Talk Morgan Forums Morgan Sports Cars Morgan Aero 8, 2012< Plus 8, SuperSports, Coupe & Aeromax Aero 8 series 4 user report

I actually came upon Chris Harris when he was doing the Series 1 road test ( they often used the mountain road between Crickhowell and the Heads of the Valleys Road to test) and I recall that was one point he made very forcibly. The other was that he felt the whole rear set up was such that the 'breakaway' point was very sudden
Cheers,
G

Like most Morgan's the AeroMax's steering is very direct, but at dead-centre there is a degree of slack that has to be taken up and this has been eliminated with the new box. I am told it is roughly the same ratio, but have not checked this out.

I agree that the autobox suits the nature of the car, it is easy to make progress just using the wall of torque that the 4.8 litre engine produces and I think he's pretty right about the rear-end breakaway as well.

Snowing again in Eton, Berks!

Yes, horrible weather here too. The Moosemobile is sitting under a foot of snow, ready to show its stuff should it be required...

Interesting perspective! My Aero8 is a Series 1 (I only drove Series 1) and my comment was based on this because I felt that it was close to a 964 RS in feel and spirit. Should I take that there was a demarcation in the rawness of driving feel/experience following the Series 1? If so, I should restrict my analogy to the Series 1.

Then we are in agreement Phil. I think that I had a ride in your car on the way to collect my new Aero SS. There is a big difference in the 'feel' of the cars with the Series I definitely being more hard-core.

Randy, a very interesting read and one note I would add is that Viper (Lee) on this site sold his Aero 8 Mk1 and subsequently bought a Ford GT (I have seen his car and it is a thing of stunning menace (black with matt black stripes, black carbon wheels, de-bumpered and running a special exhaust and suspension); however, despite having the GT, and a few other choice toys, he misses his Aero 8 and wishes he'd never sold his S1. In fact, over many months he and I have spoken about him finding another.

As for the S1 vs later Aero 8s - it would be unfair to say that the Aero has become more of a GT; easier to live with, yes, soft in it's old age, no! The S1 was a racer for the road and as has been said many times, were Morgan to do it again, they wouldn't have followed the S1 format because of build cost alone. However, even the last incarnation (S4) is still lethal in unfocused hands - lightweight, V8 and no traction control (or any other safety net other than ABS and DTC), does not make for a car that suffers fools.

It's funny how it isn't surprising that someone would go from an Aero to a Ford GT. They share some very common bonds in ethos and character to my mind.

Stunning cars, think they're fantastic and probably the best supercar of modern times for me.

A lot of interesting side notes/thoughts come out of this thread.
S1-S4 driving characteristics have been discussed before, but Aeroman's comments are interesting to me when he compares platforms and transmissions...I am old school as I prefer manual transmissions vs auto/automated gearboxes, but as Aeroman points out his feeling is the overall drive has not changed much on newer Aero series yet improvements/updates have come with newer models.

Many folks who I talk with put the auto/paddle type gearboxes as an improvement/update. The mainstream automobile publications whom most hated auto type gearboxes a few years ago now embrace and even pick the auto box over the manual if they have a choice.

As automobiles/supercars continue to evolve my guess is manual transmissions will become harder to find. Simon's observations are spot on, lightweight,V8,no traction control...to me this is the allure of my particular Aero... when I throw in top down,transmission choice all the sudden my Aero becomes unique to me and my personal driving preferences...

Others have their own driving preferences for their Aero's,some have fixed roofs now, some the targa experience in the ss, S1 guys like the hard core aesthetics of their machines, with S2-S4
platform guys all recognizing the virtues of their chosen machines.

Regardless of series of Aero I believe the Aero will be a high point for Morgan as a company for years to come because it is the car/platform that moved a small company into the next century and enables that company to contemplate cars like the Eva GT...I just hope that an Aero experience in a new Morgan form exists ten years from now because for me its still about the drive,the feel of the road, how the car hits the apex,what that feels like...Top down, old school manual, still my choice,but not always others...initially Morgan had one type of customer, now we seem like a somewhat diversified lot by our Morgan choices...progress!

Here some experience in case of an accident on the Autobahn from Nuernberg to Munich. I was kicked off the Autobahn by a heavy truck and my Aero(series 4) was completely destroyed. Everything was crashed except the drivers cabin. What I want to tell is that development of vehicles makes sometimes sense, I doubt a little that I would have survived in +4 or a Shelby Cobra where I had similar driving experiences
like in my Aero. But I never had the combination of 'real motoring' and great engine, alumina frame , good brakes in this cars.
The Aero is light, powerfull, no stupid electronics and maybe the last machine on earth which requires a driver and not a person who is driven and controlled by the car.
I know the series 4, only but driving this car is so intensive that I sold my Aston Martin and Porsche 996 GT2 because when I went to my garage I took always the same car - the Aero.
Fortunately I got a nearly new Aero Series 4 after this accident again.
Nothing better than driving over a summit in the alps drifting uphill through the curves and enjoying the sound of the sidepipes downhill.
I'll meet Charles Morgan in April and ask him to let the Aero survive in some way.
I'm not a collector I want to drive this car, also in the future.
Kabi

Great write up Kabi and testament again to the structural, and pleasurable facets of the Aero series.