Maisto Morgan Aero 8 Metallic Blue 1:18 Scale Special Edition Diecast #31814

Lovely, unboxed, large 1:18 scale (23cm long) detailed diecast model by Maisto of the Morgan Aero 8 series 1 (2000-2004).

Beautiful metallic blue paint, chrome front grille, headlight surrounds, bonnet hinge, windscreen wipers, door handles, rear fuel cap and exhaust tips, dark grey lower front grille, glazed headlights and indicators, silver bonnet latches, windscreen top , door hinges, quarterlights and mirror arms (with body coloured covers and reflective surfaces). Aero 8 rear badge decal, high level brake light decal, glazed rear lights, MORGAN licence plates, black folded down roof.

The doors open to reveal a dark blue soft-touch leather-effect interior with wood door caps and dashboard top, machined aluminium effect centre console, gear lever surround and dashboard, black gear lever with gear shift pattern in white, handbrake with chrome handle, silver pedal box and pedals,, black seatbelts with red clips, glazed instrument dials with white faces, rearview mirror with reflective surfaces, and a functional chrome and black three-spoke steering wheel with Morgan badge that steers the front wheels.

The centrally hinged bonnet hinges up each side to reveal the detailed aluminium chassis and BMW-derived 4.4 litre V8 engine and the bootlid opens to reveal a black lined boot.

The model rolls on silver 5-spoke OZ Racing “Magnesio” wheels with Morgan decals and black hub nuts, and Pirelli treaded rubber tyres. Visible behind the wheels are silver disc brakes red Morgan branded callipers. The model has spring suspension on each corner.

Underneath is an aerodynamic floor with silver engine detail, black rear axle and a chrome exhaust system.

The Morgan Aero 8 is a sports car built by Morgan Motor Company at its factory in Malvern Link, England from 2000 until 2018.

The Aero 8 shape evolved in the traditional Morgan way of form following function and the main players were Chris Lawrence, Charles Morgan and other members of the Morgan Engineering Team, and Norman Kent of Survirn Engineering Ltd – especially for the tooling of the Aero wings.

The AeroMax, Aero Supersports and Aero Coupe were designed by the firm's designer Matthew Humphries. Humphries sent the basic design of it to Charles Morgan when he was at Coventry University and joined Morgan on a KTP programme.

Radshape were heavily involved in the chassis (Graham Chapman, the current MMC Development Director was working for them at that time) and Superform with much of the body panels, both companies eventually producing for MMC when the car was launched.

Announced in 2000, the Aero 8 is notable for several reasons, primarily because it is the first new Morgan design since 1964's +4+. It was touted as Morgan's first supercar and undertook a comprehensive development programme including endurance testing at BMW's huge proving grounds L'Autodrome de Miramas. It does not use anti-roll bars, an oddity in a modern sporting car. It is also the first Morgan vehicle with an aluminium chassis and frame as opposed to traditional Morgan vehicles ("trads") that have an aluminium skinned wooden body tub on a steel chassis.

The engine first powering the Aero 8 was a 4.4 L BMW M62 V8 mated to a 6-speed Getrag transmission. In 2007, the Series 4 Aero 8 was released which had an upgraded 4.8 L BMW N62 V8 with an optional ZF automatic transmission. All Aero 8s are assembled at Morgan's Malvern Link factory, where they are able to produce up to 14 cars a week (Aeros and trads).

It has been criticised for its "crosseyed" look[4] which originally was justified by the manufacturers as conferring aerodynamic benefits. In response, Morgan changed the design from 2005 (Series 3 and all subsequent Aero iterations), using Mini rather than VW New Beetle headlights.

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