosities > 10 ^ { 39 } erg s ^ { -1 } 
in previous XMM-Newton and Chandra observations .
Finally , we used two Chandra observations from 2001 to investigate the luminosity and colour distribution of the X-ray source population of M 74 , typical of moderately-active late-type spirals .