Morgan has publicly shown its Morgan Plus 8 GTR for the first time, a nine-strong special edition of a car which officially bowed out three years ago.
Morgan says the GTR is a “gloves off” version of the Plus 8, with the project made possible after several chassis earmarked for an external project, believed to be the Bristol cars revival, were reacquired.
The first finished car was on display at Bicester Heritage’s ‘Undercover Assembly’ yesterday, and is destined for a Danish customer. The other eight cars will be finished during the next three months or so. Each will undergo an Individual Vehicle Approval test to be certified road legal.
Power comes from a 4.8-litre BMW N62 V8, although Morgan suggested that output from the recommissioned units would be higher than the 362bhp achieved in their original specification. Six-speed manual and automatic transmissions will be offered, as well as left- or right-hand drive, although allocations for these are fixed for the production run based on the existing chassis.
The chassis are completely unused, having been built by Morgan before 2018. The company says some mechanical components have been upgraded for use in the Plus 8 GTR.
"Reviving a V8-powered Morgan at the current time may not seem like the obvious choice for a manufacturer firmly focused on new platforms and powertrains,” said Morgan’s head of design, Jonathan Wells. “However, when the opportunity presented itself to recommission a number of rolling chassis and create an exciting special project such as Plus 8 GTR, we embraced it fully.
“This project has allowed Morgan’s design and engineering teams to revisit some of their favourite elements of past Morgan models, as well as experiment with some features that we hope will appear on future Morgan cars.”
Morgan’s design and engineering teams have been told to “let their imaginations run wild” for the GTR, with inspiration coming from the ‘Big Blue’ GT series racer of the 1990s. That vehicle was used as a test bed for the bonded-aluminium chassis tech that later replaced Morgan’s traditional steel chassis in 2004.
Join the debate
Add your comment
Using ancient Landrover door locks, that were not the best when they made, never mind decades later.
With the LifeCAR2, the Aero and 1960s' Plus 4 Morgan shows that it has been theoretically capable of designing cars in the period since WWII. It must be about time to reduce catering primarily for the pipe and cravat chaps and move into the late 20th and even 21st century.
If every manufacturer followed that advice, all that would be available to buy would be Fiestas, Qashqais, and 320d estates. Niches are where the interesting stuff happens - the Morgans, the Lotuses, the Ariels, the Paganis, and so on.
Besides which, if you've never tried a Morgan you really should. They're an absolute hoot - certainly there are lots of objective weakenesses, but that doesn't stop them being magnificently fun.