Beyond the designs of their badges and the dusty contents of their archives, few of today's automakers that have been in existence for more than 50 years have anything that links directly to 1968. But for the English sports-car maker Morgan, which operates on a time frame more geological than human, half a century barely registers. It's still building cars using methods that would have been entirely familiar to the staff there 50 years ago (many of whom would also be ancestors to the current workforce), fitting aluminum bodywork to ash timber frames and mounting them to metal chassis. There have been some developments over the years, of course, and two of the biggest were responsible for our visit to Worcestershire to drive the car that celebrates both.
The first of these was the introduction of the original Plus 8 roadster in 1968, the result of a fortunate coincidence that created an unlikely sports-car icon. The company's boss at the time, Peter Morgan, son of company founder H.F.S. Morgan, had gone to the same English private school as Peter Wilks, a scion of the family that created Rover. Wilks later became Rover’s technical director, and that connection led to Morgan's gaining access to the 3.5-liter V-8; Rover had recently acquired the rights to that engine from Buick. Combining the V-8 with a slightly extended version of Morgan's already archaic chassis created a car that was short on technical sophistication—it still used a sliding-pillar front suspension—but which combined 160 horsepower and a sub-1900-pound weight to become one of the fastest sports cars of the era. With a 6.7-second zero-to-60-mph time, it was quicker off the line than a Jaguar E-type.
The next big change came in 2001, when Morgan shocked its fan base with an unexpected leap into the 21st century. Its new Aero 8 used a bonded-aluminum chassis and had the radical innovation of a four-wheel independent control-arm suspension, plus a switch to BMW V-8 power. Eventually, the Plus 8 model also adopted an aluminum chassis. Now, though, tightening emissions regulations in Europe have forced the retirement of that BMW N62 V-8. Hence this run of 50th Anniversary cars to celebrate both 50 years of the Plus 8 name and what seems likely to be Morgan's last eight-cylinder model.
Roadster or Speedster
There are actually two 50th Anniversary specials, although total production is limited to no more than 50 cars. Buyers can choose a green roadster, which has a windshield, a collapsible fabric roof, and an automatic gearbox. Or they can be braver and go for a car like the one we drove, a blue speedster with a manual gearbox and no more weather protection than that provided by a folding aero screen. The speedster's finish also pays homage to the first production Plus 8, known to the Morganisti by its U.K. license plate of MMC 11. It was originally used to develop the production car before being turned into a successful race car. To show just how close the visual relationship is, Morgan brought out MMC 11 from the company's private museum so we could drive both cars back to back.
Progress has been considerable in the last 50 years. While the two bookends of the Plus 8 story look pretty similar, Morgan's aluminum-chassis models handle with vastly more precision than its more traditional offerings. A brisk drive into the Malvern hills in MMC 11 confirms that it still feels fast and makes some very brawny noises as the barely silenced V-8 is opened up. It leaves us with huge respect for the road testers who willingly explored its outer limits. While we were more than happy to attempt to match the zero-to-60-mph time, despite the reluctant action of the gearbox, little could tempt us to get close to the 120-mph top speed. This car makes even a smooth road feel cobbled, and its unassisted steering gives no more than mumbled advice to the front wheels with the first 20 degrees or so of input.
More Modern Than the Original, But Only Just
The original Plus 8 manages to make the 50th Anniversary car feel modern. The lack of any protection beyond that provided by the folding screen means that refinement is limited, speeds of over 60 mph quickly become uncomfortable without goggles or a helmet, and the best efforts of the feeble audio system are rendered inaudible at half that pace. The increase in torsional rigidity is the most obvious difference—the 2018 car steers and rides with assured precision in circ*mstances that set the original to shaking like a wet dog. The 362-hp BMW V-8 lacks the thundering exhaust of the old Rover-sourced engine, but it's far more civilized, pulling cleanly from low revs and still enjoying harder use. The gearbox shifts cleanly—with synchromesh on all gears!—although the tactile sensation is cheapened by the use of a Miata gear selector. The chassis also generates much more grip, feeling secure where the old car feels on the ragged edge. It even allows a degree of throttle steerability that only the most skilled or foolhardy would attempt in the original.
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But the 50th Anniversary model is still a highly evolved dinosaur rather than a contemporary sports car. The lack of a windshield on the speedster version makes it a breezy grand tourer rather than a dynamic match for almost any of the fine performance cars that cost similar money. We doubt any potential buyers will be cross-shopping a Porsche 911 cabrio. The 50th Anniversary also exhibits many of the foibles that come with hand building, including exposed screwheads in the co*ckpit and the strong impression that some of the interior trim has only been made to fit with the skilled use of a large hammer. Strangely, the 50th Anniversary modern seats are also markedly less comfortable than the minimalist buckets of MMC 11.
Despite the car's $140,000 price in England, Morgan is confident it will find buyers for the full run of 50th Anniversary Plus 8s. Morgan gave up on selling its four-wheeled models in the United States a decade ago (the only Moggy sold here now is the 3 Wheeler), but the company still harbors a desire to return to the States, which is where the vast majority of early Plus 8s were sold. So, although the use of the BMW V-8 is at an end, Morgan is working on other cars that will use the bonded-aluminum chassis technology. Let's hope some of those get the chance to spread the brand's eccentric charm to America.
