Morgan Aero 8
Encyclopedia
The Morgan Aero 8 is a sports
car
designed and built by Morgan Motor Company
at its factory in Malvern Link
, England
(an area of Malvern
in Worcestershire
).
Notable owners have included Richard Hammond
of BBC's
Top Gear.
The Aero 8 is notable for several reasons, primarily because it is the first new Morgan design since 1948. It does not use anti-roll bars, an oddity in a modern sporting car. It is also the first Morgan vehicle with an alloy chassis and frame as opposed to traditional Morgan vehicles ("trads") that have an aluminium skinned wooden body tub on a steel chassis.
The engine first powering the Aero 8 was a 4400 cc V8 built by BMW
mated to a 6-Speed Getrag
transmission. In 2008, the Aero 8 will have the 4.8 BMW engine with an optional 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 criticized for its "crosseyed" look which originally was justified by the manufacturers as conferring aerodynamic benefits. In response, Morgan changed the design for 2007 and later cars to a front end design based on the Morgan Aeromax, using Mini rather than VW New Beetle headlights.
, Rowan Atkinson
and Paul O'Grady
.
version of the AeroMax, sharing its bonded aluminium chassis and lower bodywork with the coupe.
V8
The Aero 8 has competed at the 24 Hours of Le Mans
twice, in 2002
and 2004
. There have also been several entries in the FIA GT series from both works cars and privateers. It is also used in the British GT Series. It is currently racing in the FIA GT3 European championship and has proven competitive. The Aero 8 GT3 car is built by AUTO GT. The Aero 8 was also used in the 2003 Bathurst 24 Hour
scoring a DNF and the 2004 12 Hours of Sebring
finishing 20th outright and 10th in the GT class.
Sports car
A sports car is a small, usually two seat, two door automobile designed for high speed driving and maneuverability....
car
Automobile
An automobile, autocar, motor car or car is a wheeled motor vehicle used for transporting passengers, which also carries its own engine or motor...
designed and built by Morgan Motor Company
Morgan Motor Company
The Morgan Motor Company is a British motor car manufacturer. The company was founded in 1910 by Harry Frederick Stanley Morgan, generally known as "HFS" and was run by him until he died, aged 77, in 1959. Peter Morgan, son of H.F.S., ran the company until a few years before his death in 2003...
at its factory in Malvern Link
Malvern Link
Malvern Link is an area of Malvern, Worcestershire, England to the north and east of Great Malvern. The centres of Malvern Link and Great Malvern are separated by Malvern Link Common, an area of open land that is statutorily protected by the Malvern Hills Conservators...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
(an area of Malvern
Malvern, Worcestershire
Malvern is a town and civil parish in Worcestershire, England, governed by Malvern Town Council. As of the 2001 census it has a population of 28,749, and includes the historical settlement and commercial centre of Great Malvern on the steep eastern flank of the Malvern Hills, and the former...
in Worcestershire
Worcestershire
Worcestershire is a non-metropolitan county, established in antiquity, located in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes it is a NUTS 3 region and is one of three counties that comprise the "Herefordshire, Worcestershire and Warwickshire" NUTS 2 region...
).
Notable owners have included Richard Hammond
Richard Hammond
Richard Mark Hammond is an English broadcaster, writer, and journalist most noted for co-hosting car programme Top Gear with Jeremy Clarkson and James May, as well as presenting Brainiac: Science Abuse on Sky 1.-Early life:...
of BBC's
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
Top Gear.
The Aero 8 is notable for several reasons, primarily because it is the first new Morgan design since 1948. It does not use anti-roll bars, an oddity in a modern sporting car. It is also the first Morgan vehicle with an alloy chassis and frame as opposed to traditional Morgan vehicles ("trads") that have an aluminium skinned wooden body tub on a steel chassis.
The engine first powering the Aero 8 was a 4400 cc V8 built by BMW
BMW
Bayerische Motoren Werke AG is a German automobile, motorcycle and engine manufacturing company founded in 1916. It also owns and produces the Mini marque, and is the parent company of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars. BMW produces motorcycles under BMW Motorrad and Husqvarna brands...
mated to a 6-Speed Getrag
Getrag
Getrag is a leading manufacturer of automobile manual transmissions. The company was founded on 1 May 1935, in Ludwigsburg, Germany, by Hermann Hagenmeyer; as the Getriebe und Zahnradfabrik Hermann Hagenmeyer GmbH & Cie KG...
transmission. In 2008, the Aero 8 will have the 4.8 BMW engine with an optional 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 criticized for its "crosseyed" look which originally was justified by the manufacturers as conferring aerodynamic benefits. In response, Morgan changed the design for 2007 and later cars to a front end design based on the Morgan Aeromax, using Mini rather than VW New Beetle headlights.
Morgan AeroMax
The Morgan Aeromax is the coupe variation of the Aero 8. Production, which was undertaken in 2008 and 2009, was limited to 100 cars, each costing £110,000. Customers have included Richard HammondRichard Hammond
Richard Mark Hammond is an English broadcaster, writer, and journalist most noted for co-hosting car programme Top Gear with Jeremy Clarkson and James May, as well as presenting Brainiac: Science Abuse on Sky 1.-Early life:...
, Rowan Atkinson
Rowan Atkinson
Rowan Sebastian Atkinson is a British actor, comedian, and screenwriter. He is most famous for his work on the satirical sketch comedy show Not The Nine O'Clock News, and the sitcoms Blackadder, Mr. Bean and The Thin Blue Line...
and Paul O'Grady
Paul O'Grady
Paul James Michael O'Grady MBE is an English comedian, television presenter, actor, writer and radio DJ. He is best known for presenting the daytime chat television series, The Paul O'Grady Show and, more recently, Paul O'Grady Live, as well as his drag queen comedic alter ego, Lily Savage, as...
.
Morgan Aero SuperSports
The Morgan Aero SuperSports is a targa-roofedTarga top
Targa top, targa for short, is a semi-convertible car body style with a removable roof section and a full width roll bar behind the seats. The term was first used on the 1966 Porsche 911 Targa, and it remains a registered trademark of Porsche AG....
version of the AeroMax, sharing its bonded aluminium chassis and lower bodywork with the coupe.
Engine
Engine: BMW N62BMW N62
The N62 is a V8 from BMW, built in Munich, Germany. It has an Alusil aluminum engine block and aluminum DOHC cylinder heads.It uses SFI fuel injection, has 4 valves per cylinder with BMW's double-VANOS and Valvetronic technologies and features fracture-split forged powdered metal connecting...
V8
- Bore & Stroke: 93mm x 83.3mm
- Engine size: 4799 cc (4.8 L)
- Power Output: 367 PS (270 kW) @ 6000 rpm
- Torque Output: 490 Nm (370 lbf·ft) @ 3600 rpm
- Valvetrain setup: DOHC 32-valve Double 'VanosVariable valve timingIn internal combustion engines, variable valve timing , also known as Variable valve actuation , is a generalized term used to describe any mechanism or method that can alter the shape or timing of a valve lift event within an internal combustion engine...
' Valvetronic - Compression ratio: 10.0:1
Transmission
- Automatic: 6speed
- Manual Transmission
- 1st gear: 4.05:1
- 2nd gear: 2.4:1
- 3rd gear: 1.58:1
- 4th gear: 1.19:1
- 5th gear: 1:1
- 6th gear: 0.87:1
- Final drive: BTR Limited slipLimited slip differentialA limited slip differential is a type of differential gear arrangement that allows for some difference in angular velocity of the output shafts, but imposes a mechanical bound on the disparity...
3.08:1
Suspension
- Front: IndependentIndependent suspensionIndependent suspension is a broad term for any automobile suspension system that allows each wheel on the same axle to move vertically independently of each other. This is contrasted with a beam axle, live axle or deDion axle system in which the wheels are linked – movement on one side affects...
, inboard Eibach coil springs over Koni shock absorbers - Rear: Independent, fully floating inboard Eibach coil springs over Koni shock absorbers
Brakes
- Front: AP Racing 350 mm cast ironCast ironCast iron is derived from pig iron, and while it usually refers to gray iron, it also identifies a large group of ferrous alloys which solidify with a eutectic. The color of a fractured surface can be used to identify an alloy. White cast iron is named after its white surface when fractured, due...
discsDisc brakeThe disc brake or disk brake is a device for slowing or stopping the rotation of a wheel while it is in motion.A brake disc is usually made of cast iron, but may in some cases be made of composites such as reinforced carbon–carbon or ceramic matrix composites. This is connected to the wheel and/or...
/6-pot calipers - Rear: AP Racing 332 mm cast iron discs/2-pot calipers
Chassis/Body
- Chassis: Ultra stiff CAD designed aluminum alloy chassis specially treated and bonded with Gurrit Essex adhesive and riveted with Bollhoff rivets
- Body Panels: aluminium
- Weight: Automatic Gearbox 2596 lbs (1180 kg); Manual Gearbox 2585 lbs (1175 kg)
- Ground clearance: 6 in (152 mm)
- Length: 13 ft 6 in (4120 mm)
- Width: 5 ft 9 in (1770 mm)
- Height: 3 ft 11 in (1200 mm)
- Weight distribution with one occupant: 50/50
- Drag coefficientDrag coefficientIn fluid dynamics, the drag coefficient is a dimensionless quantity that is used to quantify the drag or resistance of an object in a fluid environment such as air or water. It is used in the drag equation, where a lower drag coefficient indicates the object will have less aerodynamic or...
: 0.39 - Fuel tank litres/US gallons: 55/14.5 (as per Morgan website 21 June 2008)
Performance
Version IV- Top speed: 170 mph (273.6 km/h) (estimated)
- 0 to 100 km/h (62 mph): 4.3 (Manual) 4.1 (Automatic)
Motorsport
24 Hours of Le Mans
The 24 Hours of Le Mans is the world's oldest sports car race in endurance racing, held annually since near the town of Le Mans, France. Commonly known as the Grand Prix of Endurance and Efficiency, race teams have to balance speed against the cars' ability to run for 24 hours without sustaining...
twice, in 2002
2002 24 Hours of Le Mans
The 2002 24 Hours of Le Mans was the 70th Grand Prix of Endurance, and took place on June 15 and 16 2002.-Pre-race:Following a reconstruction of the Bugatti Circuit, the Le Mans circuit was changed between the Dunlop Bridge and Esses, with the straight now becoming a set of fast sweeping turns...
and 2004
2004 24 Hours of Le Mans
The 2004 24 Hours of Le Mans was the 72nd Grand Prix of Endurance, and took place on June 12 and 13 2004.-Race:With the end of the Bentley project, there were no official factory teams at this years race, theoretically leaving it open to anyone...
. There have also been several entries in the FIA GT series from both works cars and privateers. It is also used in the British GT Series. It is currently racing in the FIA GT3 European championship and has proven competitive. The Aero 8 GT3 car is built by AUTO GT. The Aero 8 was also used in the 2003 Bathurst 24 Hour
2003 Bathurst 24 Hour
The 2003 Bathurst 24 Hour was the second 24 hour race run at Bathurst. The race started at 2:00pm on 22 November 2003 at the Mount Panorama Circuit just outside Bathurst and finished at 2:00pm on 23 November....
scoring a DNF and the 2004 12 Hours of Sebring
2004 12 Hours of Sebring
The 2004 Mobil 1 12 Hours of Sebring was the 52nd running of this auto racing event, and took place on March 20, 2004. This was also the opening race of the 2004 American Le Mans Series season.-Official results:Class winners in bold...
finishing 20th outright and 10th in the GT class.