Morgan to unveil a car for the 'sporting family'

A bold new model from Morgan takes its inspiration from British sports saloons of the early 1950s. The low-volume British manufacturer is set to introduce the new concept to its range later this year, with the aim, it says, of attracting the 'sporting family'.

To be dubbed 'Eva GT', the four-seat coupe draws on 100 years of heritage, using a wealth of information the company has accumulated from working alongside some of the biggest names in the motoring world including Bristol, Frazer Nash, BMW, Siemens and Bosch, a heritage it combines with young engineering and university research departments to challenge manufacturing techniques and build a sports car that's more efficient than ever before.

The team at Morgan says they aim to produce a new model every two years from this year, and will target niche markets, even developing electric sports cars to rival the likes of Tesla. Morgan is currently working with a technical team to develop a high torque electric motor twice as powerful as existing units of comparative weight and size, as well as a more powerful lithium-phosphate battery with a higher charge density to achieve the most efficient performance so far.

But an all-electric sports car is still a little way off for Morgan, and where the Eva GT is concerned, more conventional techniques will be employed including a lightweight bonded aluminium chassis, itself a further developed version of the chassis found beneath the Morgan Aero SuperSports, which is compliant with both European and US safety approvals and competes successfully in International GT3 Sports Car Racing series.

The bodywork will benefit from Morgan's use of superformed aluminium, an aircraft industry derived technology the company has utilised since 1995, and skilled craftsmanship only found in small production level manufacture. The body parts are smooth and perfectly accurate, allowing more sculpted and shapely designs. Computer technology in both design and manufacture ensures all body parts have a perfect 'A' class surface, minimal shut lines, hidden wipers, flush door handles and sharp creases to deflect air flow over the surface of the car.

So far, the only image provided shows a silhouette of the Eva GT's profile, an impression aimed at providing "a bit of drama or automotive theatre", Morgan says.

Under the bonnet, the Morgan Eva GT will feature a BMW-sourced 3.0-litre in-line six-cylinder engine utilising twin-turbocharging and direct fuel injection technology to deliver an output of 228kW/400Nm. With a predicted weight of 1250kg, the Eva GT is certain to offer an impressive power-to-weight ratio that Morgan says will be adequate for 0-100km/h acceleration times of 4.5 seconds and a top speed of 273km/h. Power will be delivered to the rear wheels via a six-speed manual or six-speed automatic transmission to return fuel economy of 7.06L/100km (combined) and a Euro 6 compliant emissions output of 200g/km (CO2).

The first public viewing of the Morgan Eva GT will be at the 60th Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance in California, USA on the 15th August 2010 with orders to be taken worldwide upon a £5000 deposit. The first 100 examples of the Eva GT will commence production in mid-2012. Pricing and further technical specifications (and hopefully some more pictures) will be provided in early August.

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