Morgan will take a step away from its tradition of producing lightweight British sports cars when the Lifecar concept is revealed at the 2008 Geneva auto show.

The Lifecar concept packages zero-emissions fuel-cell hydrogen technology inside a sleek Morgan coupe body in a bid to show that green cars don’t necessarily have to be slow. We’re not sure how stridently they will make the point, given that the concept’s top speed is a lowly 80-to-85 mph and 0-to-62 mph takes about seven seconds.

The concept uses a stack of hydrogen fuel cells to send electrical power to motors mounted at each of the four wheels. Like the PML Flightlink Mini, an electric motor is attached to each wheel. The motors double as generators, using regenerative braking to charge ultracapacitors that help boost acceleration.

Morgan says the energy efficiency is equivalent to that of a gasoline car that can manage 150 mpg, and the Lifecar would have a cruising range of nearly 250 miles.

Revised Aero 8

The Aero 8 is the only Morgan that has been approved for sale in the U.S. The car is seriously exclusive: Only 600 have ever been built. The Aero 8 chassis is bonded aluminum attached to an old-school frame made of real ash wood.

The entire Morgan lineup is hand-built in an English factory that’s approaching 100 years old. It built only 650 assorted models last year. The automaker hopes to bump total output to 750 in 2008.

In 2003 we drove an American-spec Aero 8 and found it to be a rocket, finishing the quarter-mile in 12.7 seconds at 110 mph. Morgan doesn’t think that’s fast enough and for 2008 has replaced the 320-hp, 4.4-liter BMW V-8 powering the old car with BMW’s 4.8-liter producing 362 horsepower.

Other changes for the 2008 model include more trunk space, larger air scoops, and a repositioned fuel tank that should better balance the Aero 8’s weight distribution. It will sell in the U.S. for a cool $129,000.

AeroMax Touring Coupe

In keeping with Morgan’s past is the AeroMax, a limited-run production coupe based on a one-off model built to spec for a discerning customer.

In 2006, Swiss banker Eric Sturdza commissioned Morgan to build him a comfortable touring coupe. The result was the AeroMax, unveiled at the 2006 Geneva auto show. Response to the car was so positive that Morgan began preparing the AeroMax for a limited production run.

The AeroMax is based on Morgan’s successful Aero 8 roadster and uses the same BMW-sourced 362-hp, 4.8-liter V-8 engine and a manual or automatic six-speed transmission. Coupled with the lightweight Morgan chassis and body, the AeroMax can reach 62 mph in 4.2 seconds. That’s similar performance to the BMW M5 and Chevrolet Corvette.

An AeroMax can be yours for just under $190,000, but don’t get your checkbook out: All 100 copies are spoken for. Among the lucky few to get one is actor Rowan Atkinson, best known as Mr. Bean and perhaps also for crashing his McLaren F1 in 1999.

4/4 Sport

Morgan refers to the 4/4 as a “traditional” car. That makes sense, given that the company has hand-built the 4/4 continually since 1936. The 4/4 is so traditional that it doesn’t pass U.S. safety and emissions testing and can’t be sold here.

To celebrate 72 years of production, Morgan has released a 4/4 Sport model. With a lowered suspension and tweaks to reduce overall weight, the company says the 4/4 Sport will “deliver the most fun for the driver and passenger.”

Even with a tiny 1.6-liter inline-four engine from Ford producing just 114 horsepower, the 4/4 Sport should reach 62 mph from a stop in fewer than eight seconds—hardly surprising given a curb weight of fewer than 1800 pounds.

In England the 4/4 Sport will sell for the equivalent of roughly $51,000.