Morgan Aero 8 for Oz

Morgan Cars Australia has opened the order book for the British car-maker's latest Aero 8, which has now received federal regulatory approval for local roads and will cost about $270,000 Down Under.

That's an indicative retail price, before options and on-road costs.

First Australian deliveries of the Aero 8, which reverts back to its original Aero 8 name and full convertible configuration following several previous iterations including the limited-edition AeroMax, the Aero SuperSports and the Aero Coupe, will commence early next year.

Although it might not look it, the Aero 8 is a cutting-edge 'modern' Morgan – as opposed to some of Morgan's 'Classic' models that date back to 1936 – and the most advanced Morgan car ever produced.

Based around a bonded and welded aluminium chassis and weighing just 1180kg dry, it's powered by a BMW 4.8-litre V8 (matched with both six-speed manual and automatic transmissions) that produces 270kW and 490Nm – enough to propel it to 100km/h in a claimed 4.5 seconds and as fast as 273km/h.

Morgan says the Aero 8's latest chassis benefits from improved torsional stiffness, a revised front-end, all-new suspension, anti-roll bars and a limited-slip differential, resulting in "a more responsive and better handling sports car whist retaining the previous high standard of comfort".

The Aero 8 is available with an optional hard-top that transforms the car into a coupe, while new dashboard arrangements, real wood surrounds, textured box-woven carpets and fine leather trim enhance the new interior.

Features such as air-conditioning and, for the first time in a Morgan, satellite-navigation and Bluetooth connectivity are standard, while a dramatic rear opening clamshell boot is used to both tension and hide the new double-lined mohair hood.

"Whilst all of these attributes and features are available in many luxury sports cars, the Aero 8 offers the perfect marriage of fine craftsmanship and personalization not common in today’s increasingly autonomous world," says Morgan.

Each Aero 8 takes six weeks to handcraft to order at the Morgan factory in Worcestershire, England, and the company says infinite combinations of paint, leather and equipment choices make every example a one-off.