September 2016 – Page 2

07 Sep

Carshow Classic: 1936 Morgan 4/4 (And Morgan History) – Trying To Understand The Enigma (www.curbsideclassic.com)

At the Paris Motor Show in 1936, a British manufacturer exhibited a compact, two seat sport tourer, built as was conventional at the time around a steel chassis, a wood-framed body, semi-elliptic rear suspension, an overhead inlet, side exhaust valve engine and using an unusual sliding pillar front suspension. Unusually for a British sports car of the time, it was painted a bright, Carnation red.

This was the first in a line of Morgan roadsters that continues to this day, still built the same as in 1936. The Morgan is a living dinosaur, the carrier of a proud tradition of car building by hand, with traditional materials and tools, that has long gone extinct otherwise. Morgan’s unceasing traditions, spiced by new adaptations and evolutionary models, is one of the greatest stories of the automobile’s history.

Actually, several such cars would have been shown – marques like MG, Hillman, Talbot, Riley, BSA, AC and Singer were all producing cars of this format at that time. Most of those marques have gone, but one remains, and so does the car, the Morgan 4/4, a derivative of which is still in manufacture, in the same factory, on the same tooling, and still with a wooden frame and sliding pillar front suspension.

The 1936 Paris Show car is still extant. A natural Car Show Classic, and a great car around which to tell the story of the Morgan Motor Company.

Much has been and still is said about Morgan.

Morgan gears up for Selfridges partnership (http://www.bqlive.co.uk/)

Selfridges is teaming up with Malvern-based car manufacturer, Morgan, to celebrate the launch of the its first zero emission, all-electric car.

With Morgan about to launch the EV3 and Selfridges motoring ahead with its drive to put sustainability at the core of its business, the historic firms are now set to collaborate.

Selfridges and Morgan are creating a limited edition of the EV3, called UK 1909 Edition, blending Morgan’s legendary engineering know-how and iconic design with Selfridges’ famous flair for fashion.

The result is a collector’s item car that combines beauty, practicality, comfort and speed. The UK 1909 Edition will only ever be made in a limited edition run of 19 – a number that is a nod to the year during which both Selfridges and Morgan were founded.

Selfridges has also enlisted nine British brands, including Alexander McQueen and Belstaff, to produce a driving kit with sustainable accessories for contemporary recreational motorsports fans. The kits will be priced separately but can only be ordered with the car.

The full driving kit also features brands such as Globetrotter, Christopher Raeburn, George Cleverley, Richard James, Linda Farrow, Karl Donoghue and Dents.

The UK 1909 Edition will be officially launched in store at Selfridges Birmingham – near the site of the Morgan factory – on 1 October and in London Oxford Street on 1 November.

The UK 1909 Edition and complementary driving kit will be manufactured from November 2016 and will be delivered to each customer within six months.

02 Sep

Morgan Aero 8 for Oz (http://www.motoring.com.au/)

V8-powered British retro roadster receives Australian Design Rule certification; will cost $270K

That’s an indicative retail price, before options and on-road costs.

First Australian deliveries of the Aero 8, which reverts back to its original Aero 8 name and full convertible configuration following several previous iterations including the limited-edition AeroMax, the Aero SuperSports and the Aero Coupe, will commence early next year.

Although it might not look it, the Aero 8 is a cutting-edge ‘modern’ Morgan – as opposed to some of Morgan’s ‘Classic’ models that date back to 1936 – and the most advanced Morgan car ever produced.

Based around a bonded and welded aluminium chassis and weighing just 1180kg dry, it’s powered by a BMW 4.8-litre V8 (matched with both six-speed manual and automatic transmissions) that produces 270kW and 490Nm – enough to propel it to 100km/h in a claimed 4.5 seconds and as fast as 273km/h.

Morgan says the Aero 8’s latest chassis benefits from improved torsional stiffness, a revised front-end, all-new suspension, anti-roll bars and a limited-slip differential, resulting in “a more responsive and better handling sports car whist retaining the previous high standard of comfort”.

The Aero 8 is available with an optional hard-top that transforms the car into a coupe, while new dashboard arrangements, real wood surrounds, textured box-woven carpets and fine leather trim enhance the new interior.

Features such as air-conditioning and, for the first time in a Morgan, satellite-navigation and Bluetooth connectivity are standard, while a dramatic rear opening clamshell boot is used to both tension and hide the new double-lined mohair hood.

“Whilst all of these attributes and features are available in many luxury sports cars, the Aero 8 offers the perfect marriage of fine craftsmanship and personalization not common in today’s increasingly autonomous world,” says Morgan.

Each Aero 8 takes six weeks to handcraft to order at the Morgan factory in Worcestershire, England, and the company says infinite combinations of paint, leather and equipment choices make every example a one-off.