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- Herausgeber: Crowood
- Kategorie: Lebensstil
- Sprache: Englisch
Once given the green light to use Rover's newly acquired V8 engine, the Morgan Motor Company lost no time installing it under the bonnet of their traditional sports car. The Morgan Plus 8 became their biggest-selling model, spanning thirty-six years from its 1968 launch to discontinuation in 2004. After an eight-year respite it was reintroduced to the firm's model line -up from 2012 until 2018, underpinned by a new state of the art bonded aluminium chassis and powered by a potent BMW V8. Morgan Plus 8 - Fifty Years an Icon gives a detailed account of the history, design and manufacturing process of the Morgan Plus 8. With over 300 colour photographs it covers both the traditional and Aero chassis cars; the history of both the Rover V8 and the BMW V8 engines; includes full specifications for each model; recalls the Plus 8's motor sport heritage; features personal first-hand accounts from key personalities and finally, covers the history of the mark and looks at is future.
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Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2020
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MORGAN PLUS 8
FIFTY YEARS AN ICON
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Morgan 4/4: The First 75 Years
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Porsche Carrera: The Air-Cooled Era
Porsche Carrera: The Water-Cooled Era
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Range Rover: The First Generation
Range Rover: The Second Generation
Range Rover Sport
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VW Karmann Ghias and Cabriolets
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MORGAN PLUS 8
FIFTY YEARS AN ICON
MICHAEL PALMER
Foreword by Steve Morris and Preface by Charles Morgan
First published in 2020 byThe Crowood Press LtdRamsbury, MarlboroughWiltshire SN8 2HR
www.crowood.com
This e-book first published in 2020
© Michael Palmer 2020
All rights reserved. This e-book is copyright material and must not be copied, reproduced, transferred, distributed, leased, licensed or publicly performed or used in any way except as specifically permitted in writing by the publishers, as allowed under the terms and conditions under which it was purchased or as strictly permitted by applicable copyright law. Any unauthorised distribution or use of this text may be a direct infringement of the author’s and publisher’s rights, and those responsible may be liable in law accordingly.
British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication DataA catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
ISBN 978 1 78500 726 2
DEDICATION
For my wife Karen.
If patience is a virtue, then she is surely virtuous.
All my love X
CONTENTS
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
There are many individuals to thank for the successful completion of this book. There are also many companies and organizations who have been generous with their time and information. This has turned into a truly international book as Morgan Sports Car Club members from around the world, not just in the UK, have rallied to my assistance. Then there are the authors of other books on the marque, whose work provided a useful reference. My thanks go to all of you.
I must single out a few individuals who went the extra mile to help out, not least Mary Lindsay, who provided pictures and information just days before my deadline. Rob Wells of Lewis Racing also helped with some last minute detailing.
Over the course of my research Tcherek Kamstra and Bill Fink of Morgan Cars USA supplied many photographs and contacts who were able to fill out the story. That pictorial history was enhanced by John H. Sheally II who generously supplied a portfolio of photographs for me to reference and use.
Closer to home Keith Jackson at Brands Hatch Morgans allowed me to delve into his seemingly encyclopaedic knowledge of information and statistics. On the rare occasions he didn’t know he knew where to look, although his first thoughts were usually right.
Companies
The Morgan Motor Company: Steve Morris (CEO); James Gilbert (Press Officer); Martyn Webb (Historian)
General Motors: Christo Danti and John Kyros (GM Media Archive)
BMW GB
Jaguar Land Rover (JLR)
Superform Aluminium Ltd, Worcester
Radshape Sheet Metal Ltd, Birmingham Lane Automotive
Dealerships
Brands Hatch Morgans, Borough Green, Kent
Techniques, Stotfold, Hertfordshire
Richard Thorne Classic Cars, Grazeley Green, Berkshire
Allon White Sports Cars, Cranfield, Bedfordshire
Percival Motor Company, Ulcombe, Kent
Morgan Cars USA, San Francisco, California
Owners Clubs
Morgan Sports Car Club (special thanks to Gill Bevan)
Buick Club of America
Oldsmobile Club of America
Pontiac Owners Club UK
Rover P5 Club
Rover P6 Club
Contributors
Jake Alderson, Paul Anderson, Marie and Derek Atkinson, Anders Axelsson, Jane and Arnie Bennett, Joseph De Leener, Peter Dimaio, Irina Dominteanu, Jane and Richard Douglas, Brian Downing, Richard Dredge, Ingvar Fredriksson, Jacques Gallien, Andrew Garlick, Kerry Guy, Robert Harffey, Tony Heard, Leigh Hogben, Machiel Kalf, Steve Langston, Doug Lloyd, Laurette and Phil Macwhirter, Patricia and Ken Miles, Charles Morgan, Rieko Motegi (Azayaka Consulting), Franz-Xaver Nager, Charles Neal, Tim Palmer, Simon Percival, Dave Sapp, Horike Satoshi, ’Scotty’, John Seymour, Dixon Smith, Bob Spinner, Adrian van der Croft, Michael Virr, Toni Weibel, Ulf Willen, Geoff Williams, Alan Young.
Picture Libraries
Magic Car Pics
Morgan Motor Company
John H. Sheally II
Thank You
FOREWORD
The Morgan Plus 8 is, without doubt, one of the most iconic models to have existed in our 110 year history.
Steve Morris, CEO of the Morgan Motor Company.MMC
When it was first launched, in 1968, it was a revelation for Morgan. It had a level of performance that would rival some of the fastest cars on sale at the time. I can only imagine the rumble of the first Plus 8 shaking the workshops at our Pickersleigh Road factory when it was started for the first time, before echoing around the Malvern Hills on its maiden test drive.
During its lifetime the Plus 8 proved its competition credibility on both road and track, its superb power-to-weight ratio helping it to continue a tradition of race successes for the company that spanned back to the early days of the Three Wheeler.
I began my career at Morgan thirty-seven years ago, at the age of sixteen, as an apprentice in the Sheet Metal department, and throughout my time at Morgan the Plus 8 has always played a pivotal role in our model line-up. As Operations Director, I was delighted to be involved in the reintroduction of the Plus 8 in 2012. It was a fantastic opportunity to revive the model, which used an all-new aluminium chassis and 4.8-litre BMW V8 engine.
The ‘new’ Plus 8 was one of the lightest V8 production cars in the world, and we were delighted to produce this as a series production car for eight years, with the ‘Speedster’ special edition in 2014 celebrating 100 years of the Pickersleigh Road site.
The Plus 8 50th Anniversary celebrated and paid tribute to half a century of the Plus 8 in 2018. Limited to just fifty examples, it was available in two fixed specifications and allowed us to officially ‘sign off’ the model before introducing the all-new Morgan Plus Six in 2019. When the last Plus 8s rolled off the production line it marked the end of an era for Morgan.
To celebrate 50 years of a model in the automotive industry, however, is an incredible feat and we are extremely proud to have done so.
I am delighted that this book by Michael Palmer will recognize the significance of the Plus 8 and the contribution it has made to the success of the Morgan Motor Company for half a century.
I hope you enjoy it, and we thank you for your continued interest and passion in the Morgan marque.
Steve MorrisCEO, Morgan Motor Company
PREFACE
One of my earliest recollections of the Morgan Plus Eight was its appearance on the BBC Wheelbase programme in 1967. During the show Gordon Wilkins had suggested to my father, Peter, that as the Morgan Plus Four could no longer be sold in America, due to safety and emission regulations, the Morgan Motor Company might have to cut back production. Peter replied that the company had a solution and the sound of a throaty V8 was heard resonating around the Malvern Hills before Maurice Owen drove up to the cameras in the prototype Plus 8. This car scared me half to death when Maurice drove me to Hereford at racing speeds to show me what it could do.
At its launch in 1968, even in standard specification, the Plus 8 was faster than pretty much anything else on the road, putting paid at a stroke to all those stories that Morgan was a bit old hat. When my father came to pick me up from school in the first production example, registered MMC11, he left two fat elevens for 100 yards outside the chapel. This greatly impressed the schoolboys, but did not go down quite so well with the headmaster.
My first driving experience in the car came shortly after leaving school. W G McMinnies of Morgan three-wheeler fame (the winner of the French Cyclecar Grand Prix in 1913) threw down a challenge for a car to beat the new Intercity express train on a round trip from London to Scotland. Sharing the driving with my friend Bill Franklin, in a works car, we beat the train comfortably. We might have exceeded some speed limits, but as there were no speed cameras back then, we got away with it! The Morgan Plus 8 gained a reputation for being an automotive rebel that broke the rules. With the same degree of insouciance, Mick Jagger drove off from court with Marianne Faithfull in his yellow example after being found not guilty of possession of drugs.
Working shifts as an ITN cameraman based in London, I realized that I might be able to fit in some motor racing if I shared the driving and preparation duties. Rob Wells and I persuaded my father to lend us the works car, MMC11, which I took to London. The car was then meticulously prepared by Rob and his team of mechanics at Libra Motive in Hampstead. It was rebuilt with a new chassis complete with lowered suspension and a blue printed engine. John Britten kindly gave me racing driving lessons and so began a successful partnership in Production Sports Car Racing. Rob and I managed a lot of wins and a championship each in 1978 and 1979. Importantly, the experience taught me a great deal about how the car could be further improved.
Another good all round test was my participation in the 1984 rally and ice race to St Moritz, held to celebrate 100 years of the Cresta Run by the St Moritz Tobogganing Club. The Plus 8 triumphed over all of the German and Italian exotica on aggregate performance in the road race and the ice race on the frozen lake.
The car was always a good all round performer and when I joined Morgan in 1985, I was especially happy that the influential German motor magazine Auto Motor und Sport found the Plus 8 to be the fastest accelerating car in the world in top gear; the champion for Flexibilität.
By the 1990s Maurice Owen’s Rover V8 installation in a flexible ladder frame was showing its age. Now working full time at Pickersleigh Road, I was determined to keep Morgan on the pace with the likes of Porsche and TVR. Enlisting the help of Rob Wells, an independent rear suspension was developed and fitted to a strengthened chassis. To road test the car, I drove from Great Malvern to Verbier for a skiing holiday. When Diana Ross spotted the gunmetal example, she offered to buy it on the spot. I was reluctant to sell it to her because of the experimental parts. ‘Name any price’, she insisted. Stupidly I failed to complete what could have been the best deal of my life and receive a significant contribution to the holiday.
Development continued with Roddy Harvey Bailey being commissioned to design an independent front suspension and Andy Rouse receiving a car from the factory to rebuild on an aluminium honeycomb chassis supplied by Alcan. This was the same material used in the tub of the Ford RS200 rally car and Jaguar XJ220. The end result was the GTR works racing programme which ultimately gave birth to the Morgan Aero under the stewardship of Christopher Lawrence.
One fact in the development of the Plus 8 is relevant for the future of Morgan. Racing the bonded aluminium Aero chassis under the body of the Morgan Plus 8 GTR in the International GT Championship at the Nörburgring, our pit was next to that of the McLaren BMW V12 Longtail. After the race, we were approached by two BMW Board directors. ‘The best thing is that we won the race, the second best thing is that you finished,’ they said. My response was to tell them that if we had a BMW V8 rather than the highly tuned but temperamental Rover engine in our stiff chassis, we might have done better. Two weeks later we signed a contract with BMW to share the costs of a two-year programme to homologate the BMW N62 V8 in a Morgan car. This entitled Morgan to use all of BMW’s emission laboratories and their facilities, and included a high-speed test programme at their Miramas test track in the south of France.
There’s fun to be had in a Plus 8. A joyous competitor at the 38th National Morgan Meet, USA.JOHN H. SHEALLY II
I fondly remember Chris Lawrence deciding we should use the 3000-mile European Gumball Rally of 1999 as reliability test prior to launching the Morgan Aero 8 at the Geneva Motor show in 2000. Disguised as a Plus 8, our car out-accelerated the field, leaving Ferrari and Porsche drivers trailing in our wake. Nobody could believe an old convertible Morgan driven by two gentlemen in flat caps had such pace. Fortunately the reliability of the powertrain meant that the massive one-piece fibreglass bonnet never had to come off, maintaining the car’s prodigious performance secret. When Rover finally decided to discontinue the V8, Morgan were lucky to have a fantastic partner in BMW to help make the company fit for its second century.
Charles Morgan
INTRODUCTION
A car for F. Scott Fitzgerald heroes and heroines.Road and Track (December 1969)
‘If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it’ is a mantra that I suppose many people feel could be applied to any Morgan. The classic styling, traditionally engineered chassis and lack of driver aids, which the majority of us have become used to, mask a slow and steady evolution. For the Plus 8, introduced in August 1968, there were more changes than people realized from the original design over the thirty-six-year lifespan of the Series 1 model. Fuel injection eventually replaced the carburettors and rack and pinion steering replaced the worm and nut system. As Rover increased the capacity of their engine to 3.9 litres in 1990, the Plus 8 benefited. A further increase to 4.6 litres in 1997 similarly found its way under the iconic bonnet, until stricter emissions regulations saw the introduction of a 4.0-litre unit in 2001. This was to be the engine that carried the Plus 8 Series 1 into its forced retirement in 2012.
The famed retro-styled bodywork was penned by Peter Morgan back in 1953, when he wanted to modernize the look of the Plus 4. Peter considered that the design would last only a few years, not the few decades that it actually endured. It covered a traditional ash frame body, the whole running on a steel frame chassis. The sliding pillar system, used for the front suspension, was patented by company founder HFS Morgan in 1910, while at the rear there was a live axle, sprung by semi-elliptic leaf springs.
Classic styling harking from the mid-1950s – still looking good in 1971.JOHN H. SHEALLY II
The construction kept weight down to give an excellent power-to-weight ratio, which for the Plus 8 translated into record-breaking acceleration. At launch, the mighty Morgan could leave the Jaguar E Type Roadster in its tyre smoke to 60mph, the cool cat not catching the Mog until both were past the quarter mile. Then the Jag’s sleeker shape played to its advantage. In their first road test of the car published in September 1968, Autocar found that after ‘around five yards of slightly smoking wheelspin, the car left the line and was doing 90mph (145km/h, 14.5sec) just before the quarter mile post (0.4km, 15.1 sec).’ Not bad for a retro roadster from the Malvern Hills!
The engine, supplied by Rover, endured throughout the life of the Series 1 cars. As Rover was swallowed into the British Leyland empire, the politics of what was left of the corporation eventually saw Land Rover become the engine supplier. Finally, as ever stricter emissions legislation began to bite, and the Rover Group slid agonizingly into the history of British motoring, Morgan was forced to withdraw the model from its price lists in 2004.
The development of the Aero 8, announced in 2000, was the catalyst that eventually brought a new lease of life to the Plus 8, and in 2012 the model was back. The coachwork may have been beefier than what had gone before, but the Aero chassis Series 2 was still unmistakably a traditional Morgan. It even kept the ash frame for the body. What lay beneath, though, was a strong but light, bonded and riveted aluminium chassis, which came straight from the Aero.
Matching the beefed-up looks was some beefed-up performance. A 4.8-litre V8 supplied by BMW produced maximum power of 270kW (367bhp) with 430Nm (361lb ft) of torque. That translated into a 4.5 second dash to 60mph and powered the car on to a limited maximum of 249.4km/h (155mph). Testing the car in February 2012 Evo magazine noted that ‘flowing along is what the Plus 8 does very well, and will do at a supercar pace if you’re keen’. For the Series 2, besides the Roadster, a Speedster, bereft of a windscreen and weather equipment, was offered. Both were available with either a six-speed automatic or manual transmission.
Light weight and big engine meant excellent power-to-weight ratio. This made the Plus 8 a good starting point for competition.GEOFF WILLIAMS
Reflecting the changing times as well as the increased costs of raw materials and manufacturing, the prices of the cars rose steadily over the lifetimes of both Series. In 1968 the total price of a Plus 8, including taxes, was £1,478. By comparison, the Jaguar E Type Roadster cost £2,117. By 2018, the time of the Series 2’s final incarnation, the Plus 8 50th, purchasers had to cough up a whopping £133,000, compared to a Jaguar F Type 5.0-litre R convertible at £98,000.
The great surprise: the Morgan Aero 8.MMC
Resurrected for the 21st century. A 2018 Aero Chassis Series 2 Plus 8.
In truth, the Morgan is beyond such comparison. You pay your money and you take your choice; with all fifty of the special edition Roadster and Speedster models sold, it was clear that choice favoured the appeal of the Plus 8. Besides, a Morgan is bought for a different reason to a Porsche, a Jaguar or a Mercedes. In many ways it is a heart over head decision. The raw, visceral driving experience, exclusive to each individual car, puts you in direct contact with the road. With no cosseting aids to flatter your driving, you listen to what the car is telling you; ignore it at your peril. Participate with it, though, and every drive is an involving and exhilarating experience. It is a team effort. It is driving as it used be. Add in that bespoke feeling, knowing that the car was made just for you by artisans with years of knowledge and experience, and you had a package that was unique within the modern motor industry.
LIFEcar concept demonstrated Morgan’s commitment to the future of motoring enjoyment.MMC
From the company’s point of view, that is a marketing tool that they have always been keen to exploit. Recruitment and training of the next generation is an important part of the firm’s philosophy. These are the young men and women who will learn the necessary skills required to produce a Morgan sports car and take the company forward into the twentyfirst century and beyond.
Plus 8 production ceased in late 2018. What would replace it as the next Morgan flagship model was keenly speculated upon, particularly as technologies and attitudes were changing. In October 2018 Mog magazine spoke to those ‘in the know’. Suggestions ranged from a Jaguar, Ford or GM V8, BMW or Ford V6, through to an all-electric vehicle. What was perhaps most illuminating about the entire article was the acknowledgement of Morgan’s willingness to try something new.
The Morgan Motor Company has often shown that it is neither afraid of, nor resistant to change: think Plus Four Plus or the Aero series. Indeed, it could be argued that it is the customers who are the traditionalists.
New generation. The Plus Six takes the baton from the Plus 8. New versatile platform keeps options open.MMC
Through their involvement in new and emerging technologies, Morgan was well placed to commit to a low emissions successor. The LIFEcar hydrogen fuel cell concept, unveiled in 2007, showcased not only Malvern’s commitment to the future of personal transport, but also demonstrated that zero emissions cars could be involving and fun to drive.
By 2015 the Company was ready to put an electric threewheeler, the EV3, into production, but issues with Frazer-Nash, the powertrain supplier, forced a re-evaluation of the viability of the EV3 idea.
With question marks hanging over the future of the internal combustion engine and the increasing popularity of electric vehicles (EV), Morgan were unlikely to let the concept of the EV die. The Plus 8’s replacement, the Plus Six announced at Geneva in 2019, may have been powered by a six-cylinder turbocharged engine, but the platform around which it was built could easily be adapted for alternative power plants.
It may be that the time is coming for a new type of traditional sports car. With their greater levels of torque providing astonishing acceleration, plus the advent of fast charging technology, maybe the future of the high performance Morgan will be to unplug and play.
As the Morgan Motor Company passes from family hands to more corporate guardians, the funds for many new and exciting products from the Malvern firm should certainly be available. Maintaining that individual sense of identity, crafted into every car that leaves the Worcestershire factory, should hopefully remain undiluted beneath that corporate umbrella too.
One thing about Morgan, as always, is don’t be surprised to be surprised.
First and last of the real sports cars: a 1969 Plus 8 and a 2018 Plus 8 50th.TIM PALMER
TIMELINE
1968Morgan Plus 8 launched. 160bhp Rover V8 and Moss 4-speed gearbox. 10.5:1 compression ratio.
1972Moss gearbox discontinued. Rover 4-speed gearbox now standard.
1974V8 detuned to 143bhp in order to meet emissions requirements. 9.5:1 compression ratio.
1977New Rover SD1 V8 becomes standard with 155bhp and a 9.35:1 compression ratio. Rover 5-speed gearbox now standard.
1984Rover Vitesse V8 engine with fuel injection, 190bhp and a 9.75:1 compression ratio optional.
1987Vitesse 3.5-litre 190bhp V8 engine standard.
1990Range Rover 3.9-litre V8 with 185bhp (non-catalyst) or 183bhp (with catalysts) and 9.35:1 compression ratio fitted.
1992Catalytic converters now standard.
1997Optional Range Rover 4.6-litre engine with 225bhp and 9.35:1 compression ratio introduced.
2001Range Rover rebadged 3.9-litre as 4.0-litre. 190bhp and 9.35:1 compression ratio.
2002Le Mans limited edition introduced.
200335th Anniversary model introduced.
2004Plus 8 with traditional separate chassis discontinued.
2012Plus 8 reintroduced built on bonded aluminium Aero chassis.
2015Modifications made to Plus 8 and Aero suspension. Rose joints replaced with rubber bushes. Front and rear antiroll bars fitted. Front suspension cantilever upper arms with shock absorbers mounted side-by-side replaced with conventional upper arm and outboard coil over dampers acting on the lower wishbone.
2018Plus 8 50th Roadster and Speedster introduced.
2018Plus 8 ceased production.
CHAPTER ONE
IN THE BEGINNING …
The newest old car in the world.Eoin S. Young, Road and Track (December 1968)
There are two stories to be told here. Obviously there is the tale of the original 1968 Morgan Plus 8 and of its 2012 successor. Although they shared the same name and the same classic body style, they were very different cars. The original 1960s car was built on a traditional steel chassis with an ash frame panelled in steel and later aluminium. Although Rover sourced, the earlier car’s all alloy V8 engine had been adopted from an American parent, General Motors. By contrast, the 2012 car was constructed using a state-of-the-art bonded and riveted aluminium chassis, clad with aluminium bodywork. Like its predecessor, it possessed an all-alloy engine, but for the later car the high tech, high power unit was both built and supplied by the German manufacturer BMW.
Threading through both vehicles, though, was the common link of a heritage that stretched back to the earliest days of motoring. Equal to that, for anyone behind the wheel, was the promise of the same visceral driving experience and the assurance of the same unique connection between human, machine and road.
Original Plus 8: all-alloy Rover V8, steel chassis and body.RICHARD THORNE CLASSIC CARS
What roads like this were made for. Stirring performance from a sonorous engine.JACQUES GALLIEN
The second story relates to the engines, both of which provide their own intriguing tales. The early car’s V8, born of the giant General Motors, was conceived to power a new series of mid-range compacts. These scaled-down derivations of their larger ‘all American’ V8 stablemates were intended to stem the rising popularity of European economy cars in America.
Lightweight American Buick unit bought and Anglicized by Britain’s Rover Car Company.MAGIC CAR PICS
A clean sheet design of lightweight aluminium construction made the engine expensive to produce, though, and the extra care it required in service proved burdensome to some owners. Consequently, its tenure in its home nation was all too brief. Cast aside after only three years in production, the unit may well have become nothing more than a historical footnote were it not for its adoption by the British Rover Car Company. Imbued with a new lease of life, it went on to power a diverse range of vehicles and achieve almost cult status as the darling of the British performance car industry.
All good things must come to an end, though, and by 2004 Rover was a shadow of its former self. Having moved out of government control in 1988, when it was sold to British Aerospace in a controversial £150 million deal, it limped along until 1994, when it was bought by BMW for £800 million. The German firm had high hopes for their new acquisition. Their plans failed to materialize, however, and after only six years BMW sold their stake to Phoenix Venture Holdings for £10 in 2000.
Once Rover had stopped using the engine in its saloon cars, the iconic V8 that had powered not just the firm’s flagship models, but also a host of specialist manufacturers’ fare, continued its service with the contemporary Land Rover and Range Rover models, besides, of course, its earliest adopter, the Morgan.
Ultimately the engine became unsustainable as far as modern emissions or efficiency requirements were concerned and its demise sounded the death knell for the first generation Plus 8. With the V8 no longer available to the Malvern firm, the model dropped off the radar. From 2004, after thirty-six years of continuous production and with more than 6,000 cars produced, its slot in the Morgan line-up was filled by the V6 3.0-litre Roadster, powered by a Ford engine sourced from the Mondeo ST 220.
Those few years, however, when Rover had been under BMW’s tenure, had not been wasted. Both Morgan and BMW had a strong motor sport heritage. Rover too had enjoyed varied competitive success with the V8. Over time, alliances had been made and friendships formed. Malvern, through its links with Rover and via its competition programme, had developed affable links with Munich.
2012 return for Plus 8 on new bonded and riveted aluminium Aero chassis.MMC
Carrying the Morgan Wings, but with the powerful 4.8-litre supplied by BMW.TIM PALMER
As a consequence, a brand new flagship Morgan, the Aero 8, announced in 2000, introduced BMW power to the company’s engine portfolio. When the Plus 8 finally returned in 2012, complete with aluminium chassis technology from the Aero series, under the bonnet was a V8 engine supplied by BMW. Boasting a massive power increase that was 142bhp greater than that of the last of the Rover-powered models, the N62 unit promised and delivered phenomenal performance to Malvern’s most iconic model.
GREAT OAKS FROM LITTLE ACORNS
By 1966 the Morgan four-wheeler was thirty years old. In its lifetime it had grown from humble beginnings as the Ford-powered 1122cc 4-4 of 1936, to the performance-oriented, Triumph-powered 2.1-litre Plus 4 of 1950. The Plus 4 had ushered in a revised body style for the marque in 1953; with further revisions the styling was fixed in 1954 and sales continued to be steady.
A bold move by Peter Morgan (company boss and son of the founder, HFS Morgan) to further update the brand’s styling with the introduction of the Plus 4 Plus in 1963 had not been the hoped-for success. Only twenty-six of these now highly collectable machines found homes before the model’s demise in 1967.
It seemed that like a favourite armchair, or a comfy pair of slippers, the sports car-buying public felt rather at home with Morgan’s retro styling, particularly as the avant-garde Plus 4 Plus had stoked renewed interest in the brand. But despite its traditional image, the Morgan Motor Company had never rested on its laurels and, notwithstanding the disappointment of the Plus 4 Plus, Peter recognized the need for a new model that would bolster the firm’s line-up.
Peter Morgan’s 1953 restyle resulted in the ‘modern’ Morgan look. The styling of the Plus 4 was fixed by 1954.MMC
Plus 4 Plus, Peter Morgan’s attempt at modernizing the styling, was not the success that was hoped for.MMC
THE ENGINE QUESTION
The Triumph engine that powered the Plus 4 was obsolete. Triumph’s new range of 2-litre straight six engines would have been an ideal progression, but were too tall and long to fit under the bonnet of the Morgan. Similarly, long-term engine supplier Ford were due to replace their trusty in-line six pots with a new V6 for their Zephyr/Zodiac Mk 4 range. Sadly, this was another engine that was too heavy and large for the Morgan.
It was in May 1966 that the seeds of an automotive legend were planted at a meeting between Peter Morgan and Peter Wilks, Technical Director of the Rover Car Company. Wilks’s purpose for wanting to meet with Peter was to discuss bringing the Morgan Motor Company under Rover’s wing. The rebuttal was polite, but turning the proposal on its head, Peter seized the opportunity to talk to Wilks about the V8 engine to which Rover had recently acquired the rights from GM’s Buick. With its rumoured light weight and small dimensions, it sounded just what Morgan was looking for to power its new car.
In the affable spirit of the meeting, Peter Wilks’s positive response gave the green light for the Plus 8 project and the fruits of the cooperation would grow to take a firm root in motoring folklore. It would become the fastest accelerating production car of its time, a title it would hold for several years. It would impress both on road and track and become an object of desire for rock stars, film stars and motoring enthusiasts alike.
The as yet ignorant public would have to wait a further two years before being able to get their hands on one of these bespoke, hand-built rockets, but what was proposed promised a level of performance and raw motoring enjoyment to which few other sports cars could even come close. Retro though its styling may have been, the Plus 8 was a car that would prove to be timeless, classless and peerless.
Peter Morgan, Chairman of MMC Ltd, rebuffed Peter Wilks’s buyout offer but took the opportunity to secure Rover’s new V8.JOHN H. SHEALLY II
The All American Engine
The origins of the story, though, run even further back in time to mid-1950s America. As is well known, American motorists loved plenty of bang for their bucks. Ever since Henry Ford had brought V8 power to the masses in 1932 with his 3.6-litre 65bhp flathead cast-iron unit, there had been an enduring love affair with the easy torque and seemingly infinite tuning potential of this multi-cylinder power house.
Ford’s engine remained in production until 1954 when it was superseded by an overhead valve (ohv) unit. Then in 1955 Chevrolet brought their own ohv engine to market. The small block 265cu in (4342cc) Chevy unit boasted 200bhp. In cast iron, it weighed in at 575lb (261kg). With aluminium heads, it shed a mighty 125lb (57kg), giving impressive performance benefits. Therein lay the secrets of aluminium’s big advantage over cast iron: less weight equalled more power, but crucially also equalled reduced fuel consumption. As the power race escalated through the decade, with Ford, General Motors (GM) and Chrysler jealously vying for the V8 top spot, their customers by contrast, increasingly began to look not for performance but for economy.
Downsizing …
By the late 1950s the US motor industry was beginning to feel the irritation of a bug from Germany, as Volkswagen’s Beetle spearheaded the charge of smaller, more economical European models into America’s mass motoring market. A short-term fix to this emerging trend for ‘compacts’, at least for the big multinational companies, was to import vehicles from their European subsidiaries. Buick, for example, sold the German Opel brand through their US dealerships. More costly, but increasingly necessary, was the introduction of smaller, lighter and more efficient ranges within their lineups.
GM’s compact crusade began with the Chevrolet Corvair, introduced in late 1959 for the 1960 season. Its aluminium 2.3-litre 6-cylinder engine was, like the Beetle, air cooled. In a further nod to Volkswagen’s influence, the engine was rear mounted.
In 1960, for the 1961 model year, Buick introduced an all new, all American V8 to counter the rise of the 4- and 6-cylinder units driven by the downsizing invasion. GM’s midrange triumvirate of Pontiac, Oldsmobile and Buick were the designated brands chosen to market the new generation of the Y Series ‘senior compacts’. This was the trio that would decisively take the downsizing battle to the enemy. Their big selling point was to be the Buick-developed 215cu in (3532cc) all aluminium V8 engine, light in weight, revolutionary in design and powerful in execution.
The American steel industry, however, was not about to allow one of its biggest customers to switch to aluminium without putting up a strong and determined fight. This, coupled with the motoring public’s ignorance of the special needs of the aluminium unit, ultimately drove GM’s decision to switch back to cast iron.
The car that started it all, the 1961 Buick Special. Two-door and convertible versions were also available. Pontiac and Oldsmobile had their own Y body cars using the new compact V8.MAGIC CAR PICS
AMERICA FLIRTS WITH THE ALUMINIUM ENGINE
Using aluminium for the manufacture of an engine brought several advantages over the more traditional use of cast iron. Engines could be made more compact, lighter in weight and operate with greater efficiency.
With the Second World War behind it and a fresh, self-assured optimism, Buick revealed two experimental vehicles in 1951. The Le Sabre was designed by Harley Earl and the XP-300 by Charles Cheyne. Both were proposed to be powered by a ground-breaking 300bhp 215cu in (3532cc) all-aluminium V8 engine, featuring hemispherical combustion chambers and a Roots type supercharger.
The X-100 engine, aside from its small capacity, mirrored contemporary Cadillac and Oldsmobile designs. It featured a 90-degree vee between the cylinder banks, a single central cam shaft, pushrod-operated valves and wet cylinder liners. Like the cars themselves though, the engine faded into obscurity once the show season was over.
Harley Earl penned the rocket age Buick Le Sabre, which was proposed as having a brand new all-aluminium supercharged V8.MAGIC CAR PICS
Charles Cheyne saw the future as being a little more sober. His Buick XP-300 concept would also have used the all-new V8.MAGIC CAR PICS
… Upsizing
As the Americans dabbled unwillingly with downsizing, small British manufacturers were looking across the Atlantic to source V8 power plants that would keep their ranges alive. Bristol slipped Chrysler’s 313cu in (5130cc) under the bonnet of their 1961 407, instantly reinvigorating their product for the new decade. Jensen followed in 1962 with a 361cu in (5915cc) engine, again supplied by Chrysler. Over at the Rootes Group, Sunbeam flirted with Ford power. With 260cu in (4261cc) on tap, the Mk IV Alpine was transformed into a Tiger, with the minimum of engineering fuss.
America’s first production aluminium V8
GM’s new engine was to be the first American-made, massproduced, all-aluminium V8. Weighing little more than a contemporary 4-cylinder cast-iron engine, the 215 was also the world’s lightest mass production V8. Its high power-toweight ratio meant that the unit delivered the same performance as GM’s larger full-size models yet, crucially for the import fightback, used less fuel.
The groundwork for the engine was carried out at GM’s central engineering laboratories, before the project was handed over to the Buick division. By mid-1960 the Buick team, led by Joe Turlay, had the oversquare unit ready. Although differing little in design from the corporation’s bigger cast-iron units, it represented a major step forward in engine design, materials usage and manufacturing techniques.
Some 682,911 units were produced over a three-year period. The majority, 389,481, were used in Buicks. Oldmobile V8s accounted for 289,768 units, with Pontiac struggling to shift 3,662 in its Tempest models. The technology of the time and the ability to produce a similar engine in cast iron meant that GM’s commendable experiment with aluminium could not survive.
From 97cu in (1592cc) to 260cu in (4.3 litres). A change to an American Ford engine turned Sunbeam’s Alpine into a Tiger in 1964. Small producers like Bristol and Jensen opted for Chrysler.MAGICCAR PICS
Pontiac struggled to shift their V8-engined Tempests as their buyers chose the 4-cylinder version.MAGIC CAR PICS
