2005 Morgan Aero 8

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 program that included racing in the FIA GT series and a partnership with BMW.
Whilst the car structure comes as pre-formed bonded aluminum 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 aluminum chassis has elements of an ash frame to provide a link to the more traditional cars. It 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 aluminum chassis, all independent suspension and powered by a 4.4 litre BMW V8 engine (M62 producing 286 bhp at 5500 rpm and 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 aluminum dashboard, unusual asymmetric design and a custom made 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 performance on a par with Ferraris, Porsches, 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.