Firmly rooted as it is in history, Morgan is not one to shy away from charging forward on the racing circuit. And this latest concept could point the way forward for the cottage-industry British automaker.
The Aero 8 GT concept is the work of Morgan’s design chief Jon Wells. But he didn’t necessarily design it for implementation. The renderings were completed for a feature in MOG Magazine, a publication for Morgan owners and enthusiasts. That doesn’t mean, however, that it couldn’t actually be built.
The design is ostensibly based on the Aero 8 that debuted in 2001 as the company’s first new model in over half a century, and recently launched in updated form. The exceptional standout in Morgan’s lineup, the Aero 8 is built on an aluminum chassis (not a wood frame) and is powered by a 4.8-liter V8 sourced from BMW.
Rather than base it on the previous AeroMax coupe or Aero SuperSports targa, this concept is based on the latest roadster. Were it to be built, you could expect that it would do away with the folding roof mechanism in favor of a fixed roof instead. Transformed for the race track, it also features additional cooling vents, competition-spec rolling stock, tow hooks, and downforce-generating front splitter, rear diffuser and rear wing. Look closely on that horizontal racing stripe and you’ll see the logo of AR Motorsport, which helps the manufacturer run the in-house Morgan Challenge racing series.
It looks about ready to tackle the closely production-based GT4 class of racing. But before that happens, Morgan would need to actually build the thing. So what do you think, should they go ahead with the project, or leave the racing up to the bigger, more modern manufacturers?
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