“During the past 6 months, Morgan has secured funding from the Technology Strategy Board (TSB) to allow it to participate in and manage a £1.4 million collaborative project to use revolutionary materials in a chassis application. The project named MagMog consists of 5 partners who are all experts in their relevant fields. The project partners are:

· Morgan Motor Company Ltd – Lead Partner in the project

· Penso Consulting Ltd – a design house with expertise in several premium sportscar designs.

· Superform Aluminium – the current supplier of Morgan Motor Company wings and body panels, Superform have the forming knowledge required to make this project succeed.

· Coventry University – Specialists in panel joining and fatigue testing

· Magnesium Elektron UK – the world’s largest manufacturer of Magnesium sheet, M.E. have unrivalled knowledge in all areas of Magnesium usage.

The MagMog chassis development project started on November 1st 2011. The project aims to develop appropriate technologies to enable magnesium alloy to be used as the primary material in the construction of a body-in-white structure for the EvaGT. This will improve structural performance at a reduced comparative weight. Magnesium is the lightest structural metal available, 30% less dense than aluminium and is the eighth most abundant elements globally. Due to its inherent properties, use of sheet magnesium for vehicle structural applications will require hot-forming, increasingly being adopted by premium car manufacturers as it can produce larger and more complex panels. Morgan Motor Company intends to provide the initial route to market by adopting the developed technologies on its next generation of premium sports car, the EvaGT.

This project, along with Morgan Motor Company’s desire to exceed the standard safety requirements for the EvaGT has resulted in the planned launch date being delayed. We now intend to launch the EvaGT at the 2014 Geneva Motorshow. While this delay is undesirable and inconvenient, we have taken the decision to pursue these projects to ensure the EvaGT is at the forefront of both environmental and safety technology.”

For more images of the Morgan 2+2 coupe EvaGT sports car, or to join the discussion of this positive step forward for MMC, you can visit Talk Morgan.

2012 Morgan EvaGT

The Morgan Eva GT had it’s world premier today at Pebble Beach Concours. This exciting new 2+2 fixed head coupe from Morgan Motor Company follows in the success of the limited production Morgan AeroMax.

MMC issued a press release along with launch drawings of the latest Morgan to grace the automotive stage. Here is what the company say about the Eva GT: -

“Morgan EvaGT (specification subject to change)

The goal is to manufacture a practical car that could be used everyday and answer all a family’s transport needs. Although it has two large doors the car can seat four adults and has a large boot (reference the current Morgan Aero SuperSport, but it is considerably deeper on the EvaGT with a full hatch style entry). As all Morgans the car will be fun to drive with sensitive hydraulic power steering and excellent balance. The mass is evenly distributed within the axles and the car has short overhangs.

Specification

Weight 1250 kgs

Rear wheel drive

BMW Twin Turbo straight six.

306 Bhp 400 nm torque

Choice of 6 speed manual or automatic gearbox.

ABS Brakes

Electronic Stability Control

Euro 6 and US EPA (auto only) approved

200 gms Co2/km

40 mpg 7.06 litres/100 kms

Predicted 0-60 (100km/h) 4.5 secs

Predicted V/max 170mph/273 km/h

The powertrain of the EvaGT has been developed over 3 years using BMW facilities for high speed testing, hot weather sign off and emission testing.

Chassis

Designed on Catia

A development of the Aero SuperSports platform currently used in production and for the Morgan Aero SuperSports GT3 race cars

Compliant with US and European Safety standards

Continental Smart Airbag System

Bodywork

Designed in Alias

Aerodynamically efficient

Superplastically formed panels made from lightweight alloys. The large outer panels are adhesively bonded to inner panels that are predrilled for interior features.

Xenon lights

Wireless canbus system for reliability

Morgan EvaGT at Pebble Beach 2010

EPDM rubber seals with varying shore hardness for a quiet seal to suit the aperture

Minimal shutlines

Electronic window drop

GPS system with Apple connectivity

The Morgan Motor Company is taking orders with a request for a deposit of £5000 to ensure an early allocated build slot. The first 100 cars are planned for production to begin in mid 2012.”

We hope you enjoy these photos from the Pebble Beach launch; for more images of the Morgan EvaGT click here.

At a time of global conservation with a drive towards improved fuel economy the Morgan Motor Company introduces a new concept for a sporting family, the Morgan EvaGT. The four seater Coupe takes its inspiration from the British sports saloons of the early 1950’s. Among these were the Bristol 400 series and the Frazer Nash BMW 328. After the Second World War rationing forced designers to conserve and make the most of the materials at their disposal. However the pressure cooker of war had also led to an abundance of innovative engineering ideas. Steel was scarce so lightweight aluminium was used for bodywork. Smooth “in-line” straight six cylinder engines were fitted to give long distance comfort and reliability. Because the engineers had often worked on aircraft development during the war aerodynamics contributed to high but economical cruising speeds.

The Morgan Motor Company is the last survivor of these British sports car manufacturers. Of course the company is lucky enough to have 100 years of continuous success behind it and like Bristol and Frazer Nash; Morgan has a history of successful collaborations with German suppliers BMW, Siemens and Bosch. But Morgan also works with a number of young engineering companies in the United Kingdom and with world class British university research departments.

The new challenge is to make cars that are more efficient than any we have seen so far. The Morgan Motor Company is in a good position to respond to this challenge because the company is small and flexible with a proven track record of fast development cycles. It currently manufactures one of the greenest sports cars in the world, the Morgan Four Four Sport. Morgan achieves this result with the use of the new Ford 1.6 Sigma engine coupled with a light chassis. Morgan currently has a young well qualified technical team working towards a potential 5 engineering PHD’s, who will make full use of research departments at the University of Oxford, Cranfield and Birmingham City to tap into a technical knowledge network to make more efficient cars. This team is helping to develop a high torque electric motor twice as powerful as others of the same weight and size and a powerful lithium phosphate battery with a higher charge density to achieve the most efficient performance for weight so far.

The dynamic team at Morgan has made a commitment from 2010 that they will bring out a new model every two years. The legendary sports car manufacturer will target new niches…..electric sports cars, a fun weekend vehicle and the first of the new cars will be the Morgan EvaGT, a four seater Coupe aimed at young families, with a bit of drama or automotive theatre as we like to call it. This is a revolution for a car company famous for making the same car for 50 years!

The Morgan EvaGT
Brief provisional specification

Chassis:
The Morgan EvaGT makes full use of clever technologies that the Morgan Motor Company has developed to manufacture a lightweight car. Morgan was one of the first car companies to see the advantage of a bonded aluminium chassis to give rigidity but also to save weight. The EvaGT uses a further developed version of the bonded aluminium chassis of the Morgan Aero SuperSports, a chassis that successfully competes in International GT3 Sports Car Racing. Compliant with European and US safety approvals.

Bodywork:
Morgan was the first car company in 1995 to see the benefit of superformed aluminium, an aircraft technology, to manufacture smooth accurate body parts. Morgan Design have sculpted a new shape for the Morgan EvaGT that focuses on natural materials and understands their unique technical properties. Using computer technology in design and in manufacture to ensure accuracy, the parts are then hand finished to make sure they feel as good as they look. A perfect “A” class surface, minimal shut lines, hidden wipers, flush door handles and sharp creases deflect air over the surface of the car. The new Morgan EvaGT represents a philosophy of lightweight luxury that embraces authenticity, sustainability and innovation achieving its final result through the process of skilled craftsmanship.

Technical Specification (subject to change):
BMW 3 litre straight six mono twin turbo with direct petrol injection 306bhp and 400nm torque

• Euro 5 and 6 compliant at 200 gms Co2/km, US FMVSS, CARB and EPA approved.
• 40 mpg / 7.06 litres/100kms
• 6 speed sport automatic or 6 speed manual gearbox.
• Rear wheel drive with fully independent intelligent suspension
• Aluminium body panels with a laminated internal safety structure.
• Predicted weight of 2755 lbs/1250 kg
• Predicted 0-60 mph 4.5 seconds/ 0-100km/h 4.5 seconds
• Predicted top speed 170mph / 273 km/h

Launch
The first public view of the Morgan EvaGT will be at the 60th Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance, Carmel, California, USA on the 15th August 2010.

The Morgan Motor Company will be taking orders worldwide with a request for a deposit of £5000 from prospective clients for an allocated build slot. The first 100 cars of a limited run are planned to begin production mid 2012 and the “on-road” price will be competitive for a car of this class.