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| Morgan Aero 8 | |
|---|---|
 Morgan Aero 8 (March 2006) | |
| Overview | |
| Manufacturer | Morgan Motor Company |
| Production | 2000–2018 |
| Designer | Aero 8: Chris Lawrence, Charles Morgan and Norman Kent AeroMax, Aero Supersports and Aero Coupe: Matthew Humphries |
| Body and chassis | |
| Class | Sports car (S) |
| Body style |
|
| Powertrain | |
| Engine | |
| Dimensions | |
| Wheelbase | 2.53 mt (100 in) |
| Length | 4.12 mt (162 in) |
| Width | 1.77 mt (69 in) |
| Curb weight | 1180 kg (2596 lb) |
The Morgan Aero 8 is a sports car built by Morgan Motor Company at its factory in Malvern Link, England from 2000 until 2018.
The Aero 8 shape evolved in the traditional Morgan way of form following function and the main players were Chris Lawrence, Charles Morgan and other members of the Morgan Engineering Team, and Norman Kent of Survirn Engineering Ltd – especially for the tooling of the Aero wings.
The AeroMax, Aero Supersports and Aero Coupe were designed by the firm's designer Matthew Humphries.[1] Matthew sent the basic design of it to Charles Morgan when he was at Coventry University and joined Morgan on a KTP programme.
Radshape were heavily involved in the chassis (Graham Chapman, the current MMC Development Director was working for them at that time) and Superform with much of the body panels, both companies eventually producing for MMC when the car was launched.
Announced in 2000,[2] the Aero 8 is notable for several reasons, primarily because it is the first new Morgan design since 1964's +4+. It was touted as Morgan's first supercar and undertook a comprehensive development programme including endurance testing at BMW's huge proving grounds L'Autodrome de Miramas. It does not use anti-roll bars, an oddity in a modern sporting car. It is also the first Morgan vehicle with an aluminium chassis and frame as opposed to traditional Morgan vehicles ("trads") that have an aluminium skinned wooden body tub on a steel chassis.[3]
The engine first powering the Aero 8 was a 4.4 L BMW M62 V8 mated to a 6-speed Getrag transmission. In 2007, the Series 4 Aero 8 was released which had an upgraded 4.8 L BMW N62 V8 with an optional ZF automatic transmission. All Aero 8s are assembled at Morgan's Malvern Link factory, where they are able to produce up to 14 cars a week (Aeros and trads).
It has been criticised for its "crosseyed" look[4] which originally was justified by the manufacturers as conferring aerodynamic benefits.[5] In response, Morgan changed the design from 2005 (Series 3 and all subsequent Aero iterations), using Mini rather than VW New Beetle headlights.[6]
- ^ "Morgan Aero 8 Review (2018) | Autocar". autocar.co.uk. Retrieved 28 April 2018.
- ^ Car: The Definitive Visual History of the Automobile. Dorling Kindersley. 2011. pp. 332–333. ISBN 978-0-7566-7167-9.
- ^ "Morgan Aero 8 – First Drive Review – Auto Reviews". Car and Driver. April 2001. Retrieved 17 September 2011.
- ^ "Morgan Revives 4-Seat Roadster, Improves Aero 8 | Morgan Auto News". car-reviews.automobile.com. Archived from the original on 12 October 2008. Retrieved 14 May 2009.
- ^ "Aero flott". Auto, Motor und Sport (in German) (25): 52–54. 29 November 2000.
- ^ "Morgan Aero 8: New Reviews". Auto Express. 11 January 2007. Retrieved 17 September 2011.