The last Morgan to be built on a simple steel ladder-frame chassis has left the firm's Pickersleigh Road factory, 84 years after it made its debut under its first four-wheeled model, the 4/4.
The platform has been in near-continuous use since then, with production only pausing during the Second World War and the coronavirus pandemic, making it, Morgan says, "the longest-running production car architecture of all time, anywhere in the world".
The Plus Four 70th Edition was the steel platform's swansong. Featuring a gold-painted chassis, platinum metallic bodywork and a motorsport-inspired valance, it was priced at £60,995 and limited to a production run of just 20 models. Four examples had been completed before the factory closed as a result of the pandemic, but now the final model has been delivered to its owner, a Morgan collector.
First Morgan Plus Four 70th anniversary models roll off line
In recognition of modern customers’ need for greater road ability, even in traditional sports cars, the company will introduce “a range of models” that will utilise versions of the light and rigid CX-generation chassis it introduced with the Plus Six in 2019.
“We recognise a need for a more resolved core product that meets both our customers’ needs and future legislative requirements,” said Morgan CEO Steve Morris. “The advanced engineering of the new platform is a vital underpinning for the next generation of Morgan sports cars.”
The chassis decision is part of a suite of changes and improvements that follow the purchase of the Malvern Link sports car company by Investindustrial, an Italian private equity firm that is also a major shareholder in Aston Martin.
Developments include the opening last year of a modern and extremely spacious engineering and development centre (dubbed M-DEC, for Morgan Design and Engineering Centre) on a new site close to its Pickersleigh Road base.
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Good if belated progress
I watched a re-run of Wheeler Dealers wherein Edd China had to replace the chassis of an older Morgan. I was quite shocked at how flimsy it appeared to be - no stronger than some old bed stead even before the rust got at it! For years Morgan were criticised for retaining age-old running gear which gave a pretty awful ride and heavy handling and I always wondered why Morgan didn't update the underpinnings while retaining the classic looks. That appears to be exactly what it has done and athough I will never be able to afford one of its cars I really like the direction in which it is going. I was so looking forward to a factory tour until this wretched virus thing ruined everything.
... and my Dec 12 posts.
... and my Dec 12 posts.
I reiterate my December 11
I reiterate my December 11 post.