It's a lot of money, I could perhaps (and may still at some point) justify a 'max on exclusivity alone, but don't see that a 'new aero' is worth that kind of dough when it's not substantially different to my series 2. The new car certainly won't outperform the s2 significantly in terms of ride, handling or power or interior as it's still the same car running basically the same engine on the same chassis with the same dash, brakes wipers, electronics etc, just a different set of body panels from all I can tell. Hell, a quick trip to DMS for a tweak of the EMS and I'll be running 370bhp too if I want it enough!
So, from the enthusiast perspective I fear for future sales. A lot of owners like me who could stretch really hard to trade up, just wont as the value add over the current car just isn't there. If it was a serious step forward in terms of specification you could make a case, but all indications are that its really not.
However, for the company I guess this is a small concern and they would expect to lose some of us as potential customers, and as far as MMC are concerned I've never bought an Aero new anyway, so I'm not really a lost customer at all!
What I do fear for is the fact that this is a serious jump in not only price bracket, but competition. 70k puts you on Aston AMv8 and Audi A8 / Porsche 911 and Jax XKR / Maserati GT money - competition the Aero has in the past been able to hold its own against in terms of performance and handling (just) while playing the individuality card.
At 130k, the same car cannot in truth hold a candle to the competition - Lamborghini Gallardo, Porsche 911 Turbo / GT2, Ferrari California / F430 / Aston DB9 / Bentley Continental GTC are all in this price range and every one of them is superior to the Aero in every way, except in styling. Every one of them will leave an Aero for dead in a straight line and probably the corners too.
So, I guess my concern is, that at the current price point, the aero is in the same ball park as the competition, and the exclusivity and style make it a winner for some buyers.
At 130k+, the lack of ability against the competition is considerable, so you have got to be a total morgan enthusiast to justify it.
If the marketing guys have done their demographic plots and determined there is a solid market for 50 cars a year at 130k vs 100 at 70k then I'm sure the numbers add up. In the long term I think it would be a shame if there are less people like me who 'wander' into Aero ownership because they like the style and the fact that the car delivers in its class, rather than the fact that it just looks like it does and is made in Malvern.
An interesting post Rich with some very good points made. I think that once you get beyond basic transport, then the decisions on which car to have are not completely rational; as I well know.
I think that you also are a victim of the same irrational behaviour, having already ready owned two Aero's and I won't mention the Masser, if you don't.
Customers for Aero's are aware that they are not buying into the reliability of a now mass-produced Porsche, but it is a bit like buying a bespoke suit rather than one from M&S, both do the same job and the M&S one is probably more than suitable for purpose as a business suit, but Saville Row is still selling a limited but impressive quantity of their suits (as do Brioni and Boss) at prices that mightily impress.
I think the first Aero was very much a form follows function sort of car, in the true Morgan tradition, and some of the design changes for the Series II onwards were not necessarily a huge improvement as has been said on this forum many times in the past. In many ways the Series II was the traditional horse designed by a committee, with that strabismic front-end, and the d/a treatment at the back. (Now I'm heading for the bush chased by the rest of the S2 mafia)...
This was cleared up somewhat with the Series III/IV, but it was obviously only a matter of time before the company came out with a new Aero model using Matt Humphries undoubted talents.
The AeroMax,
designed by Matt took the company into a different demographic and for many of the people who bought it (not me
) the cost was a very small part of their disposable income and Morgan probably under-estimated the huge demand for such an iconic car.
So that leaves us with the new Aero, which as we know has been entered for the
Concorso D'Eleganza Villa D'Este and I think it is significant that Morgan has chosen this venue rather than the Geneva Motor show to launch the car. So far the price has not been fixed, though there are indicative figures, and the total quantity to be produced has not been etched in stone either, despite rumours to the contrary. Likewise, with production not expected until 2010 many aspects of the specification will change between now and then, even if the basic shape remains similar. After all it is entered in the
Concept Cars and Prototypes section of the Concorso
I guess that with the move of the Aero up-market, it does leave space for an Aero chassis with a more powerful engine than the Roadster and a more trad-type body on it, but that is pure speculation on my part.
For me, I have ordered an Aero Supersports (Simon made me do it
) and consequently, I'll not be taking delivery of another Aero 8 this year.
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