Morgan Motor Company
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1934 Morgan Super Sports |
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1936 Morgan F4 Open Tourer |
The
Morgan Motor Company is a
British automobile manufacturer. The company was founded in
1910 by
H.F.S. Morgan and was run by
Peter Morgan, son of H.F.S., until his death in
2003. The early cars were two seat three-wheelers, and thus count as
cyclecars. They were designed to avoid a British tax on cars by being classed as
motorcycles. Competition from the likes of the
Austin 7, with comparable economy and price and better comfort, made cyclecars less attractive. Morgan's first four-wheeler was the 4/4, for four-
cylinder engine and four wheels.
In spite of their traditional design, Morgans have modern sports car performance, due to their very low weight. The Morgan Plus 8, which for many years used the
3.5L (215ci) aluminium V8 licenced from GM (shared with
Rover), is now powered by a
fuel-injected 196hp Rover
V8 and can accelerate from 0-60 mph in 5.6 seconds. For a few years in the
1980s, Plus 8s were imported into the
United States after conversion to run on
propane as fuel to pass the U.S.
emissions regulations. Modern Morgans are legally imported into the United States once more.
In
2000, the Morgan Aero 8 was introduced and, as always, the wooden body substructure was
ash. (Contrary to popular myth, however, the
chassis is metal;
aluminium for the Aero 8). The Aero 8, with a
BMW V8 engine in a car half the weight of the BMW, is even faster than the Plus 8, delivering what
Autoweek magazine termed
supercar performance.
The factory is located in
Malvern Link (an area of
Malvern in
Worcestershire) and has 130 employees. All the cars are assembled by hand. The waiting list can be up to a year. Production is nine cars a week and each car takes three months to build.
Among their buffs, they're affectionately known as Moggies. Their owners tend to be very traditional in their approach to sports cars; the hardtop Plus 4 Plus was a dismal failure, its styling being considered too modern.
Morgans have been seen in a number of movies and TV programs. A Morgan three wheeler is driven by
Peter Sellers in the movie
The Party, as somewhat of a badge of ridiculousness. A Morgan four wheeler was used throughout the
Mel Brooks film
Silent Movie. The movie
Speechless featured a 1957 Plus Four Four-Seater, and the movie
Now and Forever, set in Australia, had a 4/4 1600 Four-Seater. Perhaps the biggest hit among movies featuring Morgans was
The War of the Roses in which several cars were used to depict Mr. Rose's Plus Four roadster.
*
Morgan 3 wheeler*
Morgan 4/4*
Morgan +4*
Morgan +4+*
Morgan Plus 8*
Morgan Aero 8*
Morgan Four Seater*
Morgan Runabout*
Morgan Roadster*
LIFEcar* http://www.morgan-motor.co.uk/
* http://dmoz.org/Recreation/Autos/Makes_and_Models/Morgan/
*
Morgan on 3wheelers.com* http://www.gomog.com/
