Founded in 1910, Morgan Motor Company operates in the British spa town of Malvern. Some of the reasons why it remains so popular, even among who don’t know much about sports cars, is how much it respects its traditions. For starters, the company is still independent, and still family owned. Secondly, its entire range is composed by classic-styled roadsters and coupés, from the fancy Plus 8 to the adventurous 3 Wheeler. Thirdly, not only does every car is still assembled by hand, as the company makes the best of this: since they’re custom ordered, you get invited to visit the plant and watch it being produced. Last, but not least, Morgan manages to do all that while keeping update with all applicable efficiency and safety regulations. Easy to understand why its waiting list has reached years, right?
If you’ve seen some pictures of their cars, you’ll also get that this company is concerned with being perfect at what it does, rather than trying to beat any competitors. Therefore, when the first Aero 8 was showed, in the Geneva Auto Show of 2000, calling the surprise it caused “big” was an understatement – it was Morgan’s first all-new project in ninety years. The vehicle’s qualities earned it so much prestige that it started to receive some variations: Aeromax and Coupé offer fixed roof with different styles, and Super Sports is the targa. There’s even the GT3, for those who want to race. Nevertheless, going that way had a cost, which the buyers were starting to dislike. So, in order to stay close to what most of them can really afford, Morgan decided to return to the proverbial drawing boards.
Aero 8’s new generation is clearly an evolution, rather than a change. The famous headlights are still there, but now come from Mini and are in a position which doesn’t look too “crosseyed” – the old design was claimed to improve the aerodynamics. The rear end features retouched lights, but you’ll prefer to notice that it became bigger, enough to store the folded-down canvas roof for the first time. But if you want, it can be replaced by a hardtop. The interior is still a cornucopia of leather and wood, but now had its seats lowered. This makes them easier to access and leave, and makes the same cabin feel somewhat more spacious. When the dimensions are limited by such strong rules, you can only make substantial improvements by being clever like this.
Opening the hood won’t reveal anything new. You’ll still find the 4.8-liter V8 which comes from BMW and reaches 367 hp. The standard transmission is a six-speed manual, but you can ask for a six-speed automatic. Once again, the body is made of aluminum and bonded, but there was some re-engineering in order to increase its torsional strength. The sad part is that this model, like many others of similar conception, won’t travel too far from Europe. The maker can’t justify the costs of executing the necessary adaptations for complying with foreign regulations, given that these cars have very limited production. The new Aero 8, for instance, will only spawn from 300 to 350 units. As unique as top-notch Ferraris, but with an estimated price of £66,000 before taxes.