Monday 4th December 2017

New Morgan Aero GT teased

Race-inspired Aero 8 will be shown at Geneva - here's your first look

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The Aero 8 has featured in Morgan's line up since 2001, going from cross-eyed roadster to Aeromax coupe, Supersports Targa and even a race car in the 16 years it's been on sale.

All good things come to an end though, and the last eight Aeros will roll out of Pickersleigh Road in 2018. There's no news on a replacement yet, but we do know that the final octet will be Aero GT cars, described by Morgan as "its most extreme roadgoing model to date".

Bad news first: all eight are accounted for by existing Morgan customers. That doesn't stop us getting excited about limited-edition McLarens and Ferraris though, so here goes. It will use the same BMW-sourced 4.8-litre V8 and six-speed manual that Aero 8s have for a while, meaning 0-62 in 4.5 seconds and 170mph. This will be the last installation of that V8 too, with the engine no longer in production. Sob.

To the important changes for the Aero GT. Every single panel has been reworked by hand - because Morgan - to reduce drag and improve downforce, using lessons learnt from GT3 victories. We're told there's a "drastic" rear diffuser, plus you can quite clearly see the aggressive louvred arches; hey, if it's good enough for Porsche, it's good enough for Morgan. Beyond that there's little else at the moment, although the wheels do look new and will presumably be a bit lighter.

Morgan's Head of Design, Jon Wells, said: "Unlike many, we are able to make truly limited edition vehicles that really exercise the imagination of the designer and the ability of the craftsmen." Sounds encouraging... Hopes are high Jon!

The eight cars will be individually tailored to the eight owners, each to be produced with "bespoke customer-requested additions"; let's hope one of those additions is a slightly less Kardashian shade of paint.

That's it for the tease so far, Morgan hopefully revealing a few more nuggets along the way to Geneva. And by the way chaps, if you need any help getting it there then we're more than happy to repeat Harris's Plus 8 escapade from 2012...

Inspired? Buy a Morgan here

[Bencolem]

What a shame that second picture isn’t of a rear wheel instead...