Morgan AeroMax (2008)

The Morgan AeroMax, named after Charles Morgan’s son, Max, stands out as one of the most distinctive and admired Morgans, even by the eccentric standards of the marque. The design is developed on one of the longest standing linages in the history of the motorcar, still featuring an Ash wood structure which can trace its roots back to the Morgan 4/4 from 1938.

However, in terms of design, the AeroMax pushed further outside of this envelope than perhaps any other four wheeled Morgan before or since. The bodywork was penned by Matthew Humpfries, who at barely 21 years of age became Morgan’s first head of design during a placement as part of his studies at Coventry, as they had never had a design department up until the inception of the AeroMax! The model features a distinctive boatail posterior, and a ‘letterbox’ windscreen due to its sloping roofline, a solid roof being a ‘feature’ which few Morgans have ever been adorned with!

The AeroMax, powered by the 4.8 Litre BMW N62 V8, produced over 360bhp, and had power to weight ratio on its side, with over 300bhp/tonne. Aided by a torsionally stiff and light aluminium bonded chassis, it weighed significantly less than any BMW coupe from the same year, which were heavier even in their 2.0 4cyl guise. This blessed the Aeromax with supercar performance at the time, with a claimed top speed exceeding 170 mph. The tractable N62 was paired with either a Getrag manual or ZF automatic, both offering six speeds, with the former highlighting the involving driving experience and the latter enhancing the GT credentials of the AeroMax.

With a price of over £100,000 at the height of the financial crisis in 2008, Morgan still managed to sell all 100 units before production commenced, and their rarity and enigmatic design have endured up to the present day.