Morgan - the Honest Car

I have driven a Morgan only once. I was reminded by a fellow driving up the mountain to the Tavern this morning. It was to and from the Reception after a wedding, at which I was the Groom. (Not the chap's this morning !) 
Unfortunately the beautiful little ride belonged to a friend and I had to give it back. What an honest little car it was. Unlike the Bride.  I should have taken the car for swaps.  Perhaps I can talk this fellow into a ride.

Quintessentially British from chassis to badge, the Morgan is not only a hark back to a golden age of 'motoring' but one of those few truely 'Hand-made' vehicles left, and were you to pass by the factory you could go in and have a guided tour. 

The Morgan Motor Company is a family-owned British motor car manufacturer that was founded in 1910 by Henry Frederick Stanley Morgan.

Here, take a short tour.

Morgan is based in Malvern Link, an area of Malvern, Worcestershire and employs 177 people. Morgan has stated that they produce "in excess of 1300" cars per year, all assembled by hand. The waiting list for a car is approximately six months, although it has been as long as ten years in the past.

H.F.S. Morgan's first car design was a single-seat three-wheeled runabout, which was fabricated for his personal use in 1908, with help from William Stephenson-Peach, the father of friends, and the engineering master at Malvern College. Powered by a 7 hp (5.2 kW; 7.1 PS) Peugeot twin cylinder engine (from an abandoned motorcycle project) cycle, the car had a backbone chassis, an idea retained for all following Morgan three-wheelers, and used as little material and labour as Morgan could manage. 

A single-seat three-wheeler with coil-spring independent front suspension, unusual at the time, the driveshaft ran through the backbone tube to a two-speed transmission (with no reverse), and chain drive to each of the rear wheels. The steering was by tiller, and it had band brakes. It also had no body.


With financial help from his father and his wife, the car was put into production at premises in Pickersleigh Road, Malvern Link, and three single-seaters exhibited at the 1910 Motor Show at Olympia in London. In spite of great interest being shown, only a few orders were taken, and Morgan decided a two-seater was needed to meet market demand. 

This was built in 1911, adding a bonnet, windscreen, wheel steering, and crank starting; it was displayed at the 1911 Motor Cycle Show. An agency was taken up by the Harrod's department store in London, with a selling price of £65. The Morgan became the only car ever to appear in a shop window at Harrods

Every Morgan is expertly hand crafted using three core elements: ash, aluminium and leather. By pushing the boundaries of how long-established techniques can be applied, each Morgan car celebrates traditional manufacture while embracing modern design.

In spite of their traditional design, Morgans have always had sporting or "sports car" performance, due to their extremely low weight.

Among their enthusiasts, Morgans are affectionately known as "Moggies".

OK, you want a test drive.

Morgan cars can be found in many areas of motorsport, from club and historic racing to more prominent examples, including the Le Mans 24hr race. A notable Morgan racecar was the Aero 8 GT car that campaigned in 2008 Britcar races and the 2008 Britcar 24hrs at Silverstone, prepared and run by Mark Bailey Racing.

Having celebrated its Centenary in 2009, the Morgan Motor Company continues its proud tradition of building fine English sports cars for discerning enthusiasts.
The mainstay of the company is the Classic Morgan range. 

The Morgan Motor Company has been building the Classic range for over seven decades. Although the classic and timeless appearance of the Morgan is retained, ‘under the skin’ the Classic Morgans now offer the performance, efficiency and safety enhancements required today.

The Classic range is available in four models, two 4-cylinder models, the 4/4 and Plus 4, a V6-engined Roadster and the recently introduced V8-engined Plus 8.
In 2001 Morgan added an innovative Aero 8 as the flagship of the model range. This was succeeded by the limited edition AeroMax. 

In 2009 Morgan launched the current ‘head-turning’ Aero SuperSports followed by the Aero Coupe in 2012. These models feature a lightweight race proven aluminium chassis and coachwork, powered by a 4.8 V8 engine. The unique styling of the Aero Coupe and SuperSports, coupled with outstanding performance and handling combine to showcase the pinnacle of Morgan's 100+ years of driving passion.

Morgan continues to provide unique driving experiences with the return to the roots in 2011 of the car that started the company in 1909, the Morgan 3 Wheeler.

Just right for open-top driving on Tasmania's similarly hark-back roads.

Drink up, but after a drive, not before.

Pax