Following on from the rapturous response that LIFECar received, Morgan Motor Company has decided to take LIFECar from a prototype, to a fully fledged production vehicle. There have been some changes to the original brief, making the car more practical, while retaining the revolutionary features that made LIFECar unique.

In the place of the original hydrogen fuel cell is a super-efficient, series hybrid drivetrain, developed using some of the countries best universities, making use of the wealth of knowledge in their research departments. The drivetrain will power a vehicle that epitomises Morgan core value of innovation. The use of sustainable lightweight materials will ensure that not only is the vehicle fuel efficient with a low carbon output, but that at the end of its very long life, it will be easily recyclable.

Some key figures for the LIFECar are:

• 1000 mile range
• Ultra lightweight (sub 800kg)
• 15 mile EV range
• 0-60mph in 7 seconds
• ~£40,000 Price

Universities involved with LIFECar2 are:

• Birmingham City University
• Oxford University
• Cranfield University

More information on this exciting project as soon as we receive it! in the interim, Talk Morgan has detailed photographs of the interior and exterior of the LIFECar in the member’s section.

MMC and Craig Hamilton-Smith describe their vision for the Morgan garden:

“The Morgan garden celebrates the companies aim for zero emission sports cars.

The three wheeler car at the back of the garden and the zero emission Morgan Sports Car at the front are an example how Morgan have developed over the last 100 years.The Morgan garden, like Morgan, is a mixture of formal structure, but is overlaid with meadow-like planting. This garden will encourage biodiversity, a place where native ecology can thrive.

The garden will be alive with life and movement, catching the wind and light, hopefully there will be something for everyone. This is a garden you could take home and it explores how even with limited space one could have a little piece of meadow. This garden will require relatively little maintenance and consume significantly less resources than a lawn and border.”

The RHS Malvern Spring Show is on from May 6th until the 9th 2010; so why not go and see the wonderful Morgan garden for yourself. The design plan can be found on the Morgan Motor Company web site or via this link.

Morgan Motor Company have this to say about their latest version of the original Morgan 3-Wheeler: -

“In our Centenary year no celebration from a car manufacturer as special as Morgan would be complete without the introduction of a new model.

In keeping with the tradition of doing things our own way, we are delighted to announce a new model – The SuperSport Junior Pedal Car: It’s light,  It’s zero emission and it’s fun!

Designed to be built alongside the normal range of cars at the factory, the 2/3rd scale SuperSports Junior pedal car will appeal to the younger element of the Morgan fraternity. Suitable for 6-13 year olds, it requires energetic pedal power rather than petrol or hydrogen for forward motion. True to our core Morgan values it retains our legendary high power to weight ratio.

Made from only the highest quality materials and featuring a cast aluminium look-alike engine, the limited run of 500 are expected to sell as fast as they move! If you are interested in ordering one of these future collectors items please contact  MMC for brochure and ordering information .”

Further photographs of the Morgan pedal car can be found on Talk Morgan, the Morgan sports car site for owners and enthusiasts.

In a study conducted by by Paul Nieuwenhuis & Peter Wells on behalf of Cardiff University, that measured carbon dioxide output, toxic emissions, and the consumption of raw energy and resources during production, based on the Environmental Rating for Vehicles (ERV),  the Morgan sports car ranked near the top of the heap, surpassed only by the Smart Car. On a scale of two to 60, the Morgan 4/4 was given 24 points which is the same as a Toyota Prius.

“The low weight helps Morgan cars achieve relatively low fuel consumption and as a result relatively low levels of toxic emissions (carbon monoxide, hydrocarbons, NOx and particulates) and CO2 emissions (164g/km for the 4/4 1800 – which is around the EU average for all cars),” quoted from “Why Morgans are Green” by Paul Nieuwenhuis & Peter Wells

You can read the full report on the Morgan Motor Company web site and it really is a worthy read. What a wonderful thought that you can motor past a Toyota Prius in the knowledge that your quintessentially British sports car is less harmful to the environment.

Morgan Motor Company have shown the Aeromax and LIFECar at the Concorso d’Eleganaza Villa d’Este 2008 to an excellent reception.  Both cars were enthusiastically received by judges, journalists and visitors. If you would like to see larger versions of the pictures you can click on the link to Talk Morgan.

New 2008 Morgan 4/4 Sport

Talk Morgan reported that this year the iconic Morgan 4/4 celebrates its 72nd birthday, a world record for a continuous production run, by introducing a new model – the 4/4 Sport.

The name 4/4 denoted the change to 4 wheels back in 1936, and the model has had continuous development ever since, culminating in this, the latest in small, lightweight, safe and fun sportscars using the unique fusion of traditional quality materials with the latest in advanced powertrain technology.

The high efficiency 115Bhp 1.6 litre Ford Sigma engine means that full advantage of the 800 kilogramme all up weight can be made. 143 Bhp/tonne gives lively performance with 0-62 mph in under 8 seconds, and with CO2 emissions well below 140g/km means that the Morgan delivers a thoroughly contemporary package.

The 4/4 Sport sits on lowered suspension, and has been lightened to deliver the most fun for the driver and passenger. Still retaining a generous fixed specification which includes beautiful saddle leather, and a choice of 5 colours (grey (as above), dark navy blue, dark green, ivory and black), the Morgan 4/4 Sport customer can add a variety of personalised packages through the supplying dealer.

Priced at £26,025 including VAT, few cars can deliver more smiles, let alone the combination of low environmental impact, low cost of ownership with the added pleasure of owning a coach-built car. The new Morgan 4/4 sport does all this and more, putting fun back into motoring.

For more information or to discuss this model, click here.