SCX have a reputation for sometimes producing unusual cars, cars which other manufacturers would overlook. They certainly deserve that reputation for making this car, perhaps the most unusual car to race at Le Mans in the last ten years - the Morgan Aero 8.

The Morgan looks fabulous - there's no doubt that the car is very much based on a good old-fashioned sports car, although tweaked for better aerodynamics. SCX have faithfully reproduced the sweeping lines of the original, along with all the vents and grilles obligatory on a modern racing car. Perhaps more importantly, they've also chosen to keep the tall, narrow stance of the original car. I think many manufacturers would have been tempted to alter the car's proportions, to make it wider and lower to increase performance but I'm glad SCX have chosen to make a faithful model of the Morgan. 

The finish is superb - the body shell shows no signs of mould lines or flash and the details parts fit neatly. It's beautifully painted, with a deep, glossy finish and clean separation between colours. Tampo-printing is also done to a very high standard - everything is solid and legible, even down to the tiny race dates on the Le Mans badge.

The chassis is attached to the body with 3 screws - two at the front and one at the back. There are also two pins moulded into the body which locate in holes in the chassis - I removed the pins for ease of re-assembly and to allow the body to move more freely. Front and rear lights are fitted in the bodyshell.

The chassis is familiar SCX, just narrower than usual! The guide is a standard clip in guide, reasonably deep and fitted with doubled over braids. Power is delivered to the RX42 motor via metal strips. The front wheels turn on independent stub axles which allow a tiny amount of wheel rock but not enough for the wheels to touch the close-fitting front wheel arches. The motor, axle and (adjustable) magnet are all housed in a detachable pod. 

The pod is similar to those used in other cars but the way it attaches to the main chassis is different. Previous pods had one mounting peg front and rear so the pod pivoted, but sometimes the pod could pivot too much allowing the tyres to hit the wheel arches. The Morgan's pod has two mounting pegs at the front and two at the rear. This means the pod floats rather than pivots, allowing it more freedom of movement. The pegs fit into slots in the chassis and the length of the slots controls the amount of possible movement, so again there isn't enough travel for the tyres to hit the body.

The Morgan fares well on my little Scalextric Sport track. It's quiet and smooth, which makes a nice change from some of SCX's older models! The lights look effective and were still working after lots of laps so SCX seem to have cured the problem of light circuits blowing after a few laps.

The RX42 motor seems an appropriate choice because it's a little less powerful than the 42B. The Morgan is not going to be an out and out racer, it's too tall and especially too narrow. But it's still a lot of fun. The Aero 8 has a good turn of speed and takes the corners quite well. It will slide sooner than most modern cars but as long as you're not too harsh with the throttle the slide is easily controlled.

A small fault showed up during track testing - the car appeared to be running on three wheels! One of the front wheels was sitting off the ground and although it didn't seem to have much effect on the cars performance it just didn't look right. The cause was a surprise - the motor has two sprung metal contacts which connect to the conductive strips in the chassis. The motor contacts were unevenly adjusted, putting more pressure on one side and tilting the chassis. After removing the pod and gently adjusting the contacts, the car sits flat.

I think SCX deserve a lot of praise for producing the Morgan. As I've mentioned, it's not a car that you would pick for an all-important race but it's almost definitely a car you would choose for a few relaxed, fun laps. 

The Aero 8 is a quirky car, but I think it deserves to be popular.