Talk Morgan Forums Morgan Sports Cars Morgan Plus Four, Supersport & Plus Six (CX & CXV Generation Vehicles) Morgan Midsummer

Of course anything "new" from the MMC to keep the workforce employed has to be good, but for me it is perhaps another bling thing, and once again revealing my Porsche passion, Morgan are perhaps following on from the likes of the Singer and many other recreations of past icons with somewhat of a bling overload, which seems to be very necessary for that particular area of the market..?

It would seem that for as long as there have been Morgans, there have been folk modifying them to fit their own desires, be that their personal idea of either mechanical or bling perfection, or a mix of both, and it seems to me that the world is slightly more interesting as a result... and on that basis this interesting derivation works for me.

It is not the car for me, but it was never intended to be.

Now I have looked at it a bit more I find many elements that I like. I will even take it back about the "chrome bling" along the side.

I think that the rear overhang is slightly exaggerated, to my eyes, but I do like both the front and the rear treatment. The front particularly has a much better "finished" appearance than the rather agricultural looking trad.

In a car of this class I would prefer to see some sort of fitted tail-lights instead of the leftover design element of the trad. A blended in and fitted tail-light would enhance the generally sleak appearnce of the car.

I like the door fitted speakers and the very nice use of wood. What I can't get to like is the wood fitted to the door tops.

As I mentioned in my quoted post I would prefer to see properly fitted doors (like in the Aeromax ) in a car of this class and I do think that they could have done better with the door design.

I have always prefered smoothly rounded body lines over angular designs but I do remember that when sharply angular designs first appeared it seemed very modern and attractive. The soft blend between angular and rounded in this design is not ugly by any means and it really is a matter of personal taste.

I have to say that midsummer here, in the middle of the day, I would want the hood up and the aircon running. Sitting in a Morgan under the midday sun with the temperature in the high 30s is not the most comfortable experience.

Midsummer on the Med would be pleasant in the evening but not at midday 🥵🥵🥵

I'm curious to know how they managed to sell all 50 cars pre-launch. Is there some secret register of Morgan aficionados that Morgan keep that lists those wealthy enough to buy such a car? Do such people buy without actually seeing the car in the flesh or are there inivted to some ritual meetings held in, say, a mystical cave somewhere in the Malvern halls so that they can be initiated into the rites of buying such a car?

Maybe I'm miffed I wasn't offered the opportunity. But more seriously, if they can sell all the midsummer's off book, but can't sell enough plus 4 and 6's what does that say about the future business model of the company?

I’ve been thinking the same and I’ve sort of thought that with Pinifarina’s and Invest Industrials contacts (they did at one time own Aston Martin), they probably knew exactly who’d buy one if offered

I haven’t spoken to any UK dealers but my guess is that these were probably not offered through the UK network but I might well be wrong as it’s just a guess

I’m also guessing that there might be a lot of head scratching at Malvern amongst production asking themselves how the hell are we going to make these and when you get into luxury vehicles coming in at a quarter of million, wealthy owners and collectors will expect a level of finish and quality on a par with RR or Bentley, not to mention warranties if someone actually puts a few miles on the clock

Can Malvern deliver this?

Can’t wait to see one in the flesh though, I think it looks gorgeous

And how does the business model work ? Are there 50 large deposits sitting in their bank (or maybe some already paid in full ?). How long will it take to fulfil those orders ? Do staff efforts get redirected onto the barchetta away from the Plus cars ? And what happens if they fail to deliver -- be mindful of the woeful tale of the "new" TVR Griffith

I suspect they will be building them in the special projects area and dovetailing the work in with the ex Bristol BMW V8's being built up as specials for customers.

I think there are enough surplus Plus Four and Six models available on the market right now as is often being flagged on here

I can't help wondering if the addition of the extra wood on the new model was influenced by the Special four seater they built with the marine influences such as mock decking, it was the one with the white fibre glass roof.

First of all, I think it is very good and important that MMC is making a name for itself. In my opinion, the Midsummer is a very elegant Art Deco design. The inclusion of the big name Pininfarina is a very well done co-branding.
With this wonderful design that expresses so much class and aesthetics (except for the wooden frame above the doors), it is unfortunate that even the driver is a distracting element. When I look at pictures of the Plus 8 Speedster, it looks a bit goofy with the driver in it...plus the headrests, which are effective and mandatory for safety reasons, but the death of any Speedster line.



So, it's more of a sculpture that is beautiful without the driver and headrests.
A word about the line of the rear. I absolutely love it. In fact, as DaveW says, I'd like to see a picture with a "normal" Morgan with windshield and roof that has that rear line....if it would work together with it. Then it would be the special edition "Plus Six Pininfarina" and it wouldn't suffer from the vulnerabilities of a Speedster line described above.
However, the steeply sloping rear of a normal Morgan is a design statement with the core message "It's a Morgan" whether you like the style or not. The image below of the Plus 8 Speedster's sideline is perhaps less elegant, but it still evokes strong emotions for me, those of an archaic power vehicle with unbridled forward momentum and the experience of becoming one with this divine or diabolical machine.



The Midsummer, despite all the admiration I have for it...if a little blasphemy is allowed, reminds me of a beautiful middle-aged woman who is a little insecure about her looks (or who is simply bored) and so she has been to a plastic surgeon to have this and that fixed and reshaped. Nevertheless, in the end it is a beautiful result when the surgeon's name is Pininfarina. However, the "devilish" part of a Morgan was replaced by a Villa d'este Life Style. That can also be pleasing. To sum up, I think it's a great project with some (but little) ambivalence.

I know nothing of automotive design. I have spent my adult life with aesthetics so I would like to propose that my perception, given that that is the `greek root, is that this design lacks grace, lacks lightness, which to my mind has been a constant in the evolution of the traditional Morgan sports car. The sense that, even standing still one could perceive speed. Let us consider a Supermarine Spitfire for example or perhaps the steam engine Mallard. The purpose of both is to go quickly: the function of the design is to promote that sense of speed. One can imagine the movement through grace of the form, through rightness. The Morgan sports car, to my mind, epitomised this sense of rightness in the period between the introduction of the wider bodied Plus 4 in the mid eighties though the decade that followed, where the stance of the vehicle felt optimal, the flow of line and curvature of the wings contributing to the aesthetic appeal. Digressing slightly, I would propose that whilst I own and enjoy Leica M's, it is the Barnack which feels right in the hands in every tactile sense and speaks to that precise, perhaps perfect visual blending of engineering and function. My conclusion is that this new collaboration ,whilst it may have achieved its market purpose, has moved far away from much that Jon Wells has so often espoused. Perhaps it is time to acknowledge that the elements of the traditional Morgan still clung to are not sustainable and should be left in that historical space where they can be enjoyed by the many who appreciate it. I think integrity should be an essential part of Morgan's development. This is not it. Time to move on. To conclude flippantly. Thunderbirds and Hermes handbags came to mind.

I think the fact that they've presold all 50 cars means that that the management are making excellent business/financial decisions. The instant sales figure vindicates the direction they are moving in.
Long live the factory.

How tall is the guy in the Midsummer launch film ? He certainly looks goofy sitting on rather than in the car. Very Noddy.