Morgan Motor Company is one of those classic old companies that hasn’t been gobbled up by a conglomerate and has survived nearly 100 years producing sports cars that are quite niche in style but has an enthusiastic following the world over.
Henry Morgan founded the company in 1909 after studying engineering and working for Great Western Railways in the UK within their design office. He had started in 1906 as a motor dealer in Malvern, Worcestershire selling Wolseleys and Darracqs. He bought a Peugeot engine and set about building a single seater three wheeler for his own use. He called it the Runabout and after many offers decided to build some. He showcased them at a motor show in 1991 and received 30 orders but realised that people wanted a two-seater as well.
So he started building three wheelers in Malvern and raced them in competition as a way of marketing. He used several types of engines most notably from JA Prestwich (known as JAP) and Dorman. These cars were known as cyclecars and were popular because they weren’t taxed like the bigger cars – some things never change do they!
The cars were typically V-twins, sharing components with motorcycles but they had two wheels at the front either side of the engine. The F Series from the 30s used a Ford sidevalve engine that started 70 years of collaboration – today’s Morgan’s use the Ford Zetec engine.
By the mid 30s Morgan was building 4 wheeled versions called the 4/4 (standing for 4 wheels, 4 cylinders). This car was very popular and started to surpass the 3 wheelers such that by 1952, the F series 3 wheeler was discontinued and the 4/4 was enhanced with better designed bodywork – in fact the same style that exists today!
The 4/4 was joined by the Plus 4 with a 2 litre Standard engine in 1950 and this continued for many years with Triumph or Rover engines. In fact by the early 90s it had also used FIAT engines as well!
Then in 1968, Morgan shoehorned in a Rover V8 and the Plus 8 was born. It followed the trend of the Sunbeam Alpine/Tiger, AC Ace/Cobra and TVR by using a smaller engined sportscar as the donor and putting in a motor with lots more power!
These cars continue to be produced in Malvern for the enthusiasts and although the Plus 8 has gone, the 4/4 and Plus 4 are still true to the designs of the 50s even though mechanically they use the most up to date equipment.
In 2000, the Aero 8 was launched, the first new design since the 50s and now fitted with a BMW V8. It still has styling cues from the past but is updated and with 370hp on tap with a lightweight body is also a throw back to the original concept of the Plus 8.
As I said earlier, the factory still remains in Malvern pumping out 14 cars a week and they have survived not only by selling a product that is constantly in demand, but they have not tried to diversify with engine development or other costly technology. By remaining true to the concept set up by Henry Morgan in 1909, they have used other companies’ engines, gearboxes etc which has reduced the cost of development. So while many of their peers have collapsed, they keep on going stronger than ever. It is also good to see that the Morgan family still own and control the company.