Talk Morgan Forums Community The Malvern Arms What next Morgan?

I still remember the consulting job of a former ICI CEO to help Morgan to change for the better.
Morgan did not follow his recommendations.
(ICI disappeared 2008.)

Yes, me too .

We had an expression at work that I'm sure will ring true with a few of you, if you want it cocked up and twice the price call in a "consultant" or alleged "expert".

But Morgan did change , they produced the aero chassis and the first completely all new aero in 2001 and changed many work practices , its a good job Harvey Jones went there and gave his views or we wouldn't have had the BMW v8 and ali chassis , wonderful cars.

We went on a tour of the Bentley factory last week. They seem to have a really good balance between hand assembled and modern automation. We saw automation assisted cutting out of leather trim followed by hand trimming. There is a wonderful wood shop. We also saw a modern assembly track with jigs and lift assisters. Every one we spoke to took an enormous pride in their work and in the product. One of the highlights was talking to a chap who trims steering wheels at the rate of around 2 a day. The scale of the place was enormous compared to Morgan (4000 people building 11,000 cars a year) but we got the impression that they also have something special there.

I remember seeing HJ driving an Aero at the time and commenting how glorious it was .

This is a truly difficult conundrum.

I could have been tempted by the Aero Plus 8 had it been smaller, and therefore I have to conclude that I could be tempted in the future by an alloy tub with reduced size Aero fittings. It wouldn't have to be a V8. But it would need to continue 'the look'.

And of course it would have to carry a spare. For me that's a deal breaker.

And then I would have to sell both my Trads to fund it, and that would be really tough.

Price point? Well, with Roadsters pushing £70k, I think we have a good idea. One reason why I haven't gone for a 3.7 Roadster is that The uplift from My S1 is going to be over £30k, and that's why we decided it justified a second Morgan in 2013 rather than upgrading.

I reckon the next generation Morgan is at least a couple of years away, and so we may just have the Trads and the M3w for a while, so I expect some limited editions to maintain interest.

Never say never eh? But for me it's probably only 10/20% likely.

Peter J,
Any reduction in CO2 levels will be welcome as here in Ireland we are massively taxed on cars with a CO2 level over 130. In order for us to have a reasonable chance of buying a new Morgan, the CO2 levels of engines need to come well below the 130 level and to do this it seems sensible to use a BMW engine for the 4/4 and Plus4 at least.
Also I have a slight recollection that at the dealer meeting two years ago The factory mentioned new engines in 2019!!

Mazda sky active 3 engines for instance would be an attractive proposition, otherwise two years down the road you'll be looking at swapping engines once more, fleet averages will need to be down to 95 by 2020 and a proposed 70 by 2025 that's why loads of manufacturers are actively investing in the Hybrid and Electric only units.

Today I was copilot in a MX5 ND 160 HP. I drove such a car when new and the engine was a bit tenacious and unwilling over 5000 tours. Today this car had 11.000 km, an unpleasant drone of the new one was gone and the engine was much more rev willing. I could strongly recommend this engine for Plus 4 and the 130 HP which is sportier if weaker for a 4/4. The last chance to get legally a NA engine in a smaller trad Morgan.

+1 - no reason they could not platform share with Lotus and Caterham (remember Caterham collaborated with but got cold feet over the new Alpine). New alu chassis smaller than the Aero 8... Lotus do wedge, Caterham cycle wings, Morgan trad style at least in the front - no need for legacy unaerodynamics for their next generation of customers!


Mustang V8 anyone?
4/4 replaced by the 3/4 (1.0 triple turbo)?


Bingo! JLR are changing a pretty penny for rebuilt ETypes etc. The SLR is smaller, rarer... makes much more sense than the Aero shape in my opinion! Ideally fitted to the new alu chassis and new Ford engines above