Morgan Bids Farewell To The Naturally Aspirated V8 In Geneva

Their cars might hustle along at a decent clip, but the rate of progress moves rather slowly at Morgan. The company has, to a large degree, been making its cars pretty much the same way for the past hundred-plus years, after all.

So when it ushers out an old technology, it’s kind of a big deal. And that’s just what it did at the Geneva Motor Show this year.

The cottage-industry automaker arrived at the Swiss expo with two new versions of existing models that it’s ushering out: the Aero GT and the Plus 8 50th Anniversary Edition.

Both are based on the same aluminum architecture – in stark contrast to the wood frames it uses on other models – and are powered by the same 4.8-liter V8. The 367-horsepower engine has long since been abandoned by BMW, and is now being discontinued at Morgan as well.

The main difference between the two comes down to bodywork. They’re both two-seat roadsters (that’s an optional hardtop fitted to the Aero GT). But while the Plus 8 looks decidedly old-school, the Aero GT has a relatively more modern design. There’ll also be 50 examples of the special Plus 8, compared to just eight of the Aero GT (all of which have been pre-sold already).

Along with the send-off of the naturally aspirated V8, the Aero GT also marks the end of the Aero 8 on which it’s based. We wouldn’t be all that surprised, however, to see the Plus 8 carry on with another (possibly turbocharged) engine as it moves into the next half-century of production as Morgan gears up to produce its electric three-wheeler.

Progress might take a while to reach rural England, but it gets there eventually.