Talk Morgan Forums Morgan Sports Cars Morgan Aero 8, 2012< Plus 8, SuperSports, Coupe & Aeromax MOG Mag Teaser

Yes Ray there's no stopping evolution with conscience .!
Take a look at the mercedes A class amg 45 ....350 hp 2litre 4wd 4 seats .
Who would have imagined that 10 years ago !

Mercedes GLA A45: very probably our next tin top.
It ticks all the boxes for both CJ and self.

That and the Mog = all the cars we need.

As to that engine, I was told by a Salesman at the Merc dealer (do no idea if it is true) that the engine was developed by the F1 group in the UK when it looked as though the "new" regs would be a Turbo 4 plus KES. Ferrari objected, demanding a V6 and in the weird world that is F1 the 4 cylinder idea was dropped.

Mercedes transferred the design to AMG Road engine development. It was claimed that the motor has been run, reliably on a dyno at well over 600 bhp in race tune. So at 400+ it is good for 100,000 miles or more.

Can anyone confirm this story, or refute it?

Either way it is a great engine!

Peter the GLA A45 would certainly tick all the boxes for me too ,if it wasn't for the kids ,it looks like a fantastic piece of modern engineering .
What a daily driver !

Our kids are 25 and 28, so they don't need to be considered other than as occasional passengers.
We need to check the rear space isn't too small, but 90% of the time the car would have just me and the boss in it.

Test drive as soon as the dealers have one, I think.

An excellent "first drive" in Autocar this week.

Unfortunate timing for the V12 XJS as OPEC had gone in for serious price hikes of crude oil...

Sure you can fit bales of straw in it Peter?

It is a lovely car and it really is one that I should consider too. It ticks quite a few of my boxes as well.

If I understand correctly the 400 hp is the Brabus version the "standard" has 360 hp (265 kW).

The big problem for Italy, other than huge insurance premiums, is the property tax that must be paid on cars. It is not a road tax because you have to pay it whether the car is actually on the road or not. No SORN for Italy. There is currently also a supertax on powerful cars. The "superbollo", as it is called, is levied on vehicles with power of over 185 kW (251 CV). In this case sono there is an additional tax of 20 euro/kW per kW above 185 kw.

The total tax on 185 kw would be €590, for the Mercedes A45 AMG would be about €2,500 euro a year and €2,615 a year for the Aero 8. The tax on the Plus 4 that I have to pay this month is €281.22.

This is why Maserati makes a 184 kw (250 hp) version of the Ghibli for the Italian market.

Any other questions as to why more Aeros are not sold in Italy?

I must say Peter ,the car taxation or property tax in Italy seems a little unfair , and gives little incentive to produce smaller and more efficient engines if you get taxed on HP ...
After some consideration I think I would be more than happy with an Aero 4 ,if it had the Mercedes 2litre a45 amg type unit and gear box . If the 400 hp unit was fitted ,it would generate more than 340 hp/ metric tonne that's more than the new 2015 model at 306hp/tonne with a 4.8 v8 . Infact the standard 360 hp amg may well out perform the current 4.8 unit due to its lighter construction .
If a de- tunned versions of 250 hp were available it would have similar performance to the S1 Aero .........
This is all hypothetical obviously ,but with modern engines making 150 to 200 hp/ litre ,it is the future I must agree ......

Are we really bothered about Italy and all that sunshine,we live in the Uk and the Aero a British Muscle car lets have no more talk of two litres it aint gonna happen or worse still a Diesel.

Em

Exactly Em, the cost of developing a small engined version or a diesel for Italy of the Aero 8 is not a viable proposition for MMC, how many sales will ensue, will it ever give a pay-back; I doubt it!

Let's celebrate the fact that a hairy chested British sportscar is still available and buy one whilst it is still in production. There'll be plenty of time for Morgan to develop a new model in the future that complies with so called modern requirements, but for now I'm with you and Viper. V8's rule yea...