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The Morgan GT3

Morgan Motor Company — Fri, 22 May 2015 09:28:41 +0000

To emphasise the importance of motor sport to the Morgan brand, two of the new Aero Super Sports were entered in the GT3 race series by a French team owned and run by former Renault Grand Prix drivers Jean Pierre Jabouille and Jacques Laffite. The team won the first two races of the season at Silverstone, a magnificent achievement at the start of the centenary celebrations, and throughout the season ran consistently in the top five cars of a grid of 35 of the best sports cars in the world. Without a controversial penalty imposed by the FIA, Morgan might have been in with a chance of winning the Championship overall.

The main centenary celebrations took place in July with a week-long programme of events, culminating in a huge gathering of Morgans at Cheltenham Race Course a short drive from Malvern. Many thousands attended the event, with 23 nations represented amongst the overseas visitors. Three thousand two hundred Morgans were present on the showground and in the car parks and despite the indifferent weather, it was hailed as a great success.

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The Aero Supersports

Morgan Motor Company — Fri, 22 May 2015 08:58:58 +0000

To mark the Centenary the new Aero model was launched to much acclaim. Called the Aero Super Sports, it revived the name given to the high performance three-wheeler in the 1930s. Another new car appeared to celebrate the centenary when Morgan added the Super Sports Pedal Car to the range. This very special limited edition machine for the younger enthusiast is hand-made in the factory in much the same way as the full size cars, using a wooden body frame and aluminium panels.

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Celebrations

Morgan Motor Company — Fri, 22 May 2015 08:54:16 +0000

2009 was a very special year for Morgan Motor Company when the factory and enthusiasts from around the world celebrated 100 years of manufacturing the most iconic of British sports cars. Many thousands visited Malvern, and to accommodate them, the Morgan Visitor Centre was developed to the North East of the main factory site. This new facility provided a spacious reception area and a factory shop selling a wide range of attractive accessories, books and fashionable Morgan clothing. The visitor centre also housed the new Morgan Museum, displaying artefacts, images and a few of the cars from the past 100 years of production.

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The Lifecar

Morgan Motor Company — Thu, 21 May 2015 15:45:14 +0000

To emphasise the Morgan Motor Company’s commitment to environmentally clean, efficient sports cars, in 2008 the remarkable LIFE car was developed in collaboration with QinetiQ and other high-tech organisations. This advanced hydrogen fuel cell powered car is designed to achieve the equivalent of 150 m.p.g., using electrical power stored in a bank of ultra capacitors and fed to 4 super-efficient electric motor-generators connected directly to each driving wheel. The system includes regenerative braking technology, thus capturing up to 50% of kinetic energy during braking and deceleration which would otherwise be lost. The chassis and body are pure Morgan, using a chassis developed from the Aero, fitted with lightweight aluminium panels assembled around an advanced wooden frame.

The remarkable response to the AeroMax encouraged the Morgan design team to develop another exciting supercar based on the proven Aero chassis. Forward of the windscreen, the car retained the sleek lines of the other Aeros, aft of the cockpit Matthew Humphries and his team designed a distinctive new shape. This now featured a capacious boot which would also accommodate the removable roof panels giving drivers the option of open air motoring in favourable conditions. Power came from the BMW B4.8 N62 engine which had been used in the Aero models since February 2008.

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The Roadster V6

Morgan Motor Company — Thu, 21 May 2015 15:43:04 +0000

Throughout the development of the Aero models, the traditional cars continued in production in ever-increasing numbers. The famous Plus 8 was discontinued, to be replaced by the Roadster V6. This new model, although superficially similar to the Plus 8, used the Ford 3 litre V6 engine and maintained the tradition of having a high-performance classic in the range.

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The Aeromax

Morgan Motor Company — Thu, 21 May 2015 15:38:47 +0000

Following its introduction, the Aero 8 was continually refined and updated, and then in 2005 a stunning new fixed-head version called the AeroMax was launched. Inspired by Morgan enthusiast Prince Eric Sturdza, head of Banque Baring Brothers Sturdza in Geneva, the elegant design was the work of a talented young graduate from Coventry University, Matthew Humphries. Although it was originally intended that this should be a one-off vehicle, such was the interest shown it was decided to put the car into production, but as a very special limited edition of just 100. All were sold within a few months of the model being launched!

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RIP Peter Morgan

Morgan Motor Company — Thu, 21 May 2015 15:33:15 +0000

In 2003 the Morgan community and motor industry in general lost a most remarkable man with the death of Peter Morgan. Peter had steered the company successfully through some particularly difficult periods, and the continued success of the Morgan Motor Company today, when almost all others have failed, is a fitting tribute to this gentleman

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The Aero 8 GT

Morgan Motor Company — Thu, 21 May 2015 15:30:47 +0000

Morgan returned to LeMans once again in 2002, the 40^th anniversary of Chris Lawrence and Richard Sheppard-Baron’s victory, with a racing version of the new car called the Aero 8 GT. Driven by Richard Stanton, Steve Hyde and Richard Hay, the car suffered recurring vibration from the back axle which was replaced during the race, however, it was engine failure that eventually forced retirement after 17 hours. Despite failing to finish, it was a most creditable achievement for a new car with only a few months development and on such a small budget. Morgan’s entry for the following year’s race was inexplicably rejected by race organisers the Automobile Club de l’Ouest, however they were back in 2004. This time the drivers were Adam Sharpe, Neil Cunningham, and Steve Hyde. Although the race was eventful, to say the least, with a delay of over three hours with a fuel pump problem, two radiator changes, a broken throttle cable and serious engine trouble, the car completed the 24 hours. Not only was this a remarkable achievement in the world’s most gruelling race, but in recognition of the Morgan pit crew’s outstanding performance, the authorities awarded them the team prize for the best technical crew in the race.

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The Original Aero 8

Morgan Motor Company — Thu, 21 May 2015 15:27:10 +0000

To achieve this he worked with engineer Chris Lawrence (who had driven Morgan Plus 4 TOK258 to a class victory at Le Mans in 1962). The new car was developed in the factory and on the race track over a period of five years and was finally unveiled to the public at the Geneva motor show in March 2000. The Aero 8 was a remarkably advanced car using a strong, lightweight bonded aluminium chassis and all aluminium body panels, still assembled around a wooden frame, creating a revolutionary new Morgan sports car. The B.M.W. 4.4 litre V8 engine gave the car a dramatic performance, the equal of many an exotic supercar. The Aero 8 was an instant success and many orders were taken.

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Aluminium chassis Plus 8

Morgan Motor Company — Thu, 21 May 2015 15:25:15 +0000

In the mid 1990s a remarkable new Morgan began to take shape. In order to remain competitive on the race track and to maintain Morgan’s reputation for producing world class sports cars, Charles Morgan decided to develop an entirely new chassis. Together with Morgan dealer Bill Wykeham, Charles raced a specifically designed aluminium chassis Plus 8 in 7 rounds of the international 1996 BPR race series. This became the FIA GT series in 1997. This car proved that the factory were capable of making and running a successful race car, but also that with the higher performance requirements of this series, the aerodynamics of the existing shape were the major limiting factor to success.

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