Morgan Aero 8

The Morgan Motor Company is a specialty British manufacturer that builds a small number of hand built motorcars. The company was started in 1909 and is still owned by the Morgan family. They have a quality reputation due to their hand-built, quality approach to car design and manufacturing. Morgan is renowned for combining a unique blend of traditional construction with the latest available technology.

Designed to comply with the rigorous safety standards in the U.S., Morgan has installed the latest generation electronic airbags and ABS which incorporates electronic distribution thru the use of the wheel sensors. They have installed BMW's 4.4 litre V8 which puts out 333 HP and 6100 lbs. of torque. The Aero 8 is equipped with a 6 speed ZF manual gearbox and an automatic transmission was added in 2008. A fine example of the 2006 Morgan Aero 8 is shown above.

The dedication that Morgan has put into lightweight engineering has lead to some real performance gains. The car has a 0-100 kph time of under 4.5 seconds and has the ability to stop from 100 kph in just 35.8 meters or just under 9 car lengths.

Executive Chairman Alan Garnett commented "what has been achieved from our small yet talented is truly noteworthy. To meet the exacting requirements for America is significant even for major manufacturers, and all of this state of the art technology has been packaged into a car that is actually lighter than its predecessor. At just 1145 kg, the performance is astonishing. This version is now on sale worldwide."

A fine example of a 1963 Morgan Plus 4 Drophead was included below for historical purposes.

Aston Martin DB9

A friend has requested that I do some posts on infamous British cars! So I thought that everyone would enjoy a post about the Aston Martin DB9. The Aston Martin DB9 is a world class example of a beautiful fast grand tourer that was launched in 2004.

A prime example of a 2006 DB9 Volante is show below.

Aston Martin has a checkered past with some great cars and the company has seen its fair share of financial troubles. Ford purchased the brand in 1987 and sold the brand in 2007 to a consortium lead by David Richards, a British racing champion. Ford brought stability to the company, substantially increased reliability and left the designers to do what they did best. As a result, they have created fabulous examples of the automobile. The car sounds fabulous also, click here for the video.

The DB in the name stems from David Brown, the owner of Aston Martin for a significant part of its history. The DB9 was designed by Ian Callum and finished by his successor, Henrik Fisker. Ian Callum is an infamous British designer whose work I greatly admire! He has such a sense of style! For more information about him visit a New York Times Blog.

I have to admit that Aston Martin DB9 is one my favorites cars in the world. First, it is a beautifully styled car with some serious motoring performance. Second, did I mention that the car is FAST! The DB9 coupe has a V-12 motor that produces 470 horsepower, produces a 0-60/0-97kn/h speed in 4.6 seconds and a top speed of 190 mph/306 km/h.

DB9 comes in two variants, a coupe and the Volante convertible. There is also a new variant out now which is the DBS which generates 40 more horsepower than the standard DB9. The DBS wears a full carbon-fiber suit which is a first for Aston, and gets carbon-ceramic brakes and adaptive dampers. Shown below is the coupe version of the the DB9.

The DBS generates the numbers promised by a vicious exhaust note and steam roller tires, sprinting to 60 in 4.3 seconds and topping out at 191 mph via a 510-horsepower V-12. Aston is big on the tactile experience; to bring the DBS’s engine to life, you press a sapphire and stainless steel “Emotion Control Unit”—not an ignition button.

Shown below is the 2009 Aston Martin DBS. Click to hear DBS exhaust note !