2020 Morgan Plus Four: Same, but Different?
Using classic design techniques and current technology in harmony, the new Morgan Plus Four redefines our understanding of a modern car.
A question that many companies and designers ask themselves when brainstorming an idea is how to create something new out of something old. The thought is not a novel one, most likely it has been asked as long as human life has existed. The Morgan Plus Four, in automotive terms, is essentially one of the oldest production vehicles you can buy new today. This car has been produced by this small British auto manufacturer since the 1950s. That’s 70 years of the same car, being built in the same shop. After all that time, you would expect that these people know how to build that certain car. So we ask again, how do you create something new out of something old?
Well, visiting the Morgan factory, Carfection host, Drew Stearne, shows us what this company’s answer to that question is. While this might look like the same car you could have bought back in 1950, it is completely new. How is that possible? Well, sometimes you have to look a little bit more than skin deep to understand. That’s why well take a look at the car from the bare bones and work our way up from there.
When you have a company that’s looking for ways to celebrate its 110th birthday, there is probably no better way that to refresh completely and build something novel. Now, the iconic shape and silhouette of a Morgan will go unchanged. It is this very shape that gained them the respect they earned today. So, they decided not to break away from the design, but rather, modernize the car completely without making it look like they’ve done anything at all.
Previously, all Morgan models were built on a “steel ladder chassis.” This is a technology the company had been using since the 1930’s for the construction of their vehicles. Almost a century later, they believed it was the right decision to modernize. We understand why. Thus, they developed the new “CX platform.” However, fret not, this new chassis still features “arguably the most iconic part of any Morgan car…the wooden frame the body is built on.” However, the chassis is now constructed of bonded aluminum. This allows the body to not only be safer, but also “stiffer, more responsive, less quirky” than the previous pre-historic design.
As you might imagine, in order to support a modern chassis, you need a modern engine. Thus, the folks at Morgan decided to side with a company that knows a thing or two about building engines: BMW. Featured in the Morgan Plus 4 is the BMW B48 2.0L turbo-4, also seen in the new base-model Toyota Supra. While the Plus Four is intended to be “a smaller, potentially, more entry-level car to drive”, its bigger brother, the Plus 6, will feature the B58 turbo inline-six, as seen in the premier Supra models. This trusted and reliable BMW 4 cylinder engine will make 255 HP and 295 ft/lbs of torque in the Plus Four, but retains an incredible power-to-weight ratio in comparison to Toyota. Not to mention, 40+ mpg also thanks to its minuscule weight.
So as you can understand, looks are definitely deceiving when looking at the classic exterior of the Plus Four. Sterne describes this well toward the end of the video,”even when the car is completely rebuilt from the ground up, those traditional techniques can still be married to things like this bonded aluminum chassis.” For example, the rear wheel arches are made from a wooden jig that is perhaps 70 or 80 years old, nobody really knows according to Sterne.
At the same time, the vehicle now offers advanced double wishbone suspension front and rear, while miraculously continuing to use traditional wire wheels. While 99% of the components used on the car are “completely new from the ground up”, there are still technicians in the factory hand-shaping the frame with a hammer and wood chisel. Piece by piece, carving away at the frame of this 2020 model. If that doesn’t blow your mind, we don’t know what will. Looking for a car that will exceed your exceptions of what is possible in the modern automotive market? We think you found it.