Driving a performance car in the real world can make you feel like public enemy number one.
Maybe it’s the overly aggressive styling of most modern driver’s cars, or perhaps it’s simply jealousy. But try pulling out of a busy junction in something with a fruity exhaust and a sub-4.0sec 0-62mph time, and settle in for the wait as your fellow motorists whizz wilfully by, glaring at you like you’ve just suggested demolishing their house to make way for a McDonald’s drive-through.
Conversely, try the same move in a 1950s MG A and you’ll be treated like a hero. People love classics. However, it’s incredibly easy to forget just how much automotive technology has evolved in the past 70 years until you have to deal with beam axles and carburettors.
So how do you blend exhilarating modern performance with cheerful, crowd-pleasing vibes? Simple: you buy a Morgan. I’ve never been treated better on the road than I have behind the wheel of one of Malvern’s hand-crafted roadsters, and even if I had been sneered at, I’d be having too much fun to care.
Operating since 1910 as a successful purveyor of thrummy three-wheelers, Morgan built its first four-wheeled car in 1935 and introduced the Plus 4 in 1952 – and then stayed firmly in its lane. The Plus 8 came about in 1968 with Rover’s legendary V8 up front, but otherwise this was a firm that steered clear of all-out revolution.
Nonetheless, the orders kept coming in (there were 10-year waits at one point), and in 2000 the Aero 8 was launched alongside the classic Plus models and the V6 Roadster as the first all-new Morgan in 32 years.
The looks were divisive, but it’s what was under the skin that made this car so special. A bonded aluminium chassis cradled a current-spec 4.4-litre BMW V8, while rose-jointed suspension and double wishbones all around meant the chassis was a world away from the somewhat cart-esque architectures of yore. It was truly modern, but still with a traditional ash wood body frame as a nod to the past.
Morgan was on a roll by 2012. If you weren’t a fan of the Aero 8’s gorgeous art deco styling, you could have a Plus 8 instead – near enough the same car but with a body that looked like it left the factory in 1956.
The 3 Wheeler was brought back to life too, with a thrummy V-twin bursting out of the body between the front wheels. And today’s Morgan line-up is more diverse and characterful than ever before: the laugh-a-minute Super 3 opens the range with a Ford petrol triple and unique styling; the Plus Four continues as a faithful but usefully modernised evolution of the 1950s original; and the new Supersport has landed as a six-figure GT with real Porsche-baiting credentials.
Visit the factory and not only will you find cars being beautifully hand-built in a similar way to 100 years ago, but you will also find buzzing engineering and design teams with a slickness and community spirit that’s firmly at odds with the firm’s former ‘old man’ image.
It’s a company that recognises the importance of keeping key skills going while appealing to the next generation. To me, Morgan is the King of Cool in the car world at the moment – and the jaw-dropping Midsummer special edition, created in partnership with legendary design house Pininfarina and launched last year, is a further illustration of that.
It’s hard not to crack a grin when you’re behind the wheel of a Morgan, and there’s something special about knowing that other people are doing the same just watching you drive past.
