The Morgan Motor Company announced its latest model, the Plus Six, at the Geneva Motor Show this past March and it has since been the source of much discussion, particularly amongst Morgan enthusiasts.
The prospect of BMW’s turbocharged B58 in-line six-cylinder petrol engine motivating the classic sports car shape is certainly one to get people talking. It will effectively replace the outgoing Plus 8 and be the first part of a series of models to be based on Morgan’s new wide-body aluminium chassis.
This means some cosmetic changes, but in the traditional evolutionary sense that is now familiar with new Morgan models. The last all-new model from the company was the Aero 8, nearly 20 years ago, so this Plus Six is really rather big news for the firm and management hopes that it will mark a new era of commercial success.
The new chassis is very promising. Named CX, it provides roughly 20cm more cabin length as well as offering crash protection much improved over past generations; in fact, it features a 100% increase in torsional rigidity over Morgan’s previous aluminium platform. It’s also light. So that Morgan claim the Plus Six to be its most dynamic package is unsurprising. The BMW’s 335bhp picks up the Morgan’s dry 1075kg with ease, takes it to 60mph in a blistering 4.2 seconds and onto a top speed of 166mph.
It has clearly made an impact with the first 50 examples inn First Edition specification already sold out and a further 150 orders waiting to pick up some of the 800 cars expected to be made this year. Following the dynamic show at this past Goodwood Festival of Speed, Morgan has used the Prescott Hill Climb event in early August to formally hand over 11 demonstrators to dealerships. The next era, with new majority stakeholder Investindustrial on board, promises to fruitful for the venerable marque.
