The picture of the new Morgan Aero 8 sports car accompanying this column was reproduced from a CD. Nothing unusual in' that you might think, but for a car factory that still makes its cars out of wood this is a pretty significant, nay, startling leap into the new techno-century. Things, some things at least, have obviously changed inside the red brick factory at Malvern Links, deep in the British Midlands, that has produced Morgan sports cars since 1919.

The very first Morgan, a three-wheeler, was unveiled in 1910. A big V-twin motorcycle engine, that hung between the front wheels, powered a later version and lent its name -  the Aero - to the edition that debuted at the recent Geneva auto show.

One of those new things is managing director Charles Morgan, who took over from his father Peter; son of founder H.F.S. Morgan five years ago. Obviously keen to put his own stamp on the company's products, he began the development project that evolved into the Aero 8 four years ago, employing of all things a CAD (computer aided design) system. This,  in a factory that borders on the Dickensian (but with better lighting), should be considered nothing short of revolutionary. Until recently, a carpenter's square was considered pretty high tech.

The last major new model the company created, the Rover V8-powered Plus 8 of 1968, was pretty much laid out with chalk marks on the floor of the tiny development shop by one Maurice Owen, a rather rotund racing car designer. Hand drawn blueprints, some by Peter Morgan himself, followed to give the shop floor workers something to go by when they were nailing them together.

A pause here to allay an often-misunderstood bit of Morgan lore. The cars are not made entirely of wood, only the framework to which the bodywork is attached is made from Belgian ash. The actual chassis frame of the traditional Morgan is made, as it always has been, from Z-section steel. The Aero 8 is different, as we will see.

The new Aero 8 was also created by an ex-racer, Chris Lawrence,  a name linked to the Morgan legend since the 1950s when he developed and successfully competed in' the company's products. Until the Aero 8 project, his main contribution to production Morgans was the super-tuning of Triumph TR3 engines that went into the Plus-4 Super Sport model, which went into production in 1960.

Unlike the Plus 8, which is still available today and built very much as Morgans have been built since the first fourwheeler - the 4/4 introduced in 1935 - the new Aero 8 is a major departure. The 600 or so cars that Morgan builds annually (there's a four-year waiting list) are still built by very traditional wood- butchering and metal-bashing techniques that date back to the coach building days abandoned by the auto industry by the 1 950s. Porters, that's to say people power; push the cars from one section of the factory to another.

The new Morgan supercar; however; is based on the design of the GT2 racing car that competed in the 1997 GT Championship, and built of aluminum with the help of the latest in Alcan technology. High strength aluminum sections are glued and riveted together to form a "tub" that serves as the basic structure of the car. Aluminum is also used in the suspension and other areas, helping to achieve a remarkable all-up weight of just 1,000 kg.

The aluminum bodywork, laid over an ash frame, is reminiscent of the Modsport racers of the early 1980s, with bulbous front fenders that stretch forward of the Morgan trademark grille and are linked by the exposed front end of the full length undertray. Mercedes E-Class style headlamps are incorporated on
the fenders' inboard flares. The rear tapers to a valance decorated with four round tail lamps, topped by a flat rear deck panel, another traditional Morgan theme.

Front suspension is no longer by the sliding pillar design H.F.S. created in 1908 - a design still used on its other models. The Aero 8 employs a cantilever upper arm with a lower wishbone, coil springs and Koni shocks. Also gone is the solid rear axle hung on semi elliptic springs, replaced by an independent system similar to that found up front. The brakes are AP racing discs, 330 mm up front and 306mm at the rear. Good looking, 18 inch, 5- spoke, magnesium alloy wheels from OZ Racing are shod with Dunlop SP  Sport 9000, 225/40 ZR18 high performance tires.

The engine powering this racy package is BMW's 4.4 litre V8 that produces 286 hp and 335 lb-ft of torque. Morgan had been sourcing V8 engines (based on an early 60s Buick design) from Rover, which is now owned by BMW. Sending the power to the rear wheels is a 6-speed Getrag manual gearbox. Morgan says the car will accelerate to 100 km/h in "well under" five seconds, and has a top speed of almost 260 km/h. It's also the first Morgan to have drive-by-wire technology, on-board diagnostics, cruise control, electrically heated windows and air conditioning!

This new Morgan's interior looks somewhat familiar. A high tunnel separates the two seats, and all surfaces are covered in Connolly leather. The wooden, semi-circular instrument panel, with a machine- turned aluminum face pierced for a full suite of gauges, hangs from a solid chunk of wood at the top of the dash. The door caps are also wood. The stereo and heater controls live in a separate panel hidden away in an ergonomically unlikely spot under the dash, atop the tunnel. The hood (convertible top) is a triple layer, nonpowered unit. All quite a bit different from my 1968 Morgan 4/4 1600 Sport, but surprisingly familiar as well.

Morgan plans (read hopes) to build about 200 a year of the £42,500 car, starting this August, with initial production set at two a week. All will be dealer demos. The first customer cars likely won 't be delivered much before the end of the year,  and it will be at least 12 months before an Aero 8 gets to North America. Stephen and Martin Beer of C.M.C Enterprises of Bolton, Ont., the official Morgan importers, say we may never see one on the road in Canada. The spoilsports at Transport Canada have not permitted new Morgans to be sold here in about five years.

Webmaster comment: Steve Beer of CMC has recently noted that the Factory is now conducting tests on their restructured Plus 8 rear end that may eventually re-open the Canadian compliance file and get the cars back on Canadian streets. (10/05/00)

The Aero 8 is a major gamble for Morgan. The last time the factory tried anything dramatically new was in 1963 when it introduced the pretty, modem looking, fiberglass bodied Plus-4-Plus - a car that was received with an astonishing level of disinterest. Only 26 were built before Morgan went back to its knitting. Will the Aero 8 be accepted as a true Morgan by the ultra traditionalist Morgan cultists? Will it appeal to modem sports car buyers? Only time will tell of course.

Prepared by the Editors of Car Guide Magazine