Morgan races back to world circuit

The new Morgan Aero 8 GT(N) was unveiled at the recent 2002 Autosport International show in Birmingham, England

By CNN's Jim Boulden

BIRMINGHAM, England (CNN) -- Tiny Morgan Motor Cars is renowned for turning out just hundreds of its hand-built sports cars in western England.

Now the family-owned firm is turning its hand to international racing cars.

Morgan hopes the souped-up version of its hot new Aero 8 will put the company back on the international circuit -- even though the car still looks like a Morgan design from decades ago.

"It look like a 1930s car, but of course it's very aerodynamic," says Charles Morgan, managing director of Morgan Motor Company.

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With a 500-horsepower BMW V-8 engine, Morgan is telling prospective owners that the Aero 8 GT(N) will compete against the big boys of Le Mans racing.

The new racer was recently unveiled at the 2002 Autosport International Show in Birmingham.

"Viper, Chevrolet, Porsche, Ferrari ... there could be a TVR, there could be a Jaguar, and there will be others coming in," says engineer Christopher Lawrence, a former Le Mans 24-hour class winner who guided the development of the racer.

Morgan was once a well-known name on the racing circuit, but that was before World War II. Its most famous racer has only three wheels. And of late, its fastest road car did some local racing.

But now Morgan is getting back to the serious circuit.

Charles Morgan: "It look like a 1930s car, but of course it's very aerodynamic."

"Morgan have been consistently racing with the Plus 8 in national racing, but we haven't really been doing any international racing," says Charles Morgan.

"So this car is designed to meet all the requirements so the customer can buy it and take it straight to Le Mans and race it."

But if a $260,000 racing car is not in the cards, then the $80,000 road version, the Aero 8, is in full production. One hundred have been manufactured so far, with 650 on order.

The Aero 8 is Morgan's first radically new model in decades. It, like the new racing car, is made on site at the old Morgan factory in Malvern, England, where workers hand-build the cars on wood frames made from ash.

Morgan is trying to shed its go-slow image. The new Aero 8 can be delivered just 18 months after an order. And the race car -- built by a dedicated specialist team separate from the main production line -- is promised to be delivered just four weeks from order.

A Morgan used to take five years.