<![CDATA[Jalopnik: morgan]]> http://tags.jalopnik.com/assets/base/img/thumbs140x140/jalopnik.com.png <![CDATA[Jalopnik: morgan]]> http://jalopnik.com/tag/morgan http://jalopnik.com/tag/morgan <![CDATA[Inheritance: Indie Short Features Nissan GT-R Beating Porsche 911]]> Despite the polished appearance and cinematic race sequence, this isn't a Nissan GT-R advertisement. It's an indie short by Dylan Osborn and friends filmed guerrilla-style against a New England backdrop. Datsun 240Z and a Morgan Aero 8? Nice. [DylanOsborn.com]

]]>
http://jalopnik.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5406831&view=rss&microfeed=true
<![CDATA[Automotive Survivors Part II: More Cars Made For At Least 20 Years]]> When we had the 50 Cars Made For Over 20 Years list a few weeks back, we were deafened by the howls of outrage from those whose favorite cars didn't make the cut.

Some of my oversights were really obvious head-clutchers (e.g., Trabant, Saab 96, De Tomaso Pantera), while others required making all sorts of crypto-arbitrary judgment calls. In order to prevent the flood of hate mails I got from Land Rover, Jeep, and Toyota FJ freaks with Part I, we're going to make one seemingly obvious point even more obvious:
NO TRUCKS! NO TRUCKS! CARS ONLY!
Got it? And, once again, we're denying the Ford Fox and Panther platforms and the Volvo 140/240 entrance to this list. That doesn't mean we don't love those cars (in fact, I've owned at least one of each), but each underwent a major chassis redesign before it hit the magical 20-year mark. I'm still not convinced that the C2 and C3 Corvettes are the same car, and Ford's nostalgic reissue of a handful of ceremonial Model Ts doesn't add another year of production to the T's scorecard. Feel free to debate the merits of these decisions in your comments, but try to keep the venom level at or below rattlesnake level. OK, here we go, in order of years of seniority:

Morgan 4/4
54 years (1955-present)
When Morgan redesigned the suspension for the 4/4 Series II in 1955, they figured there wouldn't be much need to change anything after that. Engine suppliers come and go, so they've had to change powerplants every so often (the current 4/4 comes with a Ford Duratec four), but otherwise the Morgan remains pretty much the same wood-framed machine our grandparents knew and loved.
Image source
Lotus / Caterham Seven
52 years (1957-present)
You don't see Sevens on the street very often, since the racetrack is this car's natural habitat, but they are road-legal motor vehicles and thus qualify for this series. Lotus built the Seven until 1972, and Caterham (and about 500 million others) have kept the production lines going since then.
Image source
Hongqi CA770
40 years (1958-1998)
Even the Great Helmsman himself needed a car, for those occasions when he had to inspect the progress of the Great Leap Forward, and there was no way that the People's Republic Of China was going to let the running dogs of imperialism outdo them when it came to classy luxury rides for important government officials. Thus was the Hongqi CA770 limousine born. It appears to have ZIS ancestry, but the Bamboo Curtain keeps such sensitive state secrets from our hands.
Image source
Nissan President 150/250
24 years (1965-1989)
Until replaced by a stretched version of the car we know as the Infiniti Q45, Nissan's luxury flagship was the mighty President. The styling appears to have hints of Mercedes-Benz W123 and Plymouth Volaré, and power came courtesy of the President-only Nissan Y OHV V8.
Image source
Trabant
34 years (1957-1991)
There's not much to say about the most famous Warsaw Pact vehicle of all: two pistons, two strokes, plastic body, and more than three million made. Primitive by any standard, but it put East Germany on wheels!
Image source
Bristol Type 603
33 years (1976-present)
The case could be made that the 603 was really just a warmed-over version of the 1946 Bristol line, but we're setting the 1976 body redesign as the cutoff. You could get a 603 with a Chrysler 318 or 360, and some even came with factory turbocharging!
Image source
Lada Niva
32 years (1979-present)
I dismissed the Lada Niva for its truckishness the first time around, but Unicmanest has convinced me that it's no more a truck than was the AMC Eagle or Subaru Outback. And no, there's no possible way to convince me that the Land Rover was really a car.
Image source
Toyota Century
30 years (1967-1997)
The first generation of the Toyota Century limo, which was based on the Crown luxury car, stayed pretty much the same for 30 years. Why tinker with a successful formula? The "Toyota Hemi" V series V8 powered this perennial zaibatsu favorite.
Image source
Lotus Esprit
28 years (1976-2004)
This was a really tough one, but I'm going to say that the endless series of minor mutations in the Esprit kept it essentially the same car for its run.
Image source
Shanghai SC760
27 years (1964-1991)
It's tough to get good information about Chinese cars designed before Nixon's 1972 trip, but it appears that the Shanghai SC760 was an all-Chinese design and remained virtually unchanged throughout its production run.
Image source
Studebaker Avanti / Avanti II
25 years (1962-1987)
I wanted to stay away from the slippery slope of replica cars, if only to avoid the nightmare of dealing with Cobra replicas, but the Avanti II was built using the original Studebaker frames and tooling and thus qualifies. The engines were small-block Chevrolets (proper Studebaker V8s being unavailable), but otherwise we're dealing with genuine Avantis.
Suzuki Alto / Maruti 800
25 years (1984-present)
The Maruti 800, still in production in India today, is based on the second-gen Alto. It has a long way to go in order to match the Hillman Hunter/Hindustan Ambassador, but 25 years is a good start!
Image source
Rolls-Royce Corniche
24 years (1971-1995)
There's not much you need to change on a car like this, so Rolls-Royce stuck with a winning formula.
Image source
Rolls-Royce Phantom VI
23 years (1968-1991)
374 were made. The Queen got two of them. Any questions?
Image source
Wartburg 353
23 years (1965-1988)
With only seven moving parts in the engine, there wasn't much to go wrong with this East German machine.
Image source
Audi 100 C3 / FAW Hongqi CA7200/CA7300
(21 years) 1982-2003
FAW (or some copycat) might still be making Audi C3-based cars in China now, but we can't be sure. We are sure, however, that the production run lasted at least 20 years.
Image source
Jaguar XJS
21 years (1975-1996)
Should this car be lumped in with the XJ6, just because the chassis is pretty much the same? Blasphemy!
De Tomaso Pantera
21 years (1970-1991)
Can we write about the Pantera without mentioning Vince Neill and his ill-fated 3-block trip to the liquor store? Apparently not! Anyway, the Ford Cleveland-powered Pantera stayed more or less the same for the entirety of its production run, and we all want one!
Image source
Reliant Regal
21 years (1951-1972)
Yes, three-wheelers with closed bodies count as cars. The Reliant Robin nearly qualified as well, but missed by a couple of years.
Image source
Volkswagen Karmann Ghia
20 years (1955-1975)
I left the Karmann Ghia out the first time because it's just a Beetle pan with a sporty body, but that wasn't fair. The Karmann Ghia was a distinct model! Too bad the Brazilians didn't keep making it for an extra 30 years.
Reliant Scimitar
20 years (1964-1984)
The first few generations of Scimitar were pretty much the same car under the skin.
Image source
Saab 96
20 years (1960-1980)
How did I miss this car the first time around? Its ancestry stretches well beyond 20 years, but a couple of decades as perhaps the best two-stroke car ever made is accomplishment enough.
Image source
Cadillac D Body
20 years (1977-1997)
I was very skeptical about including this car in the list, but Cadillac ice-racer William sold me on it. He also came up with some exhaustingly comprehensive rules for determining eligibility for the All-Time Survivors list, and I'll post them pretty soon, but for now I'll just share what he had to say about the Caddy D:
Of course it's the downsized Cadillac Rear Wheel Drive Fleetwood/de Ville ("D" Body), introduced on Cadillac's 75th anniversary for '77. Built from August 1976 until July 1997, the new "Right-Sized" Caddie (and GM's first full metric car) came in a variety flavors (de Ville sedan and two door, Brougham & Fleetwood) and a litany of engines: The program started with the L33 425, last of the "big iron" Caddie V-8's (down from the glory days 500 CID and nearly the same digits in torque), and soldiered on with the most diverse/bizzare collection of engines ever to grace a motor car: 368 Cadillac "Sleever," LF9 Buick diesel V-8, 253 Buick V-6 (the first non-V-8 for a Cadillac), the "8-6-4" disaster variant of the 363, an Oldsmobile 5.6, and finally the Cadillac "GM Corporate V-8 engine of Tomorrow" (forgotten the next day) the All-Aluminum cam eating 4.1 HT. And that's just the first ten years. Sure the de Ville and Fleetwood nameplates bailed to the dark side going front wheel drive in 1985 but the Brougham soldiered on in venerable "D" body glory for another decade and more.

The engine-of-the-week theme continued with an Oldsmobile 307 LG8, Chevy 5.0L and finally the Chevy 5.7. With the beginning of the Republican power shift, production packed up and moved to Texas to be closer to oil millionaires who would soon rule/ruin the world. The 1994 re-deux took the "D" body into the world of suppository-based styling complete with Corvette-derived LT-1 350, but in reality it was just a re-skin with the same frame and underbody of Grandpa's car. GM corporate greed and America's thirst for pickup trucks finally made the plant more desirable for more profitable mobile gun rack production and the last GM rear wheel drive passenger car was retired, but only after Elvis and 1.7 million examples had left the building for the last time.

20 years? The (separate) frame, main body structure (more steel alone than most complete cars) is the same from the first to the last. Panel for panel all are the same until '93, when the got out the hasp and rounded out the edges. But nothing else built by Detroit comes even close, so I think we have a strong candidate for the something that was truly Big Three built "big iron" and didn't finish out its production life in exile in Argentina (though likely this was the car exiles in Argentina where driving)..

]]>
http://jalopnik.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5368575&view=rss&microfeed=true
<![CDATA[Richard Hammond Crashes $183,000 Morgan Aeromax!]]> Top Gear star Richard Hammond's reportedly been involved in a road crash while driving his £110,000 Morgan Aeromax. The star, who escaped death after a 288 MPH jet car crash, was apparently involved in a four-car incident near Gloucester.

Reports claim the accident, which occurred Saturday around noon, is said to have involved a BMW 3-Series, a Volvo V40, and a Nissan Almera, as well as Hammond's Morgan. BBC spokespeople are quoted only as saying the presenter had been involved in a minor collision and was unharmed. Phew! (Hat tip to Mike!) [Yahoo! UK]

]]>
http://jalopnik.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5333487&view=rss&microfeed=true
<![CDATA[In Morgan's New Convertible, It's Drinking And Driving]]> We’ve already told you about Morgan’s $187,000 Aero SuperSports with its T-top and 4.8-liter BMW V8. What we didn't mention is the twin champagne bottle holder behind the leather bucket seats — complete with flutes.

Morgan’s new car had its first official day out at the Villa d’Este in April as part of the new car competition at the Concorso d’Eleganza. Based on last year’s AeroMax coupé, the SuperSports is built on the same ash bonded aluminum frame and powered by the same gorgeous 367 HP Bavarian V8, messerschmitting its way through quad sidepipes. Morgan has published a wealth of images about the car, yet failed to include one of its coolest feature: leather straps tucked in behind the passenger compartment for holding booze.

Although Charles Morgan’s quote in the company press release certainly hints at things:

The Morgan Aero SuperSports is a luxurious flamboyant sports car which also remains true to Morgan’s philosophy of lightweight minimalist simplicity. It is a celebration of our love of cars and the romance of travel and is a fitting model to announce during Morgan’s Centenary year.

The romance of travel! Their lightweight convertible will top out at 170 MPH, which must make for quite a challenge in popping and pouring champagne. Still—it is refreshing to see a car company embrace the decadent side of life. Fortunate for them that they don’t happen to be based in the United States: the federal warning labels would blot out the sun. And you certainly don’t want that to happen in a handbuilt convertible, now, do you?

Photos by the author.

]]>
http://jalopnik.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5287864&view=rss&microfeed=true
<![CDATA[Morgan Aero SuperSports Gives Us Wood]]> Based on last year's Morgan Aeromax Coupe, the Aero SuperSports drops its top in the name of modern performance with a retro feel. The wood-framed convertible can hit speeds in excess of 170 MPH.

Compared to that coupe, the main difference is two removable roof panels capable of fitting in the newly spacious trunk. Morgan claims these give the car coupe-like refinement when in place, we're just excited to see the company finally adopting 1970s T-top technology. The SuperSports also rides 1.6 inches lower than the coupe, but shares its 4.8-liter, 367 HP BMW V8. That engine takes it to 60 MPH in just 4.5 seconds.

The chassis is an extruded and bonded aluminum affair equipped with double wishbone suspension. On top of that sits an Ash frame, onto which the aluminum bodywork is attached. That wooden frame is a hallmark of the Morgan brand.


"Ash gives us a unique combination of strength and flexibility and it's also extremely light, which is why the car only weighs [2,425 Lbs], and has such impressive performance," says marketing director Matthew Parkin.

That chassis is also shared with the Morgan Aero Eight GT3, currently campaigning in the FIA GT3 Championship. Morgan says it "exceeds global crash standards."

The Morgan Aero SuperSports adopts an interior inspired by traditional Morgan Roadsters and is distinctly pre war looking, but features dual airbags. At around $187,000, we'd take one of these over much faster, but ultimately classless cars like the Bugatti Veyron or whatever Lamborghini is selling to the Russians these days.

Aero SuperSports
As part of the Centenary celebrations Morgan announces a truly special model.

Designed and engineered in house, the Morgan Aero SuperSports is a lightweight aluminium sports car with a luxurious specification. The interior features a comfortable combination of polished hardwoods, hand stitched leather and electronic technology to create a driving environment that is efficient, ergonomic and sumptuous. In spite of all this opulence the overall weight of the car is still minimal so the car is responsive to driver inputs and economical to run. The unique way Morgan can achieve this is down to our use of aircraft style superformed aluminium outer panels and the skills of our craftsmen to hand finish the assembly of each car.

This technology debuted in the 100 AeroMax coupes built by the factory in 2008 and 2009.

Such was demand for this model, that Morgan have taken the decision to produce the Morgan Aero SuperSports. A limited edition, the car makes use of two aluminium detachable roof panels. These can either turn the car effectively in to a coupe or when detached bring fresh air and the aromas of the seasons to the driving experience without undue wind disturbance to spoil the journey. The panels can be stored conveniently in the boot.

The car of course benefits from the lightweight aluminium Aero chassis which is adhesively bonded for class leading rigidity. Exceeding global crash protection standards, this is also the platform used by the Morgan Aero Eight GT3 currently competing successfully in the 2009 International FIA GT3 Championship. This chassis combined with the aluminium 4.8 litre BMW V8 engine and a choice of 6 speed automatic or manual gearboxes offers an unrivalled driving experience. No other automatic car offers such dynamic power transmission.

Drawn by Matthew Humphries, and engineered for production by the experienced "Morgan Design" team, the new Aero Super Sports is due to enter production in early 2010. A deposit of £25,000 is required to ensure the supply of one of these exciting new models. It is anticipated to cost around £127,000 including VAT.

Charles Morgan, Grandson of the founder said " The Morgan Aero SuperSports is a luxurious flamboyant sports car which also remains true to Morgan's philosophy of lightweight minimalist simplicity. It is a celebration of our love of cars and the romance of travel and is a fitting model to announce during Morgan's Centenary year."

[Morgan Motors via Autocar]

]]>
http://jalopnik.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5226093&view=rss&microfeed=true
<![CDATA[Does a Se7en Come With Cupholders?]]> Need proof that some Londoners are mad enough to have a Westfield as their daily driver? Look no further.

In the preface to the book Speed, Style and Beauty about his bollocks car collection, Ralph Lauren wrote that his first car was a Morgan. He chose it because, as he put it, it was driven by the kind of people who leave the canvas top down even in the driving snow. Lunatics, in other words, but lunatics of the most agreeable kind.

Morgan is, of course, a British carmaker, and in its home country, an even more poignant example of said lunacy is on display: a Westfield Seven parked right out on the street.

With patches of moss thriving where the front fenders meet the hood—an environment made especially pleasant by the warmth of the exhaust pipe and the regular rains that soak London. The next one, in fact, was about to arrive.

It is no wonder Britain once built the world’s mightiest empire. Who else would be tough enough to drive a car in the city whose driver’s seat is millimeters from the asphalt and requires you to embark kayak-style: foot-ass-foot, that is.

These are also the people who have their water pipes running on the outside of walls. Toughness and lunacy are, indeed, not very distant cousins.

But as far as those cupholders go? You already know the answer.

]]>
http://jalopnik.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5225736&view=rss&microfeed=true
<![CDATA[Morgan Aero 8]]> Perhaps now you understand the troubles we go through to select the lineup of the first 50 cars to fill the stalls of the Jalopnik Fantasy Garage. We presented to you theCaparo T1, warts and all, for consideration of the garage without the benefit of flowery prose or over the top hyperbole — the car itself is hyperbole enough. We wanted to see how a game-changing supercar would stand up to the harsh scrutiny of an unsoftened voting block because frankly, we're tired of everything getting in so easily. This is about whittling things down to a sharpened point, debating the merits and pitfalls of some of the greatest mechanical symphonies ever built, this should be a knock down drag out fight to get into the garage — that is unless we're talking about the Morgan Aero 8.

Morgan-Aero-8-2.jpg
Morgan is one of those companies you have to love. For all practical purposes they are the last of a dying breed, a company which weighs profit motive and passion on equal terms — craftsman as well as enthusiasts. When the whole world went crazy and abandoned everything traditional, Morgan soldiered on, producing their delightful, ash framed Morgan Plus 8, a legendary car in its own right, lauded for its lively handling and hairy knuckled driving personality. But while half-century old designs are quaint and draw a certain customer, everyone gets the urge to brave new paths, and Morgan set out to remake its image with the Aero 8.
Morgan-Aero-8-3.jpg
The story of the Aero 8 is very much a story of traditionalists finding new ways, getting out of their baked in mindset and reconsidering what they could do with what they know how to do. Much like every other car company started doing two decades ago, Morgan began using computers. Not only did they use computers, but they did it well. The frame would be constructed of bonded and riveted aluminum extrusions mated with kiln dried Belgian ash, and covered in an aluminum skin. As long time engine supplier Rover fell into a death rattle, a new engine was needed for this much higher performance car. There is a blind quote attributed to a BMW engineer who, upon seeing the prototype for the first time, remarked "At last, here's a car worthy of my engine" and so it was. The heart of the Aero 8 is a BMW supplied 4.4L V8 which develops a stout 325 HP, and considering the car weighs in at 2500 lbs. the power is positively stupendous. That power is harnessed by a suspension which resembles a racing car more than a road car, it is fully independent with inboard mounted springs and dampers all around.
Morgan-Aero-8-4.jpg
We could go on about how this car goes round the track fast enough to beat most others at or above its price range, how it bites on corners like a teething pit bull puppy, or how the interior is swaddled in cow and machine-turned steel... but that's not the 800 lb gorilla in the room now is it? All of those things are certainly reason for admiration, but the glaring fact is the glaring fact - its eyes were crossed. One would think the British motoring press would have been swinging from the chandeliers when the new car debuted at the 2000 Geneva Motor Show, but they raked it over the coals. London's Daily Telegraph called it "stupendously ugly". We couldn't agree and disagree more. The Aero 8 is ugly, but ugly badass — it wears its sheet metal with a certain braggadocio only a stupendously ugly car with stupendously amazing heritage and stupendously impressive performance can. The world is a boring place when everything looks like a Porsche or a Ferrari. Drive one of these and you know you're not following the crowd. Not only does this car fly in the face of the modern styling aesthetic, it quashes notions of what a sports car should be.
Morgan-Aero-8-5.jpg
The Morgan Aero 8 is a modern interpretation of all that is good an pure about motoring. It is a fourteen foot long testament to the idea that cars do not have to make sense or be beautiful to be spectacular. A velvet hammer designed on its own terms, without bothering to glance at those who would claim to be its competition. The Aero 8 is the only car you can still buy new which makes us want to wear driving goggles when the top is down, and for that we want it in our fantasy garage.

Gawker Media polls require Javascript; if you're viewing this in an RSS reader, click through to view in your Javascript-enabled web browser.

The Jalopnik Fantasy Garage:
1978 Aston Martin V8 Vantage | Honda 1300 Coupe 9 | 1931 Daimler Double Six 50 Corsica Drophead Coupe | Ferrari 288 GTO | Chevrolet Corvette ZR-1 | 1970 Buick GSX 455 | First Generation BMW M Coupe | Bugatti Veyron 16.4 | Ford GT | Citroen SM | Porsche 928 | Jensen FF | DeTomaso Vallelunga | Audi Quattro S1 | Buick GNX | Nissan Skyline R34 GT-R | Honorary Fantasy Garager: The LS1 Powered Rotus | Lamborghini LM002 | Shelby Cobra Daytona Coupe | Ferrari 250 GTO | Bentley Speed Six | Talbot-Lago T150C SS Figoni et Falaschi Raindrop/Teardrop Coupe | Porsche 917 | Audi RS4 Avant | Lamborghini Miura | Mercedes-Benz 450SEL 6.9 | BMW E39 M5 | Jaguar E-type | Mercedes-Benz 300 SL | Dodge Charger/Challenger R/T | Toyota 2000GT | Facel Vega HK500 | Voisin C28 Aerosport | Bugatti Type 41 Royale | McLaren F1 | Maserati Bora | Continental MK II | Tucker 48 | Aston Martin DB4 GT Zagato | BMW 507 | Porsche 959 | 1925 Rolls-Royce Phantom 1 Jonckheere Coupe | Land Rover Defender | Lotus Eleven | Cadillac Eldorado Brougham | 1963 Mini Cooper S | 1934 Duesenberg Model SJ | Caparo T1

sources: USAAutoparts, Morgan Cars; photo credit to chimpaction

]]>
http://jalopnik.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=380368&view=rss&microfeed=true
<![CDATA[Morgan LifeCar Up Close and Personal]]> Even though we already saw the details of the Morgan LifeCar concept just a couple of weeks ago, Geneva is the first time it's been on display for all to see, and it's strangely delicate. The hydrogen fuel cell-powered LifeCar is a concept directed at a possible future for the builder of ash-framed always-been-retro sports cars. The exterior design follows that history, and the interior, while beautiful can easily be described as brutal in is cleanliness. Steam-bent plywood covered in hand stitched leather, a wood-rimmed steering wheel and a single gauge in the speedometer all find their way inside the LifeCar. It feels as though Morgan decided the juxtapose the high tech power train against an elegantly simple yet handsome interior.

]]>
http://jalopnik.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=363442&view=rss&microfeed=true
<![CDATA[Morgan Unveils LifeCar Details Ahead Of Geneva]]> Morgan is building the LifeCar to demonstrate, "that a zero emission vehicle can also be fun to drive." The tiny English car maker - better known for wood framed roadsters - is trying to do what no car maker has done before it: bring to market a fast, fun, desirable sports car that makes no sacrifices for its hydrogen fuel cell.

Built on the same basic architecture as the Aero8, the LifeCar is given a more futuristic art-deco look as well as a significant reduction in weight. By combining that low weight with high levels of hybridization, Morgan predict the LifeCar will have performance to match a sports car while achieving a 200-mile fuel range.

Charles Morgan, the company's Strategy Director, told CarBodyDesign, "The real challenge is to design and build a car that is fun to drive - a proper sports car. The use of ultra capacitors to store the surplus energy and then use this for acceleration and braking does promise a dynamic ride, especially when combined with our ultra light chassis. The pairing of weight to a minimum is our strength, and allows a much smaller fuel cell than conventionally thought necessary. This gives energy and yet more weight savings." [Via CarBodyDesign]

Morgan will debut the car at the Geneva Motor Show in March.

]]>
http://jalopnik.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=356134&view=rss&microfeed=true
<![CDATA[Project Car Hell, Angry Seller Edition: MG-TC or Morgan?]]> Yesterday's NSU-versus-Jensen matchup produced a near-tie, with the Interceptor holding a razor-thin lead at the time of this writing. We've been focusing on British iron quite a bit lately, since most of us seem to love and fear such cars in roughly equal measure, but it's probably time for us to leave the UK for a while, right? No dice, Jack- you're in Hell, remember, where the Prince of Darkness reigns! Let's go back, back, back in time for today's contestants, and to add yet another layer of difficulty, we're going to go with a pair of cars offered by seriously grumpy sellers. Thanks to tipster (and Morgan owner) Benjamin for pulling our coat about these cars!


Apparently, the seller of this '49 MG TC has been deluged with insulting and/or combative emails about his car for quite a while now, judging by such statements as "If you do not understand the difference between a wood framed steel panelled body and fiberglass, please leave me alone. I do not need to be told this is a kit car by any more idiots. Nor do I care if you object to the modifications!" But... the question remains; what is this car, really? It's got a '79 Capri engine, Alfa Romeo wheels, and all manner of fiberglass, wood, and aluminum body modifications, so we're not sure how much MG is left. Still, the seller claims there's room for a small-block in the engine compartment- now there's an idea that gets our Stamp-O-Approval- and the price is just $5800.

Think an MG, even a '49, is just too common? You might want to size up the idea of buying this '56 Morgan 4/4, wooden frame and all. The original engine is long gone, replaced by a 1600cc unit out of an MGA, and it's missing all sorts of pieces. The asking price of $10,500 seems a bit steep as well, but as the seller says, "Sorry for the price, sorry that it is an old oil leaking English car, sorry I could not accept your 30% offer." The body has plenty of surface rust, but it seems to be of the non-penetrating California variety. You'd feel pretty snazzy- and pretty poor- after you got this fine British machine back on the road again!

Gawker Media polls require Javascript; if you're viewing this in an RSS reader, click through to view in your Javascript-enabled web browser.

]]>
http://jalopnik.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=299377&view=rss&microfeed=true
<![CDATA[Geneva Next Year: Morgan LifeCar Fuel-Cell Concept Coming in 2008]]> Morgan, the UK builder of great traditional roadsters with wooden subframes, released more info about its new bid for emissions-free motoring. As part of the company's ongoing LifeCar project, first announced in 2005, Morgan's planning to roll out a hydrogen fuel-cell concept car at the 2008 Geneva show. It's a major joint effort, with help from Oscar Automotive, Cranfield University, QinetiQ, Oxford University and Linde. A rendering of the concept shows a car with design tropes of the Aero 8 combined with 1930s-era streamlining. No word on a roadster model, but how could they not?

[Morgan LifeCar via Edmunds Inside Line]

Related:
More on Morgan's Hydrogen-Powered LIFECar; Morgan Gets Into Hydrogen [internal]

]]>
http://jalopnik.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=242896&view=rss&microfeed=true
<![CDATA[Morgan to Build AeroMax Coupe in Limited Run]]>

Well-heeled Morgan fans will spit their Chateau d'Yquem (at $100 a mouthful) when they hear the news: Morgan Motor Cars is building a limited run of the AeroMax Coupe — formerly a bespoke model created for a Swiss banker — starting in January 2008. Only 100 of the coachbuilt coupes will be built — one or two per week — with a 100th-anniversary model rolling off the line in 2009. Pricing in the UK is 94,000 ($174,000). Zurich enough? [Thanks to Zerin for the tip.]

Related:
Morgan Aeromax: A Swiss Banker's Custom Ride [internal]

]]>
http://jalopnik.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=184659&view=rss&microfeed=true
<![CDATA[Morgan's New Four-Seat Roadster]]>

We simply must apologize to the Morgan people for missing their model debut in Geneva (that's it, next year we bring the entourage). The UK company launched its new, four-seat roadster that didn't forget the family (what was that ad for again?). In a slight departure from the old Morgan Plus 4, which was offered with 2+2 seating, the Morgan 4 has full-size seats in the rear that fold down for cargo. It's offered with a range of Ford Duratec engines from a 145 bhp 2.0-liter four to a 3.0-liter six producing 223bhp, and base prices range from the UK equivalent of $54,000 to $68,000.

morgan_4seater_2.jpg

morgan_4seater.jpg

morgan_4seat_int.jpg

Related:
Morgan to Unveil Four-Place Car in Geneva [internal]

]]>
http://jalopnik.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=158816&view=rss&microfeed=true
<![CDATA[Morgan to Unveil Four-Place Car in Geneva]]>

Abandoning three wheels is a perilously slippery slope toward building four-seat cars, apparently. After years of subsisting on Pluses and Aeros, the quirky British sports car manufacturer is ready to sic a four-seat roadster on us. Hewing more toward the classical side than the radically cross-eyed, BMW-powered Aero 8, the four seater will be available with 2.0L, 145hp four and a 3.0 V6 cranking out 223 horses. No word on what percentage of the car will be made of wood. [Thanks to Neil for the tip.]

Morgan to Unveil Four-Seater [Gizmag]

Related:
More On Morgan's Hydrogen-Powered LIFECar [Internal]

]]>
http://jalopnik.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=144627&view=rss&microfeed=true
<![CDATA[More on Morgan's Hydrogen-Powered LIFECar]]>

Earlier this year, we reported on sports-car builder Morgan's work toward building a hydrogen-powered take on its famed roadsters. Now, we've got an image to match the concept. The result is the LIFECar, a one-seater based on the Morgan Aero Eight, which employs a fuel cell powering four electric motors, one at each drive wheel. Of course, half the fun of a Morgan is the possibility of being flung over the elbow-height doors and into a tree during a particularly heinous country curve. (We're pretty sure the driver of a multimillion-dollar LIFECar may not enjoy that degree of uncertainty.) Still, if the company's timeline is correct, it may have one of the first hydrogen cars in production.

LIFECar project promises an efficient high performance fuel cell sports car within three years [Gizmag]

Related:
Morgan Gets Into Hydrogen [internal]

]]>
http://jalopnik.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=127292&view=rss&microfeed=true
<![CDATA[Morgan Gets Into Hydrogen]]>

Yes, that Morgan, builder of cars that still use wood as a structural element. Charles Morgan is working with a research firm called Qinetiq on a high-performance, fuel cell-powered sports car, to be called the LIFEcar. Due to drop in about three years, the LIFEcar is designed to show folks that hydrogen can be more than just a performance-enhancer for nuclear weapons and fuel for iconic album cover art. Quoth Morgan: "What's really exciting about driving? Perhaps the noise has nothing to do with it. Perhaps it's possible to make a car that's completely quiet, that drives like a sports car makes you feel every bit of the road but all you hear is a whoosh." We'll take ours with the Ferrari V-12 quadraphonic soundtrack option, thanks.

Do Sports Cars and Hydrogen Mix? [Fuel Cell Works]

Related:
Morgan Aeromax: A Swiss Banker's Custom Ride [Internal]

]]>
http://jalopnik.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=121812&view=rss&microfeed=true
<![CDATA[Morgan Roadster Coming to America]]>

Morgan, maker of fine, hand-built sports cars, will bring a limited series of 82 two-seat Roadster models to the US later this year. Just as when they were introduced in 1960, the Roadsters ride on en frames — which may or may not be fashioned by a secret team of elves and ex-keyboardists from 1970s British heavy-metal acts. Despite underpinnings of ash, the cars are powered by 225hp, 3.0-liter V6s lifted from Ford's European Mondeo. As per US standardization, they've got airbags, along with leather upholstery and walnut dashboard. Plus, a built-in time machine can transport drivers back to the glory days of British motoring. At $73,500, plus shipping, it's a bargain, if just for the working. [Update: For clarification's sake — and so not to overstate the wood-to-steel proportion in the Morgan's makeup — it's got ash frame and a steel chassis. Thanks, Jack.]

Coming to America: Morgan "Roadster" [Edmunds]

Related:
Morgan Aeromax: A Swiss Banker s Custom Ride [internal]

]]>
http://jalopnik.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=121768&view=rss&microfeed=true