Hi all,
Thanks to the nice people at Richard Thorne's place I had a fantastic visit to the factory on Sat.
I drove 4 cars....Supersport, Plus 8, 4/4 anniversary and 4/4 sport.
The staff were terrific, all enthusiastic;the factory tour was, as always, great. Sandwiches and everything!
The supersport was amazing. First automatic I've driven for a long time. VERY loud exhaust (too much for me in fact) but went like the wind. Actually, like the wind it went sideways when I pulled away - but the roads were wet and I was over enthusiastic....A real touring car; my wife would love it.
But then the Plus 8. Words fail. It's so planted, so quick, so ...utterly....fantastic. I love it. How can I find £85T? Really, it brings the plus 8 (I used to have a seventies one) into this century. The sound was perfect. It looks superb in the flesh. It doesn't feel too wide when you're driving it. Bit more elbow room inside too. It behaved impeccably on the wet roads, getting the power down with no problem - it leaps forward instantly on the pedal.The factory must be so proud of it. It's a world beater. Well, that's enough I suppose. Start saving chaps.
The anniversary 4/4 was excellent. Alot more refined than the 1600. More tourable. Really nice to drive with the added torque of course. However, jumping in the 1600 immediately after, I started to grin immediately. I threw it into some corners and it's really alive feeling; proper English sports car stuff. Highly enjoyable even with that awful 2nd gear. I couldn't really see why it was more fun than the 2L except they had different tyres - could that be it?
All in all a fabulous day. And great to see the factory clearly so busy and prosperous. Drove home next day (long way) in my Roadster the happiest car on the road (it was very bad rain and wind on Sunday) feeling lucky to be part of the Morgan family. What joy.
nick
