Talk Morgan Forums Morgan Sports Cars Morgan Plus Four, Supersport & Plus Six (CX & CXV Generation Vehicles) 3 Write-Offs?

At my last visit at BHM in 2019 Keith give me the chance for a testride in the PlusSix Demonstrator.

My answer: oh, no. Too much respect about the power and doesn't fit my feet. (To heavy...).

We speak about the car and that there are no "electronic helpers". I told Keith: if we wait some time and some Americans and heavy feeted Germans throw the car away, the factory will fit some more electronic.

René

Lets see what the magazine test reports bring up when they get past their normal " this is new and therefore the greatest" approach obligatory in first tests.

I wrote a long article on here a while back when I tested and compared an Aero 8, an Evora and ( I think) an F type. To me it was clear then that the Aero 8 was a point and squirt machine not up to scratch when it came down to poor british surfaces and bends - great fun in a straight line but not in the same world as the Lotus. Dont think my comments were that well received amongst this group of Morgan groupies but it was my honest opinion. And it wasnt surprising given the level of technical resources available to MMC. They had done as well as they could with what they had.

The Plus 6 is clearly better. But I wonder how well MMC have done, how much resource they can throw at this sort of development. After all they havent got the resources or tech skills of a consultancy like Lotus. And its worth adding that they dont have the ability to tailor the engine utput which BMW will have designed to suit a fully electronified car. So what we see might be a modern version of the early Porsche Turbo issues - sudden surge of power as it comes on boost??

There's no way MMC was competing with Lotus or Porsche with the Aeros or plus 6 , its not a handling car , not designed for the track , nice GT car though for bumbling along listening to a lovely sound . I don't think there is a car that Morgan competes against , its totally different from anything else which is why people buy it !

I don't know the driving experience in the new Plus 8 or the Plus Six. But traditional Morgan can be very competitive on the race track. Against the same brand as you can see impressively in the 4/4 Williams videos but also against other brands in their performance class. They are archaic cars but the basic data and the weight distribution is correct.
Sorry for thread drift but I had to say that. Those days are over. If it is true that a nowadays Morgan is fast and modern but you have to be afraid to step on the gas or take a fast turn then I agree that a new Morgan is in this sense not any longer competitive.

Well, I spent the day at Millbrook with a professional instructor with the GTN testing the car to the limit. It was a first Aero for him and he was surprised at how good it was. The Aero platform does seem to work and handle better the faster it is going and bends aren't the issue Howard suggests but I agree it doesn't like poor road surfaces.

And me

Must book in a test crash

Er
Sorry

Meant ‘test drive’

[quote=howard}...So what we see might be a modern version of the early Porsche Turbo issues - sudden surge of power as it comes on boost??[/quote]

Howard. There is not a sudden surge of power as it comes on boost... early Porsche Turbo's were huge and took a while to 'spin-up'... hence the 'sudden surge of power' that you refer to! But from my drive in December, I recall that it's a very linear power and torque delivery, very predictable. This BMW engine has had huge amounts of R&D behind it to make it feel almost normally aspirated in it's power delivery. However it's a lot of power/torque to put though a light rear end with no traction control, especially on wet roads. A good driver will learn how to respect and master this quickly... but it's not something an inexperienced driver could jump straight into and then firewall the right boot!

Where as I don't know the cause of these unfortunate crashes one of the;issues' I am experiencing with my Plus 6 is the relationship between the brake and accelerator pedal. The brake pedal has a fair travel distance before the brakes start being applied, this mean that the brake pedal is below the height of the accelerator before the brakes come one which can result that in the narrow cockpit (and with size 11 feet) it so very very easy for your braking foot to push down on the of of the accelerator as well as apply the brakes if your foot is not exactly square onto the brake pedal.

In an emergency braking situation it would be so easy to apply the accelerator as well as the brakes if you foot is even lightly off square. I can only imagine the consequences in a car with so much power and torque

Did a test on my and neighbours cars yesterday and found that on all of them the brakes were full applied before the brake pedal went below the top of the accelerator pedal. Have dropped a note to Morgan about this and hope a fix is found a.s.a.p

Howard. There is not a sudden surge of power as it comes on boost... early Porsche Turbo's were huge and took a while to 'spin-up'... hence the 'sudden surge of power' that you refer to! But from my drive in December, I recall that it's a very linear power and torque delivery, very predictable. This BMW engine has had huge amounts of R&D behind it to make it feel almost normally aspirated in it's power delivery. However it's a lot of power/torque to put though a light rear end with no traction control, especially on wet roads. A good driver will learn how to respect and master this quickly... but it's not something an inexperienced driver could jump straight into and then firewall the right boot!
[/quote]
Fully agree , that was my impression. The car had more power than I felt safe to apply on a test drive. It seemed in control but there was a sense it could all easily go so wrong.

How does that saying go ?

"With great power comes great responsibility".

I remember having a chat a few years ago with a chap in an Aero Plus 8 as we waited for a ferry in Dieppe.

He told me that he liked the car, but had a constant feeling that it was trying to kill him, which was not a sentiment he'd ever experienced with the Plus 4 he had owned beforehand.....

Massive power, light weight, short wheelbase, zero driver aids. It's not a hugely difficult equation to understand, but certainly a package which requires respect and circumspection from the person behind the wheel.