Talk Morgan Forums Morgan Sports Cars Classic Morgans (pre-CX) Roadster 2.5 ???

According to the current Morgan price list the base 4/4 is £29,760 VAT included; the +4 is £32,760 and the Roadster 3.0 V6 is £40,000.
Clearly these prices do not include delivery charges etc. One must assume that the £3.4k price increase can be applied to the ex factory price that makes the Roadster 3.7 V6 about £43,400 ex factory Vat included (but perhaps this is the projected 2012 price?).

The difference between the 4/4 and the +4 is not huge in terms of both performance and price but the difference between the +4 and the Roadster 3.7 V6 is about 115 HP and more than £10,000.

As a suggestion to Morgan: why not consider the The Duratec 2.5 L I-4 that is identical to the Mazda MZR 2.5L engine. Power has been increased to 175 hp@6000 rpm and 172 lb-ft@4500 rpm torque. It is the smoothest and quietest Duratec 4-cylinder. (source Wikipedia)

Given that Morgan can get 200 hp out of the 2 litre engine getting 200 hp out of the 2.5 should be childs play.

Voilà! A Roadster 2.5 4C or a Plus 4 +, or what ever you want to call it. This would be a nice little motor with loads of torque and fill the gap nicely between the Plus 4 and the Roadster 3.7. I think it would be good with the Roadster 3.0 mudguards and wheels. Given it is still a Duratec 4 cylinder it should be possible to do it at a premium of about £4k over the price of the standard Plus 4. Also cost of ownership, tax and insurance would be substantially less.

What do you think of this suggestion?

Peter

A 4 engine line up for a model range that sells around 600 units per annum is surely a non starter. The current offerings of an entry model at a keen (for a hand built car) price point, the plus 4 which numbers wise must be the mainstay of the trads and if you spec up is a £40k + car and £45 - £55k V6 doesn't leave much room for a 2.5. The hole in the model range is probably in the £75k bracket but that is purely academic for many, my self included.

A 2.5l +4 would have made most sense when the 4/4 was 1.8 for a period of time...

I like the idea of the extra torque of a 2.5 though...

Cheers,

I see your point and it has to be said that whilst the 2.0 litre engine is more or less traditional for the +4 there have been variations up and down. However, given how quickly the +4 SS sold out, even though it is only made in RHD, there is clearly a demand for a 200 hp trad Morgan. Also perhaps one can say that already Morgan is able to produce limited runs of cars with special engines and sell them within, or perhaps in addition to, the 600 units a year.

I, for one, would have ordered one as quick as a flash if I could have had it with the options I want, and I suspect I am not alone. In fact if Morgan told me I could have that engine I would change my order tomorrow. It is not that I can not find the extra to pay for a Roadster 3.7, it is more that I don't really want a 260 hp car and I don't want to pay the extra taxes and insurance either.

One way or the other the future will bring some engine changes. It will be interesting to see what Morgan decides.

I know i'm deviating a little from the thread, but the model I would be looking for is the current 1.6 Sigma 4/4 sport with a 6-speed box.
The 6th gear ratio being the same as the current 5th gear and the other ratios spread evenly to give the engine a chance to work well in all types driving conditions.

Does anyone agree ?

Cheers,
N-M

How about fitting a Quaife 6-speed sequential gearbox

I fancy one of those Quaife's for my 4/4 - but it's nearly half the value of the car It doesn't need it though, with the nice wide spread of torque...
I agree on the 6 speed for the 4/4 Sport - having had 6 in the Boxster S and with 6 in the Clubman...

Since the +4 already uses a 5 speed Mazda gearbox, the six-speed from the MX5 2.0 Tech Sport would seem a possible candidate.
Don.

Yes, but with a final drive ratio change.
When I still had my Mk1 MX-5 I looked at various ways to raise the gearing a bit - 3000rpm for 60mph in 5th seemed daft in a car that could easily be used for longer distance touring. I found it wearing just on my normal commute. The simple answer was the later 6-speed, except that 6th was only just a shade taller than 5th on the earlier box. Gave up in the end and decided that with rapid sill rot it wasn't a car for me to keep...
Just for comparison the T16 +4 with R380 box was geared so that 3k rpm gave approx 75 in top - nice long legs for distance work...

Cheers,

Yes Graham I find the gearing on my T16 +4 great for the style & use of the car.
The Librands manifold also improves the perfromance mid range so much it adds a big grin