Classic cars with modern performance technology never get old in our book, especially when the brand in question is Morgan. As one of only a few brands in this world that continues to bridge old school looks with new school technology, Morgan is in a unique place in the industry, one that very few of its contemporaries can even step into.
Morgan’s Aero line-up is the unquestioned money maker of the company. And now, it’s fixing to get a new family member in the Morgan Aero Coupe.
Design details surrounding the Aero Coupe have been pretty vague at this point, but Morgan has said that the car will be slotted between the GT3 Aero8 and the Aeromax Supersports.
But where its design dynamics have yet to be fully revealed, Morgan has made it clear that the Aero Coupe will be sporting the same BMW-sourced 4.8-liter V8 engine as that of the Aero and the Plus8, which means that it’s going to carry an output of 367 horsepower and 361 lb/ft of torque. It will also be mated to a either a six-speed manual or six-speed automatic transmission. As an added treat, Morgan will be offering a custom sports exhaust system that will boost the output of the Aero Coupe to 390 horsepower.
Taking all that into account, the Aero Coupe will carry a 0-62 mph time of 4.5 seconds with a top speed of 155 mph.
Put the word iconic in front of anything and its price will undoubtedly skyrocket. Case in point: The Mercedes 300SL Gullwing is an amazing and iconic model in the history of Mercedes’ vehicles, inspiring many of the models that succeeded, including the SLS AMG. One of the 29 models ever created was put up at the Gooding & Company auction where it was sold for $4.62 million, a new record for this vehicle.
So what’s so special about this Mercedes? Aside from its limited availability, the 300SL Gullwing was built off of the 300SL Racer and features an aluminum alloy body with stiffer, shorter springs that lowered the car and enhanced peak performance. It sits on wider rims housing vented brake drums and was about 200 lbs lighter than the standard steel-bodied version.
The specific Mercedes 300SL Gullwing that was auctioned off had a metallic silver gray exterior finish that was complimented by a blue leather interior. It was also outfitted with Rudge wheels, the NSL motor, and Plexiglas windows per aluminum-build specifications.
High tech dreams, art on wheels, poetry in emotion. This is what AutoExotika promises to feature when the new series kicks off.
What is AutoExotika? It’s a "high energy, high quality, celebration of the world’s most exotic automobiles and the men and women who design, build, collect and drive them." Basically, a team of experts will be filming at iconic racetracks, manufacturing plants, and some of the most amazing roads in order to provide viewers with an eyeful of auto erotica.
Aside from the scintillating vehicles to be presented, AutoExotika will be hosted by race car celebrity Ashley van Dyke, exotic car owner John Temerian, and serving as the brains behind the operation, technical and mechanical guru, Evan Blaustein.
Short of being able to tag along for what promises to be an insane ride, we can’t think of anything better than sitting back and experiencing AutoExotika!
Now we can officially put all the talk to rest. The New Lancia Stratos, a one-off supercar that was built and designed by Pininfarina as a tribute vehicle to the legendary car of the 70’s, will remain a one-off. And we have Ferrari to thank - or blame - for that.
After the immense popularity generated by the New Stratos when it was unveiled a year ago, there was talk that Pininfarina was looking into building a limited run of the supercar for interested customers. But since the project hinged on Ferrari allowing the company to use the 430 Scuderia as the car’s platform, they had to receive the green light from the Italian automaker to proceed with the program.
Unfortunately, those folks from Ferrari have refused to allow a limited production run of the New Stratos with Ferrari CEO Dr. Amadeo Felisa seemingly content with the one-off project that was built for Michael Stoschek.
We’re pretty disappointed to see the Stratos’ renaissance end even before it actually began, but if there’s a silver lining in all of this, it’s that instead of the New Stratos, Koscheck and his people have set their sights on building a modern version of another old-time classic: the Renault Alpine A110 Berlinette. Talks with the French automaker are already in progress so we’re crossing our fingers that the Alpine will come back to our lives the way the New Stratos should have.
We got pretty excited when we saw Ford has brought back the Boss 302 name, but the car has been originally produced in 1969 and 1970. And as the classic version usually is much more appreciated than the current version, RK Motors has brought to our attention a tuning kit based on a 1970 Boss 302. The car went through a full restoration process and now can be yours for $89,900.
If you remember a few months ago RK Motors has unveiled a similar treatment for a 1967 Shelby Supercharged GT500, so we guess the tuner really likes classic cars. For the 1970 Boss 302 kept its completely original, rust-free body panels everywhere except its front fenders. The car is painted in a very cool Grabber Blue paint combined with a trademark flat black rear decklid and spoiler and of course a set of Boss side stripes. The car sits on a new set of 15" chrome Magnum 500 wheels.
Under the hood the tuner has placed a completely rebuilt 302 V8 that delivers a total of 290 HP combined with a 4-speed gearbox. The engine treatment includes a heavy duty block design, original, large port, large valve, free flowing Cleveland heads, a race prepped crank, a solid lifter cam, heavy duty connecting rods, forged pistons and an aluminum intake.
