Feeling somewhat guilty here to mention Porsche yet again, sorry.
It would seem a relatively simple matter to incorporate a programme selection that would suit cruising to maximise fuel economy and another to suit relaxed driving with the push of a button, or tap of a screen select fast road settings, and for the nutters amongst us, Track day driving..?
My 10 year old Porsche 991 has just such options available and more that not only alter engine tune but gearbox decisions on which rev ranges to change gear, it can even throw in a throttle blip on the down change, also alter exhaust audibility, and even pipes induction sounds into the cabin to please those who like me wish the full musical accompaniment of driving an ICE "sports" car...
BTW my 991.1 C4S can exceed 30MPG ...apparently.....! Though when used for my personal enjoyment of the country roads hereabouts, I would not like to guess at it`s fuel consumption when in sport mode...!!!!
Expecting low rev grunt from an engine less than 2 liters up to Y2K seemed just too much to expect, but in a light machine such as a Morgan I suspect smaller capacity was far less noticeable compared to other 1600cc cars around ..? Which is where the +4 plated it`s part, though Morganeers ever being resourceful could tune a 1600cc to outperform it`s standard larger engined big brother with a bit of tuning by sacrificing a degree of torque in the lower rev ranges and of course at the same time wave by-by to a degree of fuel efficiency, as well as all the other knock on issues that trying to squeeze ever more horses under a bonnet of restricted dimensions.... But then that was all very much a part of the Morgan way of life back then...?
Today the need to tune a Morgan`s engine for more performance seems to have all but disappeared given the value attributed to horse power in the marketplace to the extent that my old Porsche has circa 400 horses to hand at the crack of my whip, and I suspect top end new Morgans may have even more, though perhaps less easily controlled by variations in digital programming than other modern sports cars ..? tYup it seems the priorities of Morgan buyers have moved on the extent that creature comforts and bling have perhaps taken priority over the vintage aspects that so attracted me to become a Morgan owner all those years ago.
Each to their own, I just hope Morgan can keep up given the rate of change in expectations...
