To celebrate a successful year, our team stepped away from the office in Warwick and headed to the beautiful Malvern Hills for a day of activities at the Morgan Experience Centre. Our day blended networking, automotive history, industrial conservation and a hands-on driving experience that brought out the analytical engineers in everyone.
Setting
The Morgan Experience Centre is a one-of-a-kind facility – bringing attendees into the heart of the Morgan campus, blending the polish of a modern visitor centre with the atmosphere of a working vehicle factory. Our base for the day was the ‘Showroom’ – a bright and inviting conference room, decorated with striking examples of Morgan’s current model range – the Super 3, Plus 4 and Supersport.
The striking Super 3 that welcomed us to ‘The Showroom’
We were steered through the day by our Morgan Brand Ambassador, a passionate and knowledgeable tour guide who coped well with hosting a group of engineers with a deep knowledge of vehicle technologies – a little different from regular visitors!
The Super Sport and Plus 4
Driving
Having whetted our appetite by poring over the dramatic examples on display in the showroom (including an immeasurably bold, pink Super 3), the foundation of the day was access to our own fleet of Morgans.
Everyone had the chance to take an extended drive in each model, with the obligatory ‘team building’ element of the day provided by splitting the driving and navigation duties during each 1 hour session between random pairs of drivers.
So, what did we all think of the cars on offer? Understandably, gathering a group of engineers in this way led to excitement, critique, analysis and, of course, differing opinions.
The following reviews are my opinion alone and based on the order in which I drove the cars.
Plus 4
Starting the day in the Plus 4 seemed to be the perfect way to settle into the Morgan universe, if you ask yourself ‘What is a Morgan’ the Plus 4 must be the answer – a modern interpretation of a British ‘pre-war’ roadster.
The fleet of Plus 4s ready for a day of driving
The classic vehicle has been updated and modified to embed new technology alongside traditional craftsmanship. An up-to-date powertrain from Morgan’s friends at BMW, with a 4-cylinder turbocharged engine and a smooth ZF 8 speed gearbox, provides the drive. The interior features a digital dashboard, airbag steering wheel and Bluetooth phone connection to bring the Plus 4 into the 21st century. The body is pure Morgan; with coach-built aluminium panels clinging to ash frames, hand-stamped louvres and wide, sweeping wings running the length of the car.
The Plus 4 provided a gentle introduction to the day’s driving. The engine doesn’t bark with anger or burble in an antisocial way; it was comfortable driving through town and had enough power to dance along a county road at a reasonable pace.
The most refined of our three driving experiences, the Morgan Plus 4
It was clear that the Plus 4 has been in production for the longest time of the three, it had a level of refinement that the others couldn’t match, and as a long-distance touring machine it seemed well suited. It was equally as easy to get comfortable in the seat as on the road, with our first driving session passing by quickly as we gained confidence and experience of the roads around Great Malvern.
As a long-distance tourer, the Plus 4 makes a lot of sense; for a short, 1 hour loop of the Worcestershire and Herefordshire countryside, however it’s not the best solution.
Super 3
In my opinion, that mantle belongs to the Super 3 – the next car on my roster for the day.
On paper, the Super 3 is the slowest and least well-specified of the three cars on offer, yet it proved to be the most engaging and arguably the best value.
Unlike anything else on the road, the Morgan Super 3
The 3-cylinder Ford Dragon engine is revvy and sounds fantastic, the open cabin and exposed front wheels make for a truly unique driving experience – more akin to a 1930s race car than the ‘pre-war roadster’ style of the Plus 4. It’s so low that from the passenger compartment you can reach down and put your outstretched palm onto the tarmac.
It’s a car that always delivers ‘fun’, without the need for licence losing speeds or rapid progress to bring a grin to the driver’s face.
The driving experience is raw and unrefined, highlighted by the need for a helmet with a full visor while driving. The unassisted steering provides a direct link to the exposed front wheels, the experience of seeing the wheels turn in at every corner is equal parts unsettling and exhilarating.
The short throw Mazda gearbox and well-spaced pedals allow for easy heel-toe downshifts when hustling down a small country lane.
The dramatic view form the passenger seat of the Morgan Super 3
The small country lane seems like the ideal place for a Super-3, in a world in which performance cars are getting ever bigger with growing power outputs, the typical British unclassified or B-Road suddenly feels very small. Not so in the Super-3, which floats along this type of road in an untroubled way, with its performance never seeming to exceed the limits of the tarmac.
Despite having the widest track of the three cars (on the front axle at least!) it felt compact and agile, no doubt thanks to the driving position – hanging an elbow outside the narrow body gives an unmatched connection with the world outside the cabin.
However, it’s not without fault – the three-wheel configuration means avoiding potholes and road damage is impossible and when making progress the car takes near constant correction, involving the driver in all stages of each steering input with little returnability built into the geometries. This characteristic split the opinions of our team – some loving the engagement, others frustrated by the additional involvement always needed.
Supersport
Perhaps the most anticipated car of the three was the Supersport – the first of Morgan’s new-era vehicles, bringing the brand firmly into the 21st century.
Peter Benzie and Javier Maruenda with the Morgan Super Sport
Building on the heritage of the Plus 4 and its immediate predecessor, the Plus 6, the Supersport is more contemporary in its design – modernising the classic Morgan look while retaining the artisanal feel of its stablemates. The chassis is an evolution of the bonded aluminium structure used in the Plus 4, with a lower weight and increased stiffness to improve driver engagement. The powertrain again comes from BMW, this time the ZF 8 speed is mated to an inline 6-cylinder turbo with 335bhp combining to propel the Supersport to 60mph in 3.8 seconds.
The level of performance the Supersport delivers is notably increased from the Plus 4 and Super 3, with the glorious engine delivering a delightful soundtrack high in the rev range, typically BMW but well matched to the character of the car.
The Supersport is most at home on fast A-Roads which allow you space to open the revs in flowing corners rather than trying to put the power down on tight, twisty lanes which require rapid direction changes and agility. The rigid hard-top changes the character significantly – increasing stiffness and trying to make this more of a sports car than an open-topped tourer, a notable difference from the other two cars and a point of significant debate among the Randle team.
Some found the stiff suspension unforgiving, criticising the ride comfort and resultant rattles from the trim; others found this to be an acceptable trade-off when paired with the high-power, rev-happy engine.
The Supersport seems to fit in a very different class to the other two – its price point positions it as a competitor to a Porsche 911; its character is unmistakably Morgan.
You buy a 911 for its effortless performance, refinement and ‘big car company’ level of completeness; you buy a Morgan because you value exclusivity and craft, Morgan owners are engaged with preserving history and want to feel emotion with every turn of the steering wheel. Morgan hopes the Supersport will move from being their customers ‘third car’ to their ‘second car’ thanks to its usability improvements and a notable step up in quality.
Our car did not feature the dynamic handling pack or limited slip differential, it could be argued that perhaps the addition of these extras is needed to solidify the car’s dynamic credentials, extracting the very best from the new platform.
The Supersport was great fun and, even in Malvern, close to the Morgan factory, turns heads and gets more waves and pointed fingers than just about anything else on the road.
Factory tour
Our driving experience was intersected by an informative tour of the Morgan factory – a facility as unique in its character as the company’s product range.
Walking through the facilities, the contrast between old and new was stark.
Bonded aluminium chassis components, digital instrument clusters, modern BMW engines and 8-speed automatic transmissions sit alongside 70-year-old wood forming tools, English Wheels and hand-cut leather upholstery.
A 70 year old, English Oak forming tool – still used to shape the ash frames for the Morgan Plus 4
As the company has grown, integration of traditional working practices with the modernisation of their product range has allowed the DNA of Morgan to flow through every vehicle that leaves the factory.
In an automotive world increasingly interested in preserving and modernising heritage vehicles under the banner of ‘Resto-Mod,’ Morgan has achieved the same result and emotion with not only their vehicles, but their manufacturing facility; a delightful blend of old with new, technology with craft, industrial with artisan.
It’s fair to say that everyone left feeling inspired and energised by the Morgan experience. The vehicles and the facility are a remarkable showcase of British engineering, craftsmanship and innovation. In an industry undergoing rapid change, it is encouraging to see a company successfully balancing heritage with modern technology while remaining true to its identity.
If Soichiro Honda’s famous prediction about the consolidation of the automotive industry proves accurate, Morgan will be alright… As he said – ‘In the future, there will be just half a dozen car companies – and Morgan.”
Written by and from the perspective of Rob Capaldi
Photo credit ©Randle Engineering
