Morgan are looking for owners of race prepared Roadster V6 (including the Roadster Lightweight V6), Plus 8s and Plus 4s, who would be willing to lend their car for a 7-lap celebrity race.

In return for the loan of your vehicle, your car will be fully insured and we will provide a new set of tyres before or after the race, any other requests will be given immediate consideration.

Owners will also receive:

•    2 x 3 day admission tickets f/ Silverstone Classic
•    2 places pre-race hospitality with celebrities
•    2 passes to VIP Paddock Assembly Walk
•    2 places post-race hospitality with celebrities
•    Signed photograph of owner with celebrity driver
•    Duplicate trophies for 1st, 2nd and 3rd

Morgan need owners support to make this charitable event a success. Each car driven by a celebrity will raise a minimum of £2,000.00 for The Bobby Moore Cancer Research UK.

Morgan are looking for 15-20 cars – can you help?

The celebrities currently involved are: -

•    Cerys Matthews
•    Richard Hughes
•    Tom Chaplin
•    Jonny Saunders
•    Rick Parfitt Jnr
•    Richard Allinson
•    Brendan Cole
•    Heston Blumenthal
•    Lord Charles Brocket
•    Paul O’Duffy
•    Neil Primrose
•    Charley Boorman
•    Comedy Dave
•    Frankie Poultney
•    Clive Tyldesley
•    Claire Tomlinson
•    Matthew Wright
•    David Seaman

Although, in speaking with Jayne of MMC, there were some other exciting names possibly being added to the event; therefore, this list is by no means complete!

For more information and to support this extremely worthwhile event, please contact Jayne Jones of Morgan Motor Company on: -

Telephone: 01684 580745
or email: Jayne.jones@morgan-motor.co.uk

Please mention Morgan Car News, so that Jayne knows where you heard about this event. If you would like to discuss this event or view the official Morgan letter for the Silverstone Classic Celebrity Race, you can visit Talk Morgan.

Kevin Matthews of Maximise Potential sums of this exciting conversation perfectly: -

“Tim Whitworth, Finance Director of Morgan, has the unenviable task of making the numbers balance within this last remaining marquee of British Motoring history.

Yet Tim views this responsibility as one of the best challenges he could ever be faced with, due to his clear passion and genuine attachment to the brand.

He considers himself to be an unconventional Finance Director, who takes as much interest in the human aspects of the company as the numbers, citing Morgan’s collaborative working culture as key to so much of the company’s success.

This is a great opportunity to go behind the scenes of Morgan and also the man responsible for it’s finances, in this very informative and candid interview.”

You can listen to Tim’s interview by following this link to Maximise Potential. We hope you enjoy listening to it.

The latest discussion is with Steve Morris, Operations Director, and covers a wide range of subjects, which includes: evolution of the Morgan Motor Company, efficiency within production and manufacture, supplier relationships, personal career progression and how government legislation is effecting the automotive industry within the United Kingdom.

Steve’s interview is number 2 in this 4 part series and will be followed with the penultimate interview with Tim Whitworth, Financial Director, and concludes with Charles Morgan, Managing Director. We will bring these to your attention as soon as they have been published. To listen to the interview with Steve Morris, follow this link.

Maximise Potential, a site which conducts inspirational interviews, have just released the first of these interviews – 1 of a 4 part series. Part one is with Matt Humphries, Head of Design for Morgan, and the conversation ranges from Matt’s step from Coventry University to working with MMC, the prototype Morgan Aeromax up to the most recent developments at Morgan Motor Company.

The interview is available on both the Maximise Potential site or via iTunes podcast section, using the search term Maximise Potential. People who listen to the interview via iTunes will have the opportunity to subscribe to the podcast and will automatically be made aware when the next three episodes are published. The next three segments are with Steve Morris (Operations Director), Tim Whitworth (Financial Director) and the Charles Morgan (Managing Director),

The Morgan Car News will also list these exciting, exclusive, future interviews as soon as they are published.

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.

For those of you who are unfamiliar with the vehicle in question, it is the limited production run Aero SuperSports: powered by a 4.8 BMW V8, with 362bhp and 370lb ft of torque, the light weight aluminium chassis and body, (total vehicle weight 1,175 kg), allow this sports car to sprint from rest to 62 mph in 4.5 seconds.

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.