Morgan Aero 8

After some much needed surgery to correct the infamous squint, the Morgan Aero 8 at last looks the part, but a great chassis is still let down by awful steering, while the whole thing remains a bit pricey.

• Comfort

   The Aero 8 rides very firmly and suffers from a great deal of wind, engine and tyre noise. All part of the experience for some, a reason to buy a 911 for others.

  

• Performance

  Despite those antiquated looks the 4.4-litre V8 from BMW that lurks beneath all those louvers is a thoroughly modern bit of kit. Combine this with a fundamentally very light car and you have a 0-100km/h time of under five seconds and a top speed nudging 255km/h.

  

• Cool

  There's something cool about any Morgan, although the more modern Aero 8 is slightly less hardcore. That said, it still looks so extraordinary alongside all but the wildest supercar that you can't fail to impress someone.

  

• Quality

  The entirely hand built Aero 8 is very soundly constructed, and you'll not get any grief from BMW's engine, but electronics are more prone to problems on any car built in a shed in a field.

  

• Handling

  The Aero 8's hand-planed ash and aluminium chassis is curiously good, but steering that's unnervingly vague and then suddenly alarmingly loaded diminishes the car's overall handling potential.

  

• Practicality

  There is a fairly decent boot on the Aero 8, which is a step up on the original car, but the cabin is still cramped and largely devoid of storage. A GT it may be, but you'll still be packing very carefully.

  

• Running costs

  The hefty initial asking price of $234,000 makes the Aero 8 a risky financial proposition. Depreciation is severe on a car as peculiar as this, and most people mad enough to buy one want it built bespoke.