Morgan launches new model aimed at US market

LONDON, July 18 (Reuters) Quintessentially British sports car maker Morgan launched the face-lifted version of its Aero 8 on Tuesday, a model the company hopes will enable it to break into the U.S. market.

''Until now we have not been able to sell the Aero 8 to the Americans because it has not met safety and emission standards,'' Morgan's sales director Matthew Parkin told Reuters.

''That has now changed. The Aero 8 has come of age and we will be showcasing it at Pebble Peach (California) in August.'' Speaking at the British International Motor Show, he said the bespoke 62,500-pound car has a new front end to address criticisms levelled at the original car in 2001 that it was ''too ''bug eyed''.

''The look is more traditional although we have melded the latest technology with the classic look of Morgans,'' he said.

The make-over of the Aero 8 cost about 4 million pounds, a figure which represents a major investment to such a low volume manufacturer, although it pales into insignificance compared with the sums the big corporations spend.

''It's the ashtray budget for Volkswagen,'' joked Parkin.

Buyers in the U.S. will also get air-conditioning and central locking. The car will continue to be made with a steel chassis and ash frame, over which an aluminium skin is attached.

Parkin said the new car was a mixture of old and new technology although large parts of the car were still hand-crafted.

Morgans like the Aero 8 and the staple Morgan 4/4 usually come with a 12 month waiting-list, but for the push into the North American market the company has set aside models, mindful that few American buyers would wait a year to take delivery.

''We hope to sell 150 Aero 8s a year in all markets,'' he said.

''We know this is an ambitious target, given we have only built a total of 400 since September 2001, but we are confident.'' REUTERS VJ DB2121