Morgan Supersports

This is the Morgan Aero Supersports. It comes in Morgan’s centenary year, and celebrates in typically striking style.

It is essentially a more open version of the Aeromax coupe, sharing its 4.8-litre V8. The 362bhp, 370lb ft unit is sourced from BMW. The engine’s made of aluminium, much like the car’s body panels, detachable roof panels and chassis. The result is a kerb weight of around 1100kg; impressively low on what’s a pretty luxurious V8 coupe.

Those roof panels are the key to setting the Supersports apart from the Aeromax. They switch the car from coupe to roadster in a more traditional manner than most rivals’ folding metal roof electrickery.

The Aero Supersports is available with six-speed manual and automatic transmissions, with Morgan bigging up the auto – ‘no other automatic car offers such dynamic power transmission’ – as not just being a soft option.

Charles Morgan, Grandson of the company’s founder, said ‘the Morgan Aero Supersports is a luxurious flamboyant sports car which also remains true to Morgan's philosophy of lightweight minimalist simplicity. It is a celebration of our love of cars and the romance of travel and is a fitting model to announce during Morgan's centenary year.’

Production begins early next year, with a price tag of £127,000 if you’re interested. You’ll need to slap down a £25K deposit if you are. And for once, US buyers will be able to invest – thanks to a strengthened platform, the Aero Supersports passes appropriate crash tests and can be sold in America. 200 examples are planned for production, and 50 of those could make it across the Pond…