3 years almost to the day, and the car I said I would never sell is sold and goes to its new owner tomorrow.
I'm really going to miss AR08MMC, it's been a privilege to own an Aeromax, and a very special one at that. I hope I have helped add a little to its already illustrious history and look forward to tracing its appearances in its new ownership.
So why sell? The realisation crept up on me last year, and crystallised this year that it just made no sense for me to hang onto this car as I just don't get the chance to drive it now with 2 kids under 3. I managed 800 miles in 2013, the majority of those taking the car to goodwood and back several times, to park it up for others to photograph it...
Once I had realised that, and with limited garage space and time to enjoy driving (and practically zero time when not driving with the family these days) it was clear the max was going to sit around waiting for me an awful lot for the next decade.
Added to this the fun I was getting from driving a vintage porsche every day with my son along for the ride, made me even more frustrated that he couldn't come along in the Morgan. His face each time we went in the garage when I had to tell him that he couldn't go out in it was getting pretty heartbreaking to be honest!
Tough decision though, owning an Aeromax has been an absolute dream. Every drive (even my totally pointless but incredibly regular Sunday morning trips to the supermarket on a sunday morning - (underground car park you see) - were full of excitement. Driving back from a photoshoot the other night at 3am the car was chased and tailed by several other road users trying to determine what on earth they had seen (or if they were dreaming probably!). It's got me out of speeding tickets in France (manifique!) into goodwood breakfast club pretty much regardless of being the right sort of car for the day (''boss will shoot me if I don't let that in - off yer go') and the source of a thousand petrol station forecourt chats. Everybody has a smile for an Aero and even more so for the Aeromax of they just happen to be a 'car person'..
So what's it been like for 3 years and around 10k miles?
Incredibly reliable as long as you reset the windows regularly and keep it on a trickle charger. The only fix has been a worn power steering pump - a normal Aero consumable. Mpg at around 25ish which when you have a heavy right foot is pretty darn good...
It's seen some big speed - a verified 159mph (almost 180 indicated) on a private test track, and been an absolute joy on the back roads of the south east when out to play.a motoring photographer friend called it a big caterham. And I'd agree, it's friendly, planted and exploitable and feels like its on rails most of the time despite some body roll which is more there to tell you what's going on than anything else...
I'm sure in 10 years time my sons will berate me for selling a car that is then worth many time what I just sold it for, but I will just have to tell them that daddy sold the beautiful Morgan because they didn't fit in it
My consolation is that my FF is ready for collection on Monday. With 4 decent seats, and a pretty large boot space it really is a family friendly gt with room for pushchairs and enough luggage for a week or two touring 4 up with child seats. It's going to depreciate, it's nowhere near as pretty as an Aeromax and I doubt it will have the universal love on the road the Aeromax gets, but it will be usable all year round and its bonkers bonkers fast...
So I guess I'll still be hanging out here because I love this place and the people I've met here. And I guess I'll just have to bide my time until I can see another Morgan in the family. Maybe a 4 seater will be on the cards sometime, and I still hanker after my Series 1 again. And I'll never say no if I get the chance to have an Aeromax again.
Damn I'm going to miss it!
and I'm not complaining at all - I'm extremely lucky to be in a position to be able to even consider the replacement for the max..
