/Morgan Developing Electric Sportscars

Morgan Developing Electric Sportscars

Morgan Developing Electric Sportscars 1 at Morgan Developing Electric Sportscars

The charismatic British sportscar maker Morgan, famous for their squinty cars, announced plans for new electric-powered sportscars.

And Morgan being plucky Brit, their plans are quite ambitious. In partnership with Zytek, Morgan +E programme will deliver two engineering concept vehicles early in 2012. Both will be based on a development of the proven Aero Supersport’s aluminium chassis.

But instead of the 4.2 liter V8 engine, they come with a small electric motor developing 70kW (94bhp) 300Nm electric. And more importantly, it will get a proper manual gearbox for transmitting the power. That is a first for electric cars. As you know all of them so far have one-speed transmissions.

The compact, lightweight unit will be installed in the transmission tunnel and will require just three additional connections (cooling water, high voltage electrics and low voltage electrics). So there’s still a lot of work going into this.

What’s slightly worrying is that they’ve started with a budget of just £100,000 grant from the Niche Vehicle Network CR&D Programme. There are companies out there spending that much every hour ontheir EV programs, and as far as we can see they are not getting anywhere really!

Morgan Developing Electric Sportscars 2 at Morgan Developing Electric Sportscars

“This is an exciting investigation into the potential for a zero-emissions Morgan with near supercar performance,” says Morgan’s Operations Director, Steve Morris. “By working closely with Zytek and Radshape, who already have considerable expertise in this field, we aim to make this a realistic concept that could lead to further developments if demand and other factors prove favourable.”

Zytek’s sales and marketing director Steve Tremble says that one of the reasons for joining the consortium is to show the ease with which his company’s technology can be integrated with a rear-wheel drive platform. “With maximum torque from zero rpm, electric power can deliver an immediate, thrilling driving experience,” he says. “Our intention is to demonstrate drivability, performance and refinement that comfortably meets the expectations of Morgan’s most discerning customers.”

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(Founder / Chief Editor / Journalist) – Arman is the original founder of Motorward.com, which he kept until August 2009. Currently Arman is our chief editor and is held responsible for a large part of the news we publish.