We’re just a few days away from one of the most iconic luxury brands on the planet taking a bold step into the unknown. The full unveiling of the Ferrari Luce – only the interior control surfaces and seats have been revealed at time of writing – will truly set the cat amongst the pigeons as the progenitor of the luxury sports car sector ventures into pure electric propulsion for the very first time.

When even the unveiling of the Luce’s dashboard – usually not a subject to trigger controversy and provocation – spawned endless amounts of comment and opinion, it became clear that the combination of electrification and deviation from a pre-conceived norm could not fail to be anything but rage bait.

Wallpaper* can confidently predict the rage-bait churn will get another hearty stir – not because of any aesthetic shortcomings, but because sports cars have been sucked into the culture wars. We’re pretty sure that wasn’t Ferrari’s intention when it signed up LoveFrom and its car-mad directors, Sir Jony Ive and Marc Newson, to steward the aesthetic of Ferrari’s first EV, working closely with Maranello’s engineering team to create the ultimate expression of luxury electric mobility.

You might well ask why a car maker going electric is even remotely controversial in 2026. To answer that, one must strap in to experience a perfect storm of misplaced idealism, a layer of wishy-washy governance, a vociferous fandom who have become vocal gatekeepers, and the endless but near mythical search for the true soul of a machine.

Thirty years ago, the latter Grail Quest would have been considered fully done and dusted, with the glorious mechanical symphony that is the V12 engine placed upon a pedestal in the eternal temple and henceforth worshipped forevermore.

To the fury of the temple gatekeepers, that’s not what happened. The inconvenient truth of mobility’s fossil fuel addiction was no longer possible to ignore, except to the most steadfast denialists and exceptionalists. Unfortunately, it’s this contingent who rule the roost in the small but high-profile world of luxury sports automotive.

So what’s the true status of electrified performance? One of the side effects of electrification has been that hitherto unattainable levels of performance are now handed on a plate to drivers of ‘everyday’ machinery; in its most powerful form, the humble Volvo EX30 will hit 62mph in 3.6 seconds. That’s quicker than the limited production 1995 Ferrari F50, now comfortably commanding upwards of £3.5m.

In divorcing the thrill of out-and-out performance from the exclusivity of extortionate prices, the luxury performance market is having to push the boundaries of design, materiality and technology to retain its edge. The new inclusivity of electrification effectively divorces the emotive qualities of performance. And perhaps more than any other carmaker, Ferrari once considered itself the be-all and end-all of emotional machinery.

That’s why the Luce is not a two-seater, but a grand tourer, perhaps the last bastion of romance on four-wheels. But even this sanctified typology – with its evocation of great journeys, open roads and a life of leisure – hasn’t quite cracked the apparently tainted image of electric luxury.

Will the Luce change this? It’ll certainly help shift the dial. This year also sees the release of Jaguar’s new Type 01, the production iteration of the car revealed as the no-less controversial Type 00 Concept. The first all-electric Bentley is also on the way, previewed by the EXP 15 Concept last year, while Rolls-Royce has been quietly operating in this electric realm for several years, first with the Spectre and more recently with the coachbuilt Project Nightingale.

So are all these companies doubling down on an unchangeable course they might conceivably come to regret? That’s certainly the takeaway from the more performance-focused slice of the luxury market. Porsche, Maserati and Lotus have all performed screeching U-turns on their pure EV strategies.

Maserati scrapped a near-completed electric variant of the MC20 supercar, while Porsche has delayed its Boxster replacement, despite engineering a fully electric variant, in order to accommodate ICE power as well – not on the original spec sheet. Meanwhile, Lotus has just announced the Type 135, a hybridised V8 supercar that’s a world away from the electric-only Evija hypercar and Theory 1 concept, reversing plans to make the brand electric only.

Meanwhile, Lamborghini, McLaren and Aston Martin are blocking their ears and pretending their customers have a perfect right to carry on polluting and they have a perfect right to carry on allowing them to do so. The reason? There’s no demand for EVs amongst buyers who favour V8s and V12s, the pop of unburnt fuel crackling in the exhaust pipe and the roar of mechanical combustion.

Despite technical agreements (McLaren with Nio, Aston Martin with Lucid and Lamborghini as part of the VW Group), the fruits of these labours are still shrouded in their respective design studios, waiting for positive customer clinics and enthusiasm from dealers. The 2023 Lamborghini Lanzador concept now looks like a dead end.

Like so many manufacturing and technology sectors, the luxury car industry is in danger of being left behind by China. Right now, the only thing the country doesn’t have is the lustre and leverage of a heritage automotive brand. Otherwise, Chinese EVs are attaining new levels of luxury and performance. The extraordinary 300mph Yangwang U9 Xtreme (parented by BYD) is just a foretaste of what’s to come. The country’s fleet of luxury EV GTs is even stronger, from the Xpeng P7+ to the Zeekr 001 FR and Ferrari-aping Denza Z9 GT.

So is the customer always right, or can they be swayed by new brands without the accumulated centuries of heritage that still shapes our understanding and perception of cars? Companies might cry that ‘our customers don't want an EV!’ but the viability of ICE is increasingly running counter to social norms. No one would welcome fumes in a smoke-free space just because the smoker could afford a pricey cigar. So why would an expensive but outlandishly noisy exhaust be a socially acceptable thing to inflict on a city?

Perhaps it’s the beginning of the end for the traditional supercar and hypercar, their unfeasible abilities hamstrung by social norms and legal restrictions. Genuine enthusiasts know that power isn’t everything, let alone price, and that the best driving thrills don’t necessarily even need speed. A beautifully balanced small sports car will always triumph over a bloated, oversized performance machine.

There are signs that EVs are starting to head in this direction. Consider the return of the ‘hot hatchback’, once a mainstay of affordable ICE performance, now reborn for the electric era. There’s a veritable stable of smallish, sporty electric cars either here or on the way, from the Alpine A290 to the Hyundai Ioniq 5N, as well as the Vauxhall Corsa GSE, Peugeot e-208 GTi, Cupra Raval VZ, and the Volkswagen Polo GTI, even the supercar-baiting Renault 5 Turbo 3E. These run the gamut from affordable to outrageous, but all pack a dynamic punch that more than matches up to ICE equivalents. Zero emissions, more space, less sound and more reliability are all added bonuses.

Those with more patience might want to hold out for the Caterham Project V, due to be revealed in 2027 (when there might also be an electrified successor to the Audi TT to talk about), while fellow small manufacturer Morgan has also dabbled in electric concepts (including the riotous XP-1) and could still be a contender in this defiantly niche market.

The pressure on the traditional sports car is technological, cultural and economic, threatening to squeeze this once highly desirable form factor into obsolescence, afforded only by a tiny coterie of confused collectors unsure as to what they’re even signifying. As it stands, China has almost all the cards when comes to the premium electrified GT (despite Porsche and Audi’s valiant resistance). Will Ferrari’s top-tier competitors respond to the boldness of the Luce, or will they simply wait and see how it all pans out?

Lest we forget, the very first EV of the modern era, the Tesla Roadster, was a sports car (engineered by Lotus, no less). It was a simpler machine from a simpler age but still retains some charm. Nearly 20 years later, a true successor is nowhere to be found. Whoever can convincingly splice electrification with true driver engagement could still come up with a winner.

When Morgan launched the Supersport this time last year it was clearly onto a winner. A complete overhaul of the enduring Morgan form factor, the Supersport distilled the ethos of the brand into a beautiful whole that could satisfy traditionalists without scaring off newcomers who wanted a touch more refinement.

The Morgan Supersport was also a delight to drive, retaining something of the raw analogue quality of the original cars and their combination of precise steering, ample power and ultra-light bodywork (the kerb weight is just 1,170kg). Now, however, there’s a new option for the even more power-hungry. This is the new Morgan Supersport 400, announced today (23 April 2026) as the new fleet flagship – and most powerful production Morgan ever.

As the name implies, the Supersport 400 broaches the 400hp limit, the very time this ceiling has been reached in the company’s long history. Whilst 400hp doesn’t seem like much in the electric age, when a family EV can have more twice that, nothing beats the Morgan’s addictive on-road manners, classic two-seater layout and evocative sight and sound.

The mechanical components of the Supersport have been thoroughly overhauled to take the car into this new performance bracket. Power comes through the latest BMW B58 ‘O1’ inline six-cylinder turbocharged engine, along with an eight-speed ZF automatic gearbox (for the first time in the company’s long partnership with BMW, the 400 manages to get an optional bespoke aluminium gear knob, instead of the standard BMW unit). Zero to 62 is reached in 3.6 seconds, with a top speed of 180mph.

The optional Dynamic Handling Pack is now standard equipment and the car sits on lightweight forged 19-inch Sportlite alloy wheels. An all-new exhaust system has also been developed, while externally there are subtle changes to the Supersport body, including lowered bodywork and new front wing vents. Underneath it all sits Morgan’s advanced CXV aluminium platform, upon which a traditional ash frame is used to shape the bodywork.

The snug but richly romantic cabin is also upgraded, with new Alcantara finishes, bespoke dials by Caerbont and new personalisation options. According to Morgan’s CDO Jonathan Wells, ‘Supersport 400 also plays an important role in the continued development of our Colour, Material and Finish strategy, as we expand our in-house expertise and explore more considered ways to express materiality within our cars, bringing to life the visions of our customers.’

Morgan Supersport 400, from £112,965 plus local taxes, Morgan-Motor.com, @MorganMotor

Announced in March 2025, the new Morgan Supersport is the British sports car maker’s delightful tilt towards the modern world. To the uninitiated, the Supersport signals an unreconstructed throwback to simpler times, but Morgan aficionados will instantly know that the car represents a jump into the modern day.

I’ve finally had a chance to get behind the wheel of Morgan’s new flagship, sampling the driving dynamics and overall experience in the rolling hills that fringe the company’s longstanding HQ in Malvern Link, Worcestershire (where I've also previously toured the Morgan factory).

First impressions are that the doubters have a point; Morgan’s template, established way back in the 1950s, doesn’t appear to be substantially different. But in actual fact, there’s a lot going on with the way the Supersport looks and goes, and it all starts with the design.

Partly to differentiate the flagship model, previously known as the Plus Six, from the ultra-simple Morgan Plus Four, the Supersport required a substantial overhaul of every body panel. There’s still a bespoke aluminium chassis and hand-assembled ash frame over which the aluminium body panels are shaped. For the first time in a production Morgan, some of that ash becomes a primary surface, rather than being tucked away beneath the metal skin.

That skin is smoother and less fussy than before, with a more geometric approach to junctions and greater expanses of flat surface. Bonnet louvres have been banished in favour of revised and subtler cooling vents, while large wheels fill the arches and add to the feeling of solidity.

Entry to the snug cockpit is much the same, as you fold yourself through the traditional latched door, but once inside, things have changed. For a start, the door seals are now way more sophisticated, as are the tolerances, meaning that the optional hardtop doesn’t have to be tailormade for each individual car. It’s something that a volume manufacturer might not be able to comprehend but perfectly illustrates the way in which Morgan’s utterly hand-built approach has been retained but updated.

Once installed behind the wheel, I note that the dash layout is largely familiar from the older car, only the dials have been upgraded along with a more sophisticated information screen. It’s all part of an initiative to make the Supersport a more intuitive, comfortable and usable car, something you might happily drive every day, instead of just high days and holidays.

The hardtop makes a big difference, of course. Once installed (a two-person job), it creates a cabin ambience quite unlike any Morgan before it. Not exactly quiet and ultra-refined, you understand, but certainly good enough to banish the motorway drone and keep out the unwanted incursion of heavy rain (a long drive in torrential conditions in a Plus Four left me feeling rather damp).

It's still very compact and narrow in here, with the latter quality especially pertinent when it comes to the seats. However, with the hardtop in place there’s now a substantial amount of luggage space behind the seats and for the first time, the Supersport is a Morgan with a boot. A bespoke luggage rack can also be specified to carry additional cases.

Nothing has changed in the engine department, with BMW’s venerable and capable straight-six providing 335hp. Pair that with a kerb weight of 1,170kg and no amount of overnight packing is going to make a dent in the spirited performance.

It’s not supercar quick, for sure, but it certainly deserves the Supersport moniker. Bear in mind that you’re also sitting that much lower to the ground, and as the outside world rushes past, it somehow feels close enough to touch – even with the fixed roof. The sensation of speed is never less than impressive.

Pared-back weight and peppy power would be useless if the Supersport wasn’t also a deft handler. As I nose out through the lunchtime traffic at Malvern Link, few people bother to give the car a second glance: Morgans have been built on this site since 1918.

Once out of town, and up the steep-sided Malvern Hills, the car attracts more and more attention, not least for its Copper Metallic colour. It's a slightly damp day, so there are few opportunities to really push on, but regardless of the conditions and road surface, the Supersport feels perfectly balanced front to rear.

Subtle mechanical changes add to the sense of sporting refinement. The steering has been quickened slightly over the earlier Plus Six and there’s even the opportunity to specify adjustable dampers to give you a range of ride types.

Straight out of the box, the Supersport feels extremely well put together, with just the odd hint of a creak or rattle. If it didn’t have those wayward elements, I suspect it would feel a little sterile and unreal.

Still, nothing can detract from the view along the bonnet, the road ahead framed by the wheel arches and the road behind rushing past just beneath your elbow. Just as companies like Bang & Olufsen can inject contemporary vigour and technology into their classic pieces, Morgan takes old-school automotive style and makes it eternal.

Right now, the British company’s ability to reach into the past and pull out the best bits without succumbing to the cloying fog of nostalgia sets it apart from its rivals. When the road opens up and overtaking is possible, the power delivery isn't clinical and precise, like in an EV, but smile-inducing and loud.

For the time being, Morgan and other small manufacturers have been spared the application of the upcoming ZEV (Zero Emission Vehicle) Mandate. If you build less than 1,000 cars a year, as Morgan does, you’re fully exempt from the upcoming 2030 ban on ICE cars and the 2035 ban on hybrids.

As yet, the Supersport isn’t certified for US sale (nor was the Plus Six, but the Plus Four is), but as the company points out, it sells every car it can build. America’s twin pronged attack of tariffs and regulations will keep Morgan at bay for the foreseeable future.

It's the USA’s loss, because practically no other modern car recaptures the glorious spirit of motoring as much as the Supersport. The compromises are fewer, the creature comforts more comforting. Performance is easily as much as you’ll ever need and the design is a masterpiece of stern but subtle guidance into the modern era.

Morgan Supersport, from £102,000, Morgan-Motor.com, @MorganMotor

At what point does respect for tradition cross over into pig-headed obstinacy? Buying and driving a Morgan is definitely a statement. The price tag of this new Morgan Plus Four suggests that likely owners could easily consider many other cars, a Porsche 718 Boxster, for example. Or an Alpine A110. While both those brands thrive on their connection to a long design heritage, the Plus Four is a cut above when it comes to paying homage to the past.

To the layperson, the 2024 Morgan Plus Four might as well be a car from the 1950s. If you visit Morgan’s Malvern factory – as the company very much encourages you to do – you’ll discover equipment, methods, buildings and even the odd worker who have put in the decades shaping these idiosyncratic little sports cars in a very time-honoured way.

Again, the Plus Four updates might not be immediately apparent over the car we drove earlier this year, but if you place the two side by side you’ll see the newer car is cleaner and less fussy, with new lighting front and rear, tweaks to the interior and trim, as well as updates to the aluminium chassis. There’s even a modern style car configurator with which to explore the options, including these rather smart door roundel details.

None of this detracts from Plus Four’s ambience and attitude; this is still unlike pretty much anything else on the (modern) road, and no-one is stepping into a Morgan expecting an aesthetic and ergonomic revolution. Instead, it’s all about the feels and they are plenty. The aluminium underpinnings are still mated to the traditional hand-crafted ash frame, around which the bodywork is formed.

You have to admire Morgan’s commitment to this antediluvian way of working, even though it causes legislative headaches in certain markets. That wooden frame holds the key to the car’s character, the belief that although modernity is all well and good, some things just work and shouldn’t be changed for the sake of change.

To sit behind in this car is to time-travel. Our final journey with the Plus Four was an early morning dash across a misty Wiltshire, Gloucestershire and into Worcestershire to return it to the factory. With thick fog blotting out any identifying indicators of modernity, the car thrummed along tight country lanes that hadn’t changed for 70 years. Finally, a Kia EV6 pulled out of a junction up ahead and shattered the illusion with its LED-bedecked rear end.

An uncharacteristically wet British autumn is not ideal Morgan weather, and the inclement conditions show up a few of the issues that result from building cars by hand the old-fashioned way. There are gaps, through which wind whistles and spatters of rain can penetrate, keeping you in tune with the elements regardless of whether the hood is up or down. The letterbox-shaped windscreen is shallow and wide, requiring three stubby wipers that struggle valiantly against torrential rain. When the heavens opened up in true Biblical style, the Plus Four felt like a small boat adrift in heavy seas.

And yet it was all just fine. It’s hard to imagine a Porsche owner living uncomplainingly with even the mildest of these compromises, yet Morgan owners are a determined breed. This is their commitment to motoring, and they are going to stick with it. For the truly dedicated, a rear-mounted luggage rack is a £915 option (plus the cost of period-correct, rain-resistant suitcases).

Weighing in at just over 1,000kg, the Plus Four is a featherweight by modern standards. Under the slatted bonnet is a BMW-sourced 4-cylinder engine, producing 255bhp to give the car more than adequate performance. It handles deftly, with those long front wings signalling the road ahead.

The company has dabbled in electrification, mostly via prototypes like the Morgan XP-1. You can be fairly sure that electrifying the Plus Four’s eventual successor is being considered in some form or another, and when we met with Morgan’s Jonathan Wells, he was kind of enough to show secret sketches of future ideas that show every sign of sating brand loyalists for generations to come.

Enthusiasts maintain that a sports car is something you rock up in feeling a little bit crumbled and broken, rattled by the suspension, exhausted by the concentration required to drive on just the right side of prudence, and caring not about the comfort or distress of your passengers. You can have this experience in the Morgan Plus Four if you’re the type that drives anything and everything at a hell-for-leather pace. But exercise a little restraint, lean in to the car’s idiosyncrasies, and you’ll find that motoring heaven can exist at a far more comfortable pace.

Morgan Plus Four, from £69,995, Morgan-Motor.com, @MorganMotor

The Morgan Super 3 represents an outlier in contemporary sports car design. Although the tiny three-wheeler is directly linked to Morgan’s long history and past heritage, you’d be hard-pressed to find a contemporary equivalent that combines the same mix of power, physicality and eccentric form.

Malvern-based Morgan has now doubled down on the Super 3’s dramatic visual qualities with the launch of this new limited-edition Super 3 Origins Collection. Each of these nine designs represents something that inspired Morgan’s design team, led by Jonathan Wells, when they came to create this modern-day iteration of the three-wheeler cars that made the company’s name.

Each of the nine specs shown here will be made in an edition of nine cars, a total of 81 vehicles that showcase Morgan’s ability to build bespoke cars using a variety of materials, colours, accessories and, increasingly, graphics.

Part car, part motorbike, the tiny machine is beloved by a select group of hardy drivers who don’t mind the total lack of weather proofing and are capable enough to tame the machine’s lively handling. ‘Super 3 presents a unique proposition within the industry,’ says Wells. ‘It sits at the intersection of auto and moto culture. And most importantly, it’s always evolving.’

The specifications have largely self-explanatory titles, drawing on pop cultural references as well as engineering and automotive keystones. ‘We drew inspiration from other industries, artistic and industrial movements, and sampled the “best bits” from multiple decades of design,’ Wells continues. ‘This is the story we wanted to tell with the Super 3 Origins Collection.’

From a baseline of three core characteristics, Classic, Contemporary and Touring, the design team has clearly enjoyed itself drawing together this brightly coloured fleet. ‘We hope they capture the Super 3’s striking yet honest design and its ability for bold self-expression,’ says Wells. ‘It’s a product for which success is measured in smiles, and one that embodies a statement of the creative and coachbuilding talent of the people within Morgan.’ Explore our guide to the Morgan Super 3 Origins Collection below.

Morgan Super 3 Origins Collection: nine limited editions

Bluebird

Perhaps the most classic of the lot, the Bluebird specification is directly inspired by the land speed record cars run by Donald Campbell (1921-1967). All Campbell’s cars (and boats) were christened Bluebird, and not only does this pocket-sized homage to the record-holding 1964 CN7 gas-turbined car bear the Bluebird logo, but it wears the shame rich shade of blue throughout, with a machine-turned aluminium dashboard.

Boulevard Cruiser

Shades of 1950s Americana are present in the Boulevard Cruiser specification, with its Frozen Berry paintwork, art deco-style aluminium side strips and ‘S3 Boulevard’ badge. Inside, there’s Ivory Typhoon leather upholstery and a matching steering wheel, rounding off the pastel perfect evocation of a slower, brighter era.

Charlie Mike

Charlie Mike, or ‘Continue Mission’ in military parlance, draws its livery from the compact, high-speed reconnaissance motorbikes used by armies to scout out the lie of the land. Khaki coloured bodywork, with a light camouflage pattern detail, technical fabric seats in Khaki Sand, and side-mounted luggage racks add to the utilitarian appeal.

Fast Forward

An unashamed appreciation of the graphical styles and bold palettes of the 1980s, the Fast Forward edition has a livery inspired by the decade’s electronic goods and hi-fi design. The white bodywork and colourful graphics are paired with white front wheels and a polished aluminium cowl.

Pickersleigh Speedshop

Another homage to car culture, the Pickersleigh Speedshop edition blends graphical elements with simple, stripped back style as a reference to the custom car culture of the 1950s and beyond, when pre- and post-war cars were chopped, lowered and tuned to make raw racing machines. This model is fully hand-painted.

Scramble the Jets

Another military-themed spec, Scramble the Jets is a very different take on the same aviation design influence that birthed America’s fins and wings era. In Morgan’s hands, the age represents the transition from bi-plane to fighter jet, with a two-tone dark and light grey bodywork, a yellow nose cone and aviation-inspired livery detailing.

Space Race

If Nasa built a sports car, perhaps it would look like this. Space Race blasts off from the fantastic visual launch pad that was the space exploration era of the 1950s and 1960s, pairing gloss white paint with bright red lettering, and graphical elements that wouldn’t be out of place on a Saturn V rocket.

Warp Speed

Retro-futurism comes home to roost in the Warp Speed specification, drawing on the craft and cars of science fiction in cinema and art. The colour combination and otherworldly graphics bring to mind the racing pods of Star Wars or Wipeout, and the mashed-up forms of Blade Runner and its ilk.

Whoosh Bang Pop

Finally, Whoosh Bang Pop is a spirited machine that’s part Warhol, part Lichtenstein, with comic book-style graphical representations of the engine, exhaust and noise. Whoosh Bang Pop is playful, fun and very much tongue in cheek, a perfect match for the Super 3’s undeniable charms for both driver and passer-by.

Morgan Super 3 Origins Collection, from £47,995, Morgan-Motor.com, @MorganMotor

The Morgan Midsummer is a very special seasonal treat. The result of a collaboration between the venerable British sports car manufacturer and the legendary Italian design house Pininfarina, the Midsummer is described as a barchetta, a truly handmade vehicle that is as much about celebration of material and form as it as about the joy of driving. 

For Morgan, the project brings together a number of running themes. For a start, the manufacturer’s parent company is now the Italian firm Investindustrial, a portfolio-driven conglomerate. A pairing with a well-established Italian icon like Pininfarina seemed like a good fit.

In addition, the act of expanding the Morgan design remit offers another perspective on a timeless form. The UK-based company is unapologetic about its commitment to a sports car shape that disappeared from our roads half a century ago, pointing out that it also does left-field high tech (the electric XP-1 prototype) and the outlandish Plus Four CX-T off-road racer, as well as the minimalist Super 3, even if the latter is built alongside the ash-framed, classically styled Plus Four (recently overhauled), at the Morgan factory where ancient tooling sits alongside modern methods.

Meet the Morgan Midsummer, a celebration of ‘eccentric elegance’

To the untrained eye, the Midsummer might look like more of the same. In the flesh, it really is a very refined piece of design indeed. Just fifty examples will be built (unsurprisingly they have all been spoken, thanks to advance previews for favoured customers), each of which will be graced by Pininfarina’s exquisite hand-formed aluminium body.

This in turn is wrapped around the teak frame that gives the cabin its visual structure. Unlike in regular Morgans, where the wood is buried within the body and trim, the Midsummer leaves the teak exposed. Made up of 400 individual layers, it forms an enclosure that is both nautical and modernist, evoking a post-war Italian speedboat or one of Carlo Mollino’s furniture pieces.

The word ‘barchetta’ means ‘little boat’ and was often applied to open post-war sports cars. The Midsummer’s open bodywork is pared back and minimal, with the sweeping wheelarches filled by large disc wheels. Small race-style individual windshields emphasise the visceral experience of driving, heightening the sensation found in all Morgans; this is very definitely a fairweather machine.

More than anything else, you wouldn’t want to let the exquisite interior get rained upon. Meticulously trimmed and detailed, the combination of teak, leather and a body-coloured dashboard with new analogue dials is both timeless and simple.

For the Italians, you get the sense that the project has been a chance to indulge in some naked Anglophilia. Described by Pininfarina’s Giuseppe Bonollo, SVP Sales & Marketing as a ‘new masterpiece emerging from the seamless synergy between our teams and the shared passion of both brands’, the Morgan Midsummer is blend of ‘British heritage with the timeless Pininfarina design’. 

It’s also the first production car to bear the 'Pininfarina Fuoriserie' badge, meaning ‘out of series’. This celebration of ‘eccentric elegance’ has been bestowed with a very non-automotive name, one that not only celebrates the best time of year to use the car, but also a nod to Midsummer Hill in the Malverns, the spiritual landscape of Morgan, as well as a dash of pagan celebration. 

For Jonathan Well, Morgan’s chief design officer, the project has confirmed the flexibility of Morgan’s design language, showcasing how the brand can evolve in years to come, as well as indicating that limited editions are not just the preserve of global supercar makers.

‘Midsummer – whilst also being Morgan’s first exterior-form collaboration – represents a significant milestone in our product design history,’ Wells says. ‘Our product portfolio offers an intriguing diversity; from the elegance of Plus Four and Six to the adventurous Super 3 and CX-T. As we look towards broader visual experimentation across our model range – it has been an enriching experience to collaborate with Pininfarina.’

Morgan Motor Company, Morgan-Motor.com, @MorganMotor

Pininfarina, Pininfarina.it, @Pininfarina_official

We had only just extracted ourselves from the cosy confines of Morgan’s Plus Four cabin in order to sing its praises, when the news arrived that the company is giving its venerable ‘base’ model a thorough overhaul. The new Plus Four, shown here, has been a fairly substantial set of aesthetic upgrades, although as always, the devil is in the details and the uninitiated might not be capable of detecting the shift.

Morgan lists the new body parts as follows: lights front and rear, wings, front splitter, rear diffuser, and mirrors. Long gone are the days when the company could ‘reappropriate’ parts from other cars (the famously ‘cross-eyed’ lights on the Aeromax came from the BMW-era Mini, whilst the rear lights on the Aero Coupe were culled from the Lancia Thesis). The Plus Four’s new lights are larger 8” units, designed in house to incorporate the indicator units, thus simplifying the front of the car.

There are also new rear lights, again with integral indicators; both sets are more powerful than before. The Plus Four’s distinctive aluminium wings have been restyled, with more pronounced surface detailing to emphasise the play of light over the curves. Finally, there’s a new front and rear splitter, the aerodynamic element typically mounted beneath the front bumpers. These present an even more simplified front end.

New lightweight aluminium mirrors improve the rear visibility no end (an update to the windscreen wipers would also have been appreciated) and the whole ensemble is finished off with a redesigned model badge. Inside, there’s also an updated Sennheiser sound system and changes to the LCD screen and interior lighting.

None of this compromises the car’s addictively raw appeal – those who crave even more driving agility can specify the new Dynamic Handling Pack, with stiffer suspension and a rear anti-roll bar. The BMW 2.0 litre engine stays in place, bringing ample power and surprising economy. As befits a Morgan, everything is customisable at the company’s Worcestershire factory.

‘The changes we have made – as with any longstanding design-led product – consider the delicate balance between tradition and innovation,’ says Morgan’s Chief Design Officer, Jonathan Wells, ‘For the latest Plus Four, we are proud to present an extensive list of component design updates that come together to deliver an undeniably refreshing yet reputably authentic impression.’ The next step is to get the car approved for US import for the first time in nearly 20 years.

The new Morgan Plus Four is available to order now, from £62,500 plus local market taxes, Morgan-Motor.com, @MorganMotor

Some cars imbue each journey with a certain attitude and atmosphere, one that begins before you’ve even unlocked the doors. The venerable Morgan Plus Four is one such machine, a glorious visual anachronism that somehow manages to splice lashings of innovation with traditional construction methods.

Morgan Plus Four, a car that spreads the joy

The Plus Four also belongs to that other rare category of expensive automobile, one that garners praise and appreciation, not dark looks, obscene gestures and aggressive driving. It’s a car that seems to spread joy wherever it goes, the timeless looks offering up a friendly face in a world increasingly full of aggressively styled, physically imposing automobiles.

As we’ve previously noted, in our report from the Morgan factory, the modern Morgan remains a unique hybrid of history and innovation, hand-shaped, hand-built using methods and tools that haven’t changed in generations. Today’s Morgans also incorporate modern engines (from BMW) and a refreshingly direct and mutually beneficial relationship between design and engineering.

What does all this mean for the customer? Historically speaking, Morgan owners have tended to be loyal and somewhat hard-headed. In days gone by, waiting lists were measured in years, not months, and the combination of flimsy canvas roof, raucous V8 power and a complete absence of driving aids made for a raw, visceral experience. This was exactly what they’d signed up for.

These people still exist (some 90 per cent of all Morgans ever made are reputed to be still on the road), but these days the whole experience is a little less hairshirted. That’s not to say that Morgan has turned its sports cars into carbon copies of rival machines. The Plus Four starts at around £71,000, about 25 per cent more than a Porsche 718 Boxster. 

Only the stubbornest fanboy would argue that the Morgan is the ‘better’ car; most would concede that the Porsche remains a nigh-on unbeatable modern sports convertible. The real truth, however, is that a Morgan can’t be compared to contemporary cars because it delivers such an incomparable experience.

That experience starts when you open the tiny scallop-topped door with the push-button chrome handle, step over the running boards, and sink into the leather upholstery. Set low to the ground, with a snug two-person cockpit, the Plus Four doesn’t envelop or cosset like a modern car. Instead, you get a very real sense of the world outside, with a thin canvas hood, flimsy plastic side windows (through which the wind whistles, especially at speed), and a vertical slab of a dashboard, complete with two centrally mounted traditional dials.

It is closest one can get to operating a time machine. The only concessions to modernity are the (small) display screen directly behind the steering wheel and the familiar BMW gear selector. The Plus Four, with its smaller 4-cylinder engine, comes with either manual or auto box; the wider and far more powerful Plus Six (with a 335hp six-cylinder BMW engine) is auto only. 

The Plus Four is no slouch. At just over 1,000kg, its 255hp output slings the small car forwards with verve, making overtaking a breeze, even if refinement and comfort gradually fall away as you get closer to the upper echelons of the speedometer. It helps too that fuel economy is excellent.

The Plus Four is at its best on a dry, winding country road, somewhere you can effectively block out the markers of ‘progress’ that define driving today – driver assistance modes, variable speed limits, cameras, contraflows and congestion. 

Yet Morgan ownership isn’t a futile bastion against the modern world, but more of a mechanical expression of mindfulness, a way of feeling closer to the act of travelling, as well as the physical process of making. Even the most lavishly crafted Rolls-Royce or Bentley doesn’t convey the sense of an object formed from carefully applied human processes like a Morgan.

Can you live with a car like the Morgan Plus Four? In our opinion, the Plus Four hits the bullseye of this dwindling sweet spot of cars that are both practical and fun. Sure, the Super 3 and Plus Six are a far more visceral experience, but the Plus Four is far easier day to day, something you could drive regularly yet still lift your mood every single time you fold yourself into the cabin.

The only question mark is whether such enduring delights can survive the transition to electrification. The recent Morgan XP-1 prototype showed the company has a good grasp of the fundamentals and the sketches we’ve seen bode well for the future. Get a Morgan in your life – and you’re unlikely to ever want to let it go.

Morgan Plus Four, automatic model from £71,829 on the road, Morgan-Motor.com, @MorganMotor

The Morgan Motor Company has been located in Malvern Link, Worcestershire, for over a hundred years, nestled at the foot of the surprisingly steep hills of the same name. It was these same hills that the firm’s founder, Henry Frederick Stanley Morgan, used as a testing ground for his first cars. These were light, efficient three-wheelers, with an innate sporting quality, although many of the pre-war cars were affordable runabouts and tourers, not out-and-out sports cars.

The first Morgan 4/4 (four wheels and a four-cylinder engine) was released in 1939, followed by a refined and uprated Plus Four model in 1952. The iconic Plus Four was released in 1950, and by the early 1960s had gradually evolved into a familiar and enduring form. Over 70 years, with diversions into Plus Eights (powered by a V8) and numerous variations, this is the car that continues to define Morgan in the modern mind. 

Inside the Morgan Motor Company factory

Fast-forward to the present day and many of the company’s original brick workshops are still in existence, their floors worn uneven with activity. Some of the machinery looks distinctly antediluvian, with ancient presses, stampers and jigs abutting the more contemporary kit of car making.

‘We have a very wasteless attitude to manufacturing,’ Morgan’s head of design, Jonathan Wells, as he conducts a whistlestop tour through the process, from bonded aluminium chassis (made elsewhere in the UK) through to handcrafted Lincolnshire ash frame, over which the aluminium bodywork is hammered and bent into shape.

We’re here to sample the Plus Six, the top of the range Morgan that sits alongside the ‘entry level’ Plus Four and alongside the Morgan Super 3, the raw three-wheeler that leaves you open to the elements and is classified as a motorbike in the US market. After a visceral, rain-spattered blast in the latter, it’s time to get into the dry, leather-lined cabin of the Plus Six. So named for the six-cylinder turbo-charged BMW-supplied engine at its heart, the Plus Six is an impressive combination of two essential qualities of any sports car – light weight and raw power.

At just 1,075kg, the rear-wheel drive Plus Six makes the most of its 335hp. With a heavy right foot, it’s easy to unseat this car, although the nicely weighted, ultra-direct steering helps you snap it back in line without too much drama. Even though it’s slightly longer and wider than its Plus Four sibling (in order to accommodate the larger engine), the Plus Six is still a tight fit for two, with space behind the front seats to stow bags as well as a boot-mounted luggage rack.

As a long-distance GT, it’s not ideal – long stretches of autoroute would swiftly become a little wearing. Instead, think of the Plus Six as a way to enhance any journey, especially with the lightweight canvas roof stowed, no particular deadline to meet and a suitably winding (dry) road ahead.

Morgan definitely has a diverse and eccentric customer base, people who are willing to wait between three to six months for a car, and who value the process of visiting the factory and seeing hammer on metal in person. Plus Four and Six blend old and new unlike no other car, and even apparent anachronisms like the ash frame have their place. As Wells points out, it helps make the platform incredibly flexible, and materials use is pared to a minimum.

In contrast, the Super 3 is the first time the company has ever worked without wood, but even here there’s an inseparable combination of design and engineering. Nothing is superfluous. ‘Every component serves many different functions,’ says Wells, ‘which in turn serves the aesthetic.’ He points to the cast aluminium brackets that hold the Super 3’s headlights as well as serve as the engine bracing structure.

Inside, there’s military-grade weatherproof switchgear (the starter button is a missile release switch from the Tornado fighter jet), while the removable side storage panels feature a patented clip system that will hold everything from a GoPro to a suitcase. Shaping this car has been a labour of love for the company, and the Super 3 has found a ready audience of people willing to embrace its motorcycle-style attitude.

Things are changing at Morgan, albeit slowly. Wells is now the longest serving design chief at the company (although admittedly only its second), and in new Italian owner Investindustrial, it has the funding and ambition to do things a little differently. For decades, Morgan ploughed a solitary furrow, building bespoke cars for a select audience who prized individualism above all else.

Electrification poses a massive challenge to such a small manufacturer, of course, as do the safety requirements of essential markets like the USA, and the ever-increasing need for ADAS (Advanced Driver Assistance and Safety Systems) in new cars. The former is currently being explored, with prototypes like the recent Morgan XP-1 pointing convincingly towards a zero-emission future. The latter requires investment. Sure, there are loopholes, but the bottom line is that the sensor-festooned modern automobile with its lane-keeping assistance, emergency braking systems, and the like, seems completely at odds with the Morgan ethos to date. 

For Wells and his team, currently based on an industrial estate a short drive away from the main factory, alongside practically every other desk job the company requires, these are opportunities as well as challenges. We’re shown page upon page of sketches and pointers to what’s coming in the near future – all currently under wraps - as well as an exclusive preview of an upcoming collaboration, one that will advance the Morgan aesthetic and its standing in the wider design community.

The British motor industry was once awash with small manufacturing outfits like Morgan, each catering to a precise niche and ensuring that jobs, skills, and benefits flowed into their surrounding communities. Economics and efficiencies mean that cars can no longer made this way, so Morgan’s survival is something to be cherished. The good news is that all the things that made the company so distinctive in the past will help it progress into a successful future.

For more information, visit Morgan Motor Company, Morgan-Motor.com

Morgan Plus Four, Morgan Plus Six, Morgan Super 3