Sports car manufacturer unveils most extreme roadgoing model
Midlands sports car manufacturer Morgan Motor Company has revealed details of its most extreme roadgoing model to date.
The race-inspired Aero GT is based upon the lightweight aluminium Aero 8 but with an all-new hand-worked, aerodynamically honed body which reduces drag but significantly increases downforce.
The Malvern-based company said it aimed to utilise the knowledge it had learned from Morgan’s GT3 race victories.
The car was conceived initially during the development of the 2015 Aero 8 but never saw the light of day.
However, Morgan has now said that the final eight hand-built Aero 8 cars to roll out of its factory next year will be Aero GT variants.
Despite being based on the Aero 8, every panel of the bespoke Aero GT will be reworked by hand with new wing top louvres, deep side impressions and a drastic rear diffuser.
The company has offered a glimpse of the new car in a series of teaser images (see below).
However, any Morgan fans hoping to secure one of the new models will be disappointed – all eight have already been ordered and each will be individually tailored to their owner’s specific requirements.
Fitted with a 367bhp 4.8-litre BMW V8 and six-speed manual gearbox, the Aero GT accelerates from 0-62mph in 4.5 seconds, hitting a top speed of 170mph. With the engine no longer in production, the Aero GT is not only a last hurrah for the current Aero 8 but for the naturally aspirated BMW engine.
The Aero models marked a new era for Morgan when the Aero 8 was first unveiled at the Geneva Motor Show in 2000. A bold new design and lightweight aluminium construction ushered in a new level of performance for the Morgan brand, which has reached its latest and most extreme evolution in the Aero GT.
Jon Wells, Head of Design at Morgan Motor Company, said: “The beauty of working so closely with talented sheet metal workers and coachbuilders is that designers are relatively unrestrained in their ability to challenge the forms and their functions.
“Unlike many, we are able to make truly special limited edition vehicles that really exercise the imagination of the designer and the ability of the craftsman.
“The Aero range has always offered Morgan the platform to explore the boundaries of mechanical and styling design and I am delighted the family has allowed one of our wildest ideas to become a reality.”
Steve Morris, Managing Director of Morgan Motor Company, added: “One of our greatest strengths as a brand is our ability to be responsive and create a hand-built car which is truly bespoke to each customer. I am a proud owner of an Aero 8 myself; it has been a stalwart of the brand and offers an exceptional driving experience, that only gets better in Aero GT guise.”
