Женевский автосалон

Международный журнал автомобилестроения, 2000

Abstract

The article reports on a new Morgan Aero 8 sports car shown at the annual Motor Show held in Geneva, 2000. Much attention is given to description of the materials and the appearance of the car. It is clamed that special design provides excellent torsional rigidity. It is said that the Aero 8 uses a 4.4-L BMW engine producing 210 kW (281 hp) at 5500 rpm and has a six-speed gearbox with self-adjusting clutch. The article is of particular interest because of innovative solutions shown in this sports car model.

Geneva Motor Show

The annual Geneva Motor Show is one of the automotive delights of the year. It unfailingly presents a heady mix of aesthetic and technological exotica that no other international motor show can match, and this year was no exception. The span of newly unveiled production models, big-name concepts, and small-name one-offs was quite extraordinary.

The biggest surprise at Geneva this year (2000) was the new Morgan Aero 8. Morgan is a very small but long established (1909) British specialist producer building sports cars that look as if they were styled decades ago – which, more or less, they were. Morgan buyers are invariably aficionados prepared to order a car from the company and wait several years for delivery. Although Morgan has developed its cars to meet international safety and emissions legislation, new models in the fullest sense have not been on the agenda – until now.

The Aero 8 retains much of the Morgan style signature, with flowing fenders and broad running boards; in this respect it is as retro as retro can be. However, in some senses the remarkably individualistic Aero 8 is thoroughly Y2K. Described as a «completely new» model, it has an aluminum chassis and a combination of thermo-plastically and hand-formed aluminum body panels. Morgan describes it as an AIV (aluminum-intensive vehicle).

Engineers developed the car over a four-year period, focusing on weight saving, performance, ride, and handling – with lightweight components and materials central to the car’s design. The Aero 8 uses «the latest aluminum material» which has been specially designed for use in vehicle manufacture. Sections of the aluminum are bonded using a high performance adhesive and riveted for secondary strength. This combination provides excellent torsional rigidity, claims the company.

The Aero 8 uses a 4.4-L BMW engine producing 210 kW (281 hp) at 5500 rpm. A six-speed gearbox with self-adjusting clutch is fitted. The engine’s cradle is made from aluminum extrusions. Use of aluminum extrusions for suspension and braking systems contributes to keeping the car’s mass to about 1000 kg. Suspension is all-independent.

At the front, each side gets a long cantilever upper arm with lower wishbone and inboard Eibach coil springs over a Koni shock absorber. The Aero 8 has an H-frame. Designed in in-house using CATIA software, the car has a Cd of 0.39, a figure which shows little variance with the folding roof erect or lowered.

The shape, which develops negative lift front and rear, was developed in the wind tunnel.

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