Aero v Aero Supersports
Discussion
Now being a Morgan fan for many years and currently living abroad in India :-( Lucky me, I have had plans to buy an Aero 8 when back to good old Blighty .
Now my question is how come the supersports is roughly 40k more than the Aero 8 ???
Same mechanicals and pretty much the same body .
I Presume the Aeromax was such a success that Morgan feel that this limited addition is the way forward .
Am I the only one though thinking that this is ripping off the Aero Morgan lover of this series or have I grabbed the wrong end of the stick ?
Now my question is how come the supersports is roughly 40k more than the Aero 8 ???
Same mechanicals and pretty much the same body .
I Presume the Aeromax was such a success that Morgan feel that this limited addition is the way forward .
Am I the only one though thinking that this is ripping off the Aero Morgan lover of this series or have I grabbed the wrong end of the stick ?
That's an interesting question and one I wondered about too. In fact I think the SS is about 30k more than the Aeromax, which in turn was about 30k more than the Aero 8 (very rough figures as I am probably out of touch).
Perhaps the success of the Aeromax showed the company that they were charging too little for the Aero 8 and that the market would stand more for a specialist sports car? I am not sure if the Aero 8 contributed much to the bottom line, so this could be a very smart move.
Personally I thought the SS that I saw at the Goodwood FoS was stunning. I love the targa top idea and think that it makes for an elegant and practical long-distance tourer. I hope it does well.
Perhaps the success of the Aeromax showed the company that they were charging too little for the Aero 8 and that the market would stand more for a specialist sports car? I am not sure if the Aero 8 contributed much to the bottom line, so this could be a very smart move.
Personally I thought the SS that I saw at the Goodwood FoS was stunning. I love the targa top idea and think that it makes for an elegant and practical long-distance tourer. I hope it does well.
there are many reasons, beyond styling, to make this car more expesive
not the least the fact that a lot of the mechanical/electrical parts are payed in euro's
which have been costly for the Brits for a while
also prototypes/... etc. were needed
and sales in the mid-height pricerange are dropping due to economical crisis
so they moved it up further north, more expesive/exclusive/...
(just like the RangeRover boys did mine cost 45000 in 1999, now a new one would cost me 90000)
not the least the fact that a lot of the mechanical/electrical parts are payed in euro's
which have been costly for the Brits for a while
also prototypes/... etc. were needed
and sales in the mid-height pricerange are dropping due to economical crisis
so they moved it up further north, more expesive/exclusive/...
(just like the RangeRover boys did mine cost 45000 in 1999, now a new one would cost me 90000)
I think just the cost of developing the changes from the aeromax (targa roof, new body pannels, reduced ride height, new exhaust system / sidepipes, new seats etc) split over a limited 100 car production run, mean that the cost is going to go up significantly.
Also factor in the additional cost of the drivetrain - paid for in Euros which is now in itself significantly more expensive to buy from BMW, and the fact that the chassis cost is probably now much higher based on exchange rates and materials cost, it's no suprise the price has gone up a lot.
I guess in the current climate, it would either be a case of repricing the Aero 25% or more higher, which for no apparrent advantage would be a poor business move, or develop a new one off model with tweaks to improve the model and make a better car for that little bit more.
Although it's a shame for the Aero, it's the right thing for the company to do.
My advice - pick up a second hand Series 4 as soon as you can - it's a comparitive bargain!
Also factor in the additional cost of the drivetrain - paid for in Euros which is now in itself significantly more expensive to buy from BMW, and the fact that the chassis cost is probably now much higher based on exchange rates and materials cost, it's no suprise the price has gone up a lot.
I guess in the current climate, it would either be a case of repricing the Aero 25% or more higher, which for no apparrent advantage would be a poor business move, or develop a new one off model with tweaks to improve the model and make a better car for that little bit more.
Although it's a shame for the Aero, it's the right thing for the company to do.
My advice - pick up a second hand Series 4 as soon as you can - it's a comparitive bargain!
andymac said:
Now being a Morgan fan for many years and currently living abroad in India :-( Lucky me, I have had plans to buy an Aero 8 when back to good old Blighty .
Now my question is how come the supersports is roughly 40k more than the Aero 8 ???
Same mechanicals and pretty much the same body .
I Presume the Aeromax was such a success that Morgan feel that this limited addition is the way forward .
Am I the only one though thinking that this is ripping off the Aero Morgan lover of this series or have I grabbed the wrong end of the stick ?
You've got the pricing pretty much spot-on Andymac (basic prices: 70k Aero 8, 110k AeroMax, 125k Aero SS) and as you say the running gear is pretty much the same, so how does one justify the increase?Now my question is how come the supersports is roughly 40k more than the Aero 8 ???
Same mechanicals and pretty much the same body .
I Presume the Aeromax was such a success that Morgan feel that this limited addition is the way forward .
Am I the only one though thinking that this is ripping off the Aero Morgan lover of this series or have I grabbed the wrong end of the stick ?
The AeroMax was the first fully Superformed car that MMC produced and obviously the cost of most of the additional dies had to be written off over just 100-models. The development costs of the automatic gearbox was also costed into this model and this entailed an altered chassis amongst other things. Whilst the additional 4 mill (40,000 x 100) sounds an awful lot, it is all too easy to let much of it disappear in development costs if one does not rigorously control costs.
The 15k difference from the AeroMax to the SS again reflects new Superform dies for the rear of the car, and possibly the targa panels, together with the other development costs that mr_tony mentions above and the increased cost of the running gear (in Pounds
). However, the run for the SS is 200 units so this reduces the cost per car of the Superform dies, though the charge in increased exchange costs remains the same.Again as mr_tony says the Aero 8 Series IV is a comparative bargain, but apparently all the ones scheduled to be produced before the end of the year have been sold. Aero second-hand prices (for all Series') are already moving up, so let's hope they do make some more next year...
Interesting up-date on the Aero SS in interview with Matt Humphries. Seems that there will now be 175-Aero SS's produced. 
http://motoring.sky.com/features/videos/morgan-aer...
http://motoring.sky.com/features/videos/morgan-aer...
<<The 15k difference from the AeroMax to the SS again reflects new Superform dies for the rear of the car>>
But, if as you surmise, the cost of the dies for the 'Max were fully amortised, then the SS should be cheaper as it needs fewer brand new dies amortised over a larger production run?
The reality is that the MMC are charging "what the market will bear" not "cost plus"
And good luck to them - despite it meaning that what remote chance I had of owning an Aero has now fully disappeared
But, if as you surmise, the cost of the dies for the 'Max were fully amortised, then the SS should be cheaper as it needs fewer brand new dies amortised over a larger production run?
The reality is that the MMC are charging "what the market will bear" not "cost plus"
And good luck to them - despite it meaning that what remote chance I had of owning an Aero has now fully disappeared
jerseyman said:
<<The 15k difference from the AeroMax to the SS again reflects new Superform dies for the rear of the car>>
But, if as you surmise, the cost of the dies for the 'Max were fully amortised, then the SS should be cheaper as it needs fewer brand new dies amortised over a larger production run?
The reality is that the MMC are charging "what the market will bear" not "cost plus"
And good luck to them - despite it meaning that what remote chance I had of owning an Aero has now fully disappeared
]But, if as you surmise, the cost of the dies for the 'Max were fully amortised, then the SS should be cheaper as it needs fewer brand new dies amortised over a larger production run?
The reality is that the MMC are charging "what the market will bear" not "cost plus"
And good luck to them - despite it meaning that what remote chance I had of owning an Aero has now fully disappeared
I think the logic is a little off there.
The SS would need more investment than the max - not less. New dies for the rear again (aero and aeromax and SS front wings all the same), PLUS the cost of developing a removable roof.
I would say this is considerable more investment than the Aeromax, which (lets not forget) had already been prototyped in the metal by Eric Sturdza at minimal cost to Morgan.
AGree that it's a shame they keep getting more expensive.
The secret is to buy a used car, Series 1's at 35k are great, but the real bargains right now are series II cars at 40-45k. Wider cockpit, bigger cabin and very little chance of depreciation. I've owned aeros for 4 years and I'm on my 3rd and they have cost me a mere 8k in depreciation combined.. Couldn't do that with any other car. So it's actually very cost effective...
<<I think the logic is a little off there.
The SS would need more investment than the max - not less. New dies for the rear again (aero and aeromax and SS front wings all the same), PLUS the cost of developing a removable roof>>
That would mean that the cost of the few new panels for the rear-end plus the roof is more expensive than the total tooling for the Aeromax. Also the Aeromax construction techniques, productionising,and engineering development - which has already been paid - for must be at least 80% reusable in the SS. It seems highly unlikely that the development costs would be higher than the 'Max.
But not a huge issue.
I agree with your logic on the Second hand cars but despite the fact that I had an order in for an S1, the S1's and 2's appearance no longer work for me after the Mk 3/4's revised frontal treatment.
The SS would need more investment than the max - not less. New dies for the rear again (aero and aeromax and SS front wings all the same), PLUS the cost of developing a removable roof>>
That would mean that the cost of the few new panels for the rear-end plus the roof is more expensive than the total tooling for the Aeromax. Also the Aeromax construction techniques, productionising,and engineering development - which has already been paid - for must be at least 80% reusable in the SS. It seems highly unlikely that the development costs would be higher than the 'Max.
But not a huge issue.
I agree with your logic on the Second hand cars but despite the fact that I had an order in for an S1, the S1's and 2's appearance no longer work for me after the Mk 3/4's revised frontal treatment.
jerseyman said:
<<The 15k difference from the AeroMax to the SS again reflects new Superform dies for the rear of the car>>
Please quote the full sentence and you'll get the full meaning of what I said, viz:AeroMan said:
The 15k difference from the AeroMax to the SS again reflects new Superform dies for the rear of the car, and possibly the targa panels, together with the other development costs that mr_tony mentions above and the increased cost of the running gear (in Pounds).
mr_tony said:
The secret is to buy a used car, Series 1's at 35k are great, but the real bargains right now are series II cars at 40-45k. Wider cockpit, bigger cabin and very little chance of depreciation. I've owned aeros for 4 years and I'm on my 3rd and they have cost me a mere 8k in depreciation combined.. Couldn't do that with any other car. So it's actually very cost effective...
Well done mr_tony, I wish I could say the same for my ownership experience - a mere 8k in depreciation 
Of course its all about business and profit in the end . Its a shame though that for the SS it will take the Aero way out of what i have in my pocket where the 8 was just about on the limit. I don't see so many examples where the next variation rises so much. lets say the difference in a coupe v the four door or coupe v convertible rises 45K and to me this is still not a major modification (really only the rear and targa)
Still it a great car and its British so I am pulling hairs and anyhow I will be in the market for MK3 or 4 when I am back in good ole Blighty !
Still it a great car and its British so I am pulling hairs and anyhow I will be in the market for MK3 or 4 when I am back in good ole Blighty !
andymac said:
Of course its all about business and profit in the end . Its a shame though that for the SS it will take the Aero way out of what i have in my pocket where the 8 was just about on the limit.
Sadly this seems to be a trend with several of the smaller motor manufacturers with the new Noble M600 at 2000k and the new Wiesmann MF5 at 189,000 Euro or circa GBP165k - ever more limited production runs at much increased price levels. The good news is that it is possible that some Aero 8's could well be produced in 2010...
Edited by AeroMan on Saturday 29th August 14:11
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