Here, then, is the inevitable comment from one of the flat-capper-crowd.
To me, the car looks as if a modern, aggressive sports car—let’s say something like a TVR Sagaris—and a classic Morgan +4 had a baby, and this is the result. The basic shape of the body, which still follows the classic design ideals of the 1930s, clashes in my eyes with modern details like the big black front spoiler box, rear diffuser, black air vents, empty radiator grilles, and empty LED headlights.
A hardtop that will probably never be removed? When driving with the top down has always been at the heart of the Morgan concept?
Do I have to like it? No, I have a Morgan in my garage that I really love. And I couldn’t afford the new one anyway, but as a Morgan enthusiast of decades, I’ll take the liberty of shaking my head in bewilderment at the current developments.
I just come from the vintage cars and motorcycles scene, which might explain my purism. Someone who's been driving modern Porsches or cars like that sees such things differently. Different worlds.
The car certainly has fantastic performance figures and driving characteristics. And it’s certainly met with broad approval here. In that regard, I wish everyone who buys such a car much enjoyment with it.
I'm a dyed in the wool flat capper......... there I've said it....😂😂
The 400 is MMC taking another large step away from its past........a past it needs at the moment because it gives the marketing dept more to work with........
BUT......... the retro shape with leaky side screens will have to go in the near future......
We must be heading back to something resembling the Aero coupe some time soon...... a far better shape and design imho....🤷🏻♂️
The Supersport looks far better without the hard top I think...
I don't think that increasing the power, making them faster, is the right sort of progress or advancement..... how far can you go....???
The cars are already fast enough..... It's all about marketing.....🤷🏻♂️
I guess it'll all help if the Italians sell the company....🤷🏻♂️
🇬🇧🇬🇧
Julian,
I can understand your sentiments and your perceived departure from a brands roots but take your 4/4, it bears absolutely no resemblance to where Morgan began ie a single-seat, three-wheeled cyclecar the 1909 Morgan Runabout, a lightweight, 3-wheeler powered by a 7 hp Peugeot V-twin engine and steered by a tiller,. So one could argue anything with 4 wheels at some point became a major departure from the brands roots and only the current 3 wheeler truly embodies and can be traced back to the founding brand principles and ethos.. It's all about our individual perception of change/departure.
I'm just pleased to see Morgan still exists, is producing exciting sports cars that can hold their own with the car industry gaints like Porsche and still mange to maintain that handbuild craftmanship and individuality that other brands have sacrificed on the altar of automation and production efficiency. However unfortunately Morgan has had to make imposed changes which has come with a cycle of increased technical sophistication (often in response to legislative change eg Euro compliance, US regulations etc.) that has lead to increase weight, and costs,
As with other brands the expectations of consumers has over time pushed the standard of fit higher, eg heaters, leather interiors, carpeting, air condirioning, traction control, air bags ( in response to particular market entry) and so on....................the result a increasingly more sophisticated and expensive product. I wish I could still buy a pair of 501 Levi's for £3.50, but I can't and they haven't changed a thing in the intervening 60 odd years since I first bought a pair of 501's..
I hope the used prices fall on the newer models so I can afford one more easily, by that I mean justifying to myself when comparing with the rest of the market place. I loved my trads, but age and knee made clutch impossible, I love my CX it's a step change for the better over the trads and has kept me in the brand for longer, a Supersport 400 may one day be more affordable......
Just bear in mind MIliband has just signed upto and committed the UK to an 80% plus reduction in emissions by 2040's just over 14 years away, I'm sure killing the ICE and getting them completely off our roads is in the plans in order to achieve that. Once we are committed to such reductions the 'greens' will enforce thru the courts achieving such targets.......so now the ICE is now well and truly dead going forward beyound 2030.in the UK.
So in the grand scheme of things whatever Morgan can produce today with an ICE may have a very short life span in the UK, so I'm going to enjoy the final swansong of my Harley and Morgan before they effectively become scrap under the weight of expected change to hit emission targets.in the near future.
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