This Morgan was provided for review by Gilmour Collection, but is NOT sponsored or paid for.
Nostalgia. Looking back. It seems counterproductive for someone who was working in the fields of computers and technology. Today though, working around cars – it makes a lot of sense. I have oft lamented over the state of modern-day driving tools. Cars that lack soul and integrity. Cars that sort of drive themselves. Cars that make things just that little bit too easy. Well perhaps, that’s why I have so completely fallen for the charms of this little Morgan. Or perhaps, it is just a damn good car on its own merit?
Morgan, these days, is a little bit of an anomaly in the car world. A British sportscar manufacturer, that’s still independent, and still building cars. Perhaps most staggeringly, they are still building cars in exactly the same, traditional fashion as they have done for more than 100 years!
I have previously written here about the incredible history of the Porsche 911 and how it had been in production for around 60 years. Well Morgan have been producing their Roadster model for 26 years LONGER than that! Perhaps even more impressively, its basic design has remained completely unchanged all these years! It still has a steel and aluminium body, shaped and assembled completely by hand. It still has neither air conditioning nor power steering. And yes, it still uses wood (ash) in much of its construction!
Contrary to popular belief, the Morgan does not have a wooden chassis though. The chassis is, and has always been steel, however, the framework that attaches the body to the chassis is all made from wood. The body itself is beautiful, and although clearly and old design, still striking today. The long stretched front arches flatten into side steps either side of the small cabin. From the driver’s seat you have this stunning view of the long, louvred bonnet with those “angel wings” either side, and the big round headlights nestled in between. The rear is simply a short wedge shape tapering off to the road, adorned with the spare wheel and a chrome luggage rack. There is no boot.
The interior is beautifully made, covered in the finest and softest leather, and as spartan as you like. Indicator and wiper stalks, four simple buttons on the centre console and a set of beautiful, cream Smith gauges. That’s your lot. Everything you need at your fingertips, but absolutely nothing that you don’t. The relatively shallow seats offer a surprising amount of lateral support when going around corners. They also happen to be fantastically comfortable! The driving position is a little awkward at first as the peddles are a little offset to the left. Getting in and out is also a challenge as the car is very low, the cabin is small and the steering wheel is quite large.
Squeeze in between the seat bolster and the steering wheel and you will quickly drop into a comfortable position. There is very little storage space in here other than a tiny binnacle in the dashboard. There is a space behind the seats, but that is mostly occupied by the removable doors. There are also no cup-holders or cell-phone charge stations… and for me, these are all good things. There is simply nothing to distract you from the pleasure of driving and interacting with the machine.
Power is provided by Ford’s virtually indestructible Duratec V6 displacing 3.0L. The engine has a beautiful exhaust note and runs as smooth as Woolworths double cream. Given it’s rather humdrum origins powering cars like the mundane Mondeo and a few Jags from the early to mid 2000’s, the engine is surprisingly responsive and eager to rev. Not that you need to wind it up much, since the torque is actually very usable from very low in the rev range. Mated to a 5-speed manual gearbox, and weighing in well under a ton, the Morgan’s performance is sprightly!
It shifts and responds immediately in a way that few cars can match. No it’s not the quickest car in the world, but the way it feels is simply unlike anything else. Driven enthusiastically, the car comes alive. The wood frame starts flexing and the body moves about on the chassis as you drive the car out of corners. It talks to you constantly, and even though you may not be going a million miles an hour, because of the sheer amount of information the Morgan gives you – it feels like you really are!
It is a fantastically fun car to pilot. Thanks to its size and playful nature, you find yourself getting a little cheeky with it. Zipping through corners, jumping through gaps and dancing with it as if you were one. Outright grip levels aren’t huge, but this is a car that handles superbly. The brakes have very little assistance, so when you jump out of a modern over-assisted grocery getter into the Morgan you may be forgiven for thinking the brakes don’t work properly at first. But get used to the pressure required to stop and it is very effective at scrubbing off speed. Of course because there is no weight, there is no momentum. The pedal has great feedback and modulating the brakes to get exactly the required stopping power is easy.
By any modern standard, the Morgan is a deeply flawed prospect. It offers very little in terms of features or creature comforts. Other than seatbelts, there really isn’t much in the way of safety equipment either. It’s crude, rudimentary and basic. And whilst the majority of car buyers today read this as bad things – that’s exactly what makes it fabulous.
It’s beautifully uncomplicated. Simple to operate, simple to work on. It reminds you of what it was like to have to drive a car, when cars were still mechanical machines. As apposed to an electronically assisted interface with cupholders, loosely connected to a mechanical device. In a world of twin-turbo, dual-clutch speed machines with Apple Car play, 16 cameras, massaging seats and cordless charge stations, mixed with airbags, traction controls, brake force distribution systems and drift modes – The Morgan feels like condensed essence of car.
It may not be your particular brand of Whiskey – but it makes me smile.
