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

Awhile back, I was told it was Chevrolet Nassau Blue, which is a 1960s colour that was used on both the C1 and C2 Corvette.

Very "Bugatti" blue.....

What interests me...I got the idea because Morgan calls the new car Supersport. Taste is different. Some people complain that the waterfall grille has disappeared, maybe it's gone, maybe not. Because, could it be that the Sipersport may be followed by a more ordinary new Plus 6, based on this new model? With more conservative options such as the typical Morgan grille?

Every car I have owned has had various things that I would alter. Nothing to stop me buying though. The pursuit of perfection is a deep rabbit hole.
The MY23 Plus Four I have....
USB sockets tucked away at the back of the glovebox. GRRR
Minor draughts that are easily sorted, by me but should have been designed better.
Fuel tank a bit bigger. Liveable with and no big issue, just a preview of EV range concern!
Interior storage space for jack etc should be there, luckily mine are behind the passenger seat.
So, nothing to worry, but for an £80k car could be better.
I actually prefer this car to the Plus8. Blasphemy you say?
Just changed the Sportage to a new one. Mild hybrid not pure ICE as Kia take that option to meet EV targets. Small battery but car drives the same as the old ICE one. The tech "upgrades" are taking a bit of learning for setting up to what I want but I'll get there.
"What the **** is that beeping for? " happens. Manual out to find out.
Compared to the Plys Four I echo Harry's comments about not too much unnecessary stuff compared to other makes.
So, the Supersport is not perfection but I like it. Yes, a couple of minor quirks but.. a flagship that retains enough of the Morgan styling but is a step forward. The Plus Four keeps more trad design for those who want it. Would I buy a Supersport? Yes if the ££££ was there. Soft top, hardtop, dual option? Dual, but not sure how often the hard top would be used. How easy to swop? The "coal bunker " lower panel? Respray to.....?

Yesterday morning I was back down at Morgan for the launch of the new Supersport. I thought I’d share some thoughts today about what the past few months have been like having seen the car in December and a few time since and then again at the launch yesterday. But let’s start a little further back for some context.

I’ve been very fortunate and very thankful to be quite close to the company and many of its wonderful employees and other Morgan owners since becoming an owner myself in 2022 when I purchased my Plus Four.

That purchase and the photos shared here led to some fun early interactions which led to further collaborations which culminated in a lovely couple days last March making the ‘Tales from the Dales’ film with the Morgan team up her in Yorkshire.

In the late Autumn of 2024 they got in touch again asked if I’d write a few words about driving a Morgan on more than just sunny Sundays.

I was more than happy to help and that script was used in the Launch film that featured the blue Supersport in Ireland.

Since then I’ve felt a good deal more like a friend than a customer and truly value my time and relationship with the wonderful team at Morgan.

All of that is to say I’m far from objective and even wilfully biased in favour of the brand, though I should note I’m not paid and have not been paid by Morgan so all my thoughts shared here remain decidedly and freely my own.

When I drove down to see the Supersport for an early reveal for potential customers in December I did not consider myself a potential customer.

I had just had the Nitron Suspension upgrade on my four and was only a few months in to having the hardtop on my Four. The Four felt perfect and I was so delighted with the effect the subtle changes had. I was obviously excited to see the new car, but it was more out of curiosity than desire.

During the preamble to the reveal Jon Wells who is the lead designer at Morgan surprised me. He didn’t talk very much about the design of the car. He noted it had been in development since before the Midsummer and that the Midsummer had grown out of this. He said they were embracing a sort of clash design that thrust together the modern and traditional. And then he spoke about the importance of driving the car (something that came out again yesterday and clearly struck Richard Hammond during the launch).

Jon then handed it over to Matt Hole the Managing Director who talked for maybe 5 or so minutes about engineering and all the changes that had gone on with the chassis and under the hood. Then they showed a crash test video from under the car. It did not seem like a normal Morgan launch. I was intrigued.

When they pulled the covers of the cars (same blue and pink ones as yesterday) my first thoughts were fairly neutral. It took me a few minutes to take it in. I liked immediately that it sat more solidly on the ground. It looked more confident and completed but still a Morgan. But the design took a little time to digest.

This is not unusual. When familiar things change it can often take a number of viewings to adjust expectations. When you see something wholly new and without precedent first impressions matter, but when you’re close to something and familiar with something, as many of us are with Morgan it can take a few looks to adjust from our former familiar frame of references.

It took maybe 15 minutes of walking around the car from the side of the room to really understand it and reframe my focus. Then it clicked.

Given how familiar many of you who follow and message me here are with Morgan I suspect you’ll know what I mean and be somewhere between where I was and my friend Julian who I’m sure will share his story on his podcast soon. I don’t think he’ll mind me saying that his first impression, likely partly informed by his love for a familiarity with his Plus Six took a little longer to come around. On our drives home from the reveal we had a call and debriefed.

I was super excited and had commit by the end of the viewing to putting a deposit down. Julian wasn’t so sure at the start. Sometimes things take time. Sometimes they don’t. By the next morning Julian was on the phone with The factory to get his own order in.

I’ll leave the rest of Julian’s thoughts on the Supersport for him to share, but I offer this anecdote for those of you who maybe watched the launch yesterday and have seen the images and perhaps aren’t yet as excited as some of us who’ve seen it and sat in it and been around it a few times already. I can’t promise you’ll get there as we did, but I suspect you’ll warm to it the more it trickles into your visuals frame of reference.

Okay, enough context Spencer, I hear you saying, what about the car itself?

One of my early takeaways from time with the Supersport is the details. Jon Wells talked about them as the “1 percents” in the launch yesterday but they were the first thing that really drew me in when I saw the car for the first time. These are also the things that I suspect many of you who are on the fence won’t get to experience until you see one in the metal, so I’ll share some here.

I know this will sound ridiculous to many of you who follow who aren’t Morgan owners but those who are will hear me. There is a thoughtfully and carefully and elegantly designed rubber surround at the shoulder of the door that will seal and exclude weather and wind at the connection point between the hood, the door panel and the body. As I wandered around the car I noticed bit after bit that reflected just an astonishing care for the details. Areas and parts that in the past felt inherited now felt intentional. Like a designer and engineer had sat down and asked, if the drawing board was clean, what would be do here, and then they’d done it.

Other details that stood out to me:
The hard top is astonishing in person. Just incredibly crafted and so incredible when viewed from the inside. The mechanisms inside to release it are similar (or maybe same) as the new bonnet release presses which again are beautifully machined. I’m equally excited about top down as hard top driving at this point and very excited to have an easy way to switch between the two without undue labour.

The rear diffuser, exhaust, and light structure. This probably deserves its own post, but I’ll condense it a bit here for now. Again the attention to detail and material here is incredible. It resolves and grounds the rear design beautifully. I can’t wait to see them out on the road and following along behind one on some future Morgan sports car club drive.

The lower sill along the wing really grounds the car. Along with the front and rear black components it gives the car a very settled and purposeful stance. But it’s more than just aesthetic and the solidity and materiality of these components is reassuring. It feels less like the aluminium body has been draped over the chassis then it did on the Six or Four. This further contributes to that sense that the car is really anchored and planted to the ground. The whole thing looks very confident.

The body panel that starts at the shoulder line and somehow pivots and bends around the back of the car above the boot, incorporating the fuel cap, and around to the other shoulder. This piece of aluminium is astonishing. The elegance and precision of the work done to execute this amazes me. My hat goes off to the craftsmen who are shaping these, one of the most elegant single body panels I’ve seen on any car ever. I’m obsessed with it.

The boot.

I am so excited about this. First, from a practical perspective it’s a boot so, you know, normal boot things like locking storage for stuff and things.

Second, it can hold the side screens. This is a bigger deal than I think some have realised. Now you don’t have to make a decision before heading out whether you want windows or not. Head out and if the weather or your mood changes pop them on or off as you like and store them away out of sight and mind in the boot. It means you can go for a weekend or more away with bags in the back and when you get to your destination and your bags are in the hotel, explore to your hearts content with the sides off. It means, most basically, you can use one of the Morgan’s most distinctive and timeless features with more ease and less thought or planning. For people who love Morgan’s this is a really big deal. Jon Wells and the Morgan team have made a conscious decision to retain this traditional element while also making its use more accessible and elegant through the addition of the boot. Add on to this that the screens pop off in under 5 seconds and you’ve got a winning recipe in my book.

Third, just look at the boot. The metal work is beautiful, the hand made shape is precise and elegant, and the exposed wood a testament to and indication of the craftsmanship that’s gone into the whole car.

In February I saw the car in London and had a chat with Matt Hole, the managing director at Morgan who is through and through an engineer, and Morgan is all the better for having him at the helm. For maybe ten minutes he walked me through all the tiny and meaningful decisions that went into the boot, the strut, the construction, and the design. They spent so much time thinking about and iterating and getting it right. Which I think is actually the story about the whole car.

They said they set out to make a car you could use all year and I think for a lot of people this will be a key element that makes that possible.

One of the challenges I think Morgan has with the launch of this car is that they are so evidently desperate for people to drive it. But things being why they are, it has to be revealed first. Jon Wells and Matt Hole, the Managing Director are both clearly so excited about how the car drives. It’s evident a great deal of time and money and work has gone into this and I’m sure we’ll be hearing much more in April when driving reviews come out.

A car is always two things. A static aesthetic object, which is largely where our comments are focused now, and a used and applied object when driven and adventured in. As of now, we’re really only talking about part of the Supersport, and possibly not the most revolutionary part of it. Time will tell. I’ve not driven one so cannot comment. But I have a suspicion based on things I’ve heard that when we do hear more it will be exceptional.

All that’s to say, remember what a Morgan is for: Driving Joy.

Yes you can walk out to the garage and look at it, but as all of us here know, the real treat, regardless of chassis or engine or year, is driving your Morgan. All Morgans are special and the new Supersport is no different in that respect. It’s a handcrafted, beautifully engineered, wonderfully materialed, sports car built in the same factory using the same skills Morgan has been applying for over one hundred years. And when it’s driven I have no doubt it will evoke at least as much joy in the driver as past Morgans, as it will joy in those outside who see it driving by.

Another thing to consider is what the Supersport replaces. It is not replacing the PlusSix. Notably on display before we went into the hall for the reveal, were the first Aero shown at the Geneva motor show back in 2008, and an AeroMax. The inference we were meant to draw was evident. The Supersport is meant to sit where the Aero did until 2018. That is what it is replacing. And for my money and in my view it is a fitting retro-future, while decidedly Morgan, replacement to those cars.

I’ve gone on quite long enough, so let’s wrap things up for now.

The new Morgan Supersport. I love it.

My order and deposit were in the Monday after seeing it on the Friday (possibly the first). My spec was finalised and submitted in January (possibly the first). My build slot hasn’t been revealed to me yet, but I understand I may be one of the lucky early owners. And I do feel very lucky. Not just to be receiving one of the early builds, but more so to have such a lovely connection to and relationship with such a wholesome and excellent group of people as those Morgan.

I’m tremendously excited for and proud of them for all their work insuring excellent British automotive manufacturing carries on for another generation with the launch of the new Supersport!

Sounds like it’s going to be a sales success at the circa 200 pa output level.

Want to like it - had another look but can’t get past the lack of louvres (might be fixable) ugly front radiator cowl and lower front black area.

Trying to differentiate it risks turning a swan into an ugly duck.

There are some positives though, and maybe it looks better in the flesh.

Congratulations Spencer on your 1st and another great report, we will look forward to your next adventures in Morganland..

Johny Smith's and Harry M's videos so much better than Hammond's hysteria at the launch

That's a very eloquent essay, Spencer, thanks for that. I just want to comment on one detail of what you said, but it's something I was thinking about yesterday. When the Aero range came out 25 years ago, it was a really different car on a completely new chassis. All the Aero variants up to the Aeromax were coherent and great looking in my view, even if I wasn't a big fan of the very last open Aero.
When the BMW Plus 8 was derived from the Aero platform in 2011 or so, it was certainly a good idea on the one hand, because prospective buyers could have the more modern car with the traditional shape. But to be honest, and I'm not saying this for the fun of criticising, but because I noticed it again and again when I looked at it, the then new Plus 8 always looked a little bit inharmonious to me, e.g. the angle of the sloping rear end, the vehicle width in relation to the length and some other points. To pick up on the words, it was that one per cent that wasn't right but was so important. You could feel that an Aero had to put on a different dress, which didn't fit so well and where the jacket looked a bit baggy here and there.
Now, with the brand new Supersport, I have the positive impression that it was developed the other way round. Initially, they offered a traditional car on the new CX plattform. But I wouldn't be surprised if the design of the CX platform had already given some thought to other shapes.
Be that as it may, what I really like about the Supersport is that it looks like a unified whole and that it doesn't seem like a compromise for a given platform. I already like the whole car a lot better today than I did yesterday especially the rear but also the front, and that's just 24 hours to get away from the familiar traditional look (which I of course keep liking on it’s own).

The Supersprt is the same, a plus 6 in a different dress. i like it but will never have the waw factor of the Aero. And it should have electric windows.