Aero 8 Series 1 (2000–2004)
Morgan's first supercar, the first run of Aero models was unveiled at the Geneva Motor Show in 2000 by Charles Morgan, it was in his words "the result of the biggest development project ever undertaken by the Morgan Motor Company". The result of many years of hard work, a development programme that included racing in the FIA GT series and a partnership with BMW.
Whilst the car structure comes as pre-formed bonded aluminium elements significant work goes into hand making the overall vehicle continuing the handmade history of the company. The method of building the car was ahead of most companies in the marketplace and represented a dramatic shift for the company.
The bonded aluminium chassis has elements of an ash frame to provide a link to the more traditional cars. It was designed by Chris Lawrence who had a long-standing relationship with Morgan and included many features of racing cars of the time. Items such as in-board shock absorbers, double wishbones all round, a flat floor, centre lock magnesium wheels, rose-jointed suspension and other elements were included providing significant handling improvements over previous models.
Complete with a bespoke aluminium chassis, all independent suspension and powered by a 4.4 litre BMW V8 engine (M62TUB44) producing 286 bhp (210 kW) at 5500 rpm and 322 lbf·ft (430 N·m) at 3750 rpm this was a radical departure from the traditionally built Morgans. Performance was 0 to 62 mph in 4.8 seconds with a top speed of 160 mph.
The interior had a turned aluminium dashboard, unusual asymmetric design and a custom made Mulberry case for use as a removable glovebox, along with nods to modern services such as cruise control, air-conditioning and a heated windscreen.
With many elements from BMW including the engine, gearbox and axle to push 1100 kg the performance was on a par with Ferraris, Porsches, TVRs and other supercars of the day. Whilst the car did include an LSD the absence of other stability and traction aids mean the driver had total control over the car.
Famous for its cross-eyed squint courtesy of the reversed VW Beetle headlamps, this was a culmination of both aerodynamic requirements and availability of light units at the time. Initially Porsche lights had been trialled along with the yet to be released new Mini units, the Mini lights were a favourite but BMW didn't want the first model to launch their new headlights to be the Aero so these were not an option. Aerodynamically (extensive wind tunnel testing was carried out at MIRA – another Morgan first) Morgan needed a way to allow the leading edge of the front wings to be forward of the radiator, thus providing space to incorporate a front splitter. The VW Beetle headlamps were spotted by Chris Lawrence who envisaged reversing them to give the perfect angle to meet the aerodynamic requirements, and thus the cross-eyed look was born.
Around 210 Series 1 cars were made with many smaller changes being made to the car over this period internally and externally.
