RE: PH fleet: Morgan Plus 8

RE: PH fleet: Morgan Plus 8

Author
Discussion

Gorbyrev

1,160 posts

153 months

Saturday 21st January 2012
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Nick644 said:
julian64 said:
Oh dear, I'm going to sound completely negative now.

I've always secretly hankered after a morgan. Its just that every time they produce a car they have to muck it up.

This one would be a lovely car, lower, wider than the gorgeous original, and 1000000x better than the dead end in design that was the aeromax but a BMW X5 engine!! They might as well have shoved in a Chevy lump.

I identify with the authors comments re appreciating the back to basics approach, but you could have said them about almost any decent kit car. The wind and elements, the immediate connection to your engine, the heightened sense of driving, and the freedom felt with the complete disregard of the current eurobox mentality. Any kit car that was half decently put together would give you that.

Morgan need to grab their niche with both hands. By all means vamp up the morgan, but stick a gentlemanly inline six in there with a characteristic note that makes you think morgan before you even see the car comming round the bend. Not here comes another X5.
They had a ranger rover 3.5/3.9's etc... in the Plus 8 for about a million years. I guess you would comment here comes a range rover 'back in the day'!
Very true! And one must remember that the Rover V8 started life as a Buick marine engine - goodness gracious - an American lump, though admitedly not a a Chevy!!!

RichB

51,434 posts

283 months

Saturday 21st January 2012
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Gorbyrev said:
...one must remember that the Rover V8 started life as a Buick marine engine...
Marine engine? Are you sure? I know they were used as boat anchors but... scratchchin

mr_tony

6,328 posts

268 months

Saturday 21st January 2012
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Whiters said:
Glad Morgan are still around for road furniture, but as an ownership proposition; no thanks.
My Aero8 S4 (which is what this is in a different suit) was the most solid ownership proposition I've had in any car ever. I did more than 10k miles in a year, annual service was 450 quid, it did 25mpg cracked a ton in under 10 seconds didn't rattle leak or complain in any temperature or weather and was welcome wherever I went...

I WISH

874 posts

199 months

Saturday 21st January 2012
quotequote all
Awesome machine. There would be room in my garage anytime for one of these.

But ... there's always a but ..... there's a serious wheel problem going on.

The steering wheel looks completely out of place. Looks like the equivalent of a contemporary leather sofa in the drawing room at Versailles. Airbags have a lot to answer for.

The alloys are also completely wrong. Should have some nice Alpina style thin finned alloys .... or better still some nice black spoke competition wires.

Then it would be perfick.

sperm

dinkel

26,887 posts

257 months

Saturday 21st January 2012
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mph said:
. . . cost is the problem - also consider the resale value. ( . . . ) I sold my Aero 8 last year and it's the second biggest car mistake I've made. ( . . . )
Resale value? Mog +8 for life! Cars like these . . . proper!

AeroMan

601 posts

244 months

Sunday 22nd January 2012
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Vilhelm said:
Also available in white.

With the twin-piped side exhausts too! bow

Like Boshly, I've driven the prototype and IMHO it drives really well. Both tests are on TalkMorgan, but I'm really looking forward to reading Chris Harris's running report. In any case, I'm sorely tempted but currently have no garage space...

joncon

1,446 posts

222 months

Sunday 22nd January 2012
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[quote=AeroMan]
With the twin-piped side exhausts too! bow

it sounded nice with the rear pipes, but you can't beat side exit pipes !

Like Boshly, I've driven the prototype and IMHO it drives really well.

i was lucky enough to have a drive in december, at the factory. it is awesome !
just wish i could have borrowed it for a month !!

mr_tony

6,328 posts

268 months

Sunday 22nd January 2012
quotequote all
I WISH said:
Awesome machine. There would be room in my garage anytime for one of these.

But ... there's always a but ..... there's a serious wheel problem going on.
A Mota Lita wheel and a set of wires then, factory will fit them for you. I've had different steering wheels and alloy combos on my aeros at different times. Easy...

mph

2,316 posts

281 months

Sunday 22nd January 2012
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The obsession of motoring jounalists, with singular lack of imagination, in forcing cars into pigenholes and then trying to compare them like for like has permeated the customer psyche.

Thanks to the motoring press we have become a nation of statisticians, obsessed with data and lap times of the Nurburgring.

Chris Harris says "of course a GT3 would have dusted it" he could equally have said " of course a 1.4 diesel would have better fuel economy "

A potential GT3 customer would never consider the Morgan as an alternative and vice-versa.

Come on you hacks, take a lead from Morgan and try to be original. We may even find it interesting.


ukshooter

501 posts

211 months

Sunday 22nd January 2012
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Actually, I would like to see it compared directly to a GT3 in thne hands of the same CAPABLE driver to see how much of a dusting there would really be.

dinkel

26,887 posts

257 months

Sunday 22nd January 2012
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Bartalk: how many of the 'Ring-time obessed' can match the car journos 0-60 figures? It's stuff dreams are made of: most will press the middle pedal to soon, to often and not hard enough.

noddynitro

174 posts

217 months

Sunday 22nd January 2012
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I've owned a Caterham R400, currently have a supercharged Elise and a Morgan +8 or Aero 8 is at the top of my wish list

tommy vercetti

11,486 posts

162 months

Sunday 22nd January 2012
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Morgans are so classy imo, love it, would love to own or drive one of these when i'm older

RichB

51,434 posts

283 months

Sunday 22nd January 2012
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mph said:
Chris Harris says "of course a GT3 would have dusted it" he could equally have said " of course a 1.4 diesel would have better fuel economy "
But Porsche don't make a 1.4 diesel and he comes from the school of "always mention a Porsche whenever you can" journalism. hehe

Chris Harris

494 posts

152 months

Sunday 22nd January 2012
quotequote all
mph said:
The obsession of motoring jounalists, with singular lack of imagination, in forcing cars into pigenholes and then trying to compare them like for like has permeated the customer psyche.

Thanks to the motoring press we have become a nation of statisticians, obsessed with data and lap times of the Nurburgring.

Chris Harris says "of course a GT3 would have dusted it" he could equally have said " of course a 1.4 diesel would have better fuel economy "

A potential GT3 customer would never consider the Morgan as an alternative and vice-versa.

Come on you hacks, take a lead from Morgan and try to be original. We may even find it interesting.
Did you actually read the whole story? Please at least show some balance and use full quotations. The full paragraph runs thus:

"I've just driven home in it, roof down, in glorious sunshine and five degrees ambient temperature. The exhaust noise is addictive, the cabin is tight and, for a prototype, carefully finished - of course a GT3 would have dusted it, but for sense of occasion and making other people smile, I'm not sure many cars could have matched it."

Which shows I was making exactly the point you are making. As did my earlier point about the 991.




pthelazyjourno

1,848 posts

168 months

Sunday 22nd January 2012
quotequote all
kambites said:
Surely the winter would be more amusing?
I test drove this car in December, it was amusingly easy to go sideways.

Brilliant car. If one could afford the £80k for the Plus 8, I'd imagine the 3 wheeler would be on the list as well, rather than instead of.

jellison

12,803 posts

276 months

Sunday 22nd January 2012
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julian64 said:
jellison said:
This think will be mental, from knowing how the race V6 Roadster goes with about 250bhp and the Class B Mog races with about 270bhp. Mog Class A races are just Bonkers having grip to spare and close on 400bhp (so these things will be approaching these Beasts).

Check out the Oli Byrant Vid in a Class A Mog at the Brands GO track - A Missile.

Morgan+8 – Heritage – GT Challenge – 2006 Oliver Bryant @ http://oliverbryant.com/video/
Thanks, that is probably the best link I've ever seen posted on PH. I had to stop watching at work because the speakers on the work PC don't do it justice. I'm going to wait till I get home and watch all of those.

P.S. Pau – Masters & Endurance 2006 – Cobra – On-Board Footage - sublime, look how much correction of the steering wheel he's doing. I'd be quite happy for any car on that track. cloud9 I would love to do that in mine.
he has got some great vids. The Mogs is a real Weapon.

The T70 at Spa is great too.

Those historic tyres really do have the car moving about (very controlable though, different times!) smile Mog in the Brands vid is on fat modern 1B Road race stuff though.

mph

2,316 posts

281 months

Sunday 22nd January 2012
quotequote all
Chris Harris said:
Did you actually read the whole story? Please at least show some balance and use full quotations. The full paragraph runs thus:

"I've just driven home in it, roof down, in glorious sunshine and five degrees ambient temperature. The exhaust noise is addictive, the cabin is tight and, for a prototype, carefully finished. For a sense of occasion and making other people smile, I'm not sure many cars could have matched it."

Which shows I was making exactly the point you are making. As did my earlier point about the 991.
I did read the whole story and I enjoyed it.

On reflection my rant would have been better addressed as a new subject.

I still don't see the need to compare it to a GT3 though and the paragraph above reads better without it IMHO wink

Richard330s

63 posts

161 months

Sunday 22nd January 2012
quotequote all
Looks considerably more menacing and a dash more modern. I concur with all the positive reactions and all previous posts about the steering wheel and alloys being a little below par are correct.

Tally ho!

toppstuff

13,698 posts

246 months

Sunday 22nd January 2012
quotequote all
mph said:
I did read the whole story and I enjoyed it.

On reflection my rant would have been better addressed as a new subject.

I still don't see the need to compare it to a GT3 though and the paragraph above reads better without it IMHO wink
+1

It's obvious that the cars do not compete, or intend to do so. Therefore, the GT3 comparison is meaningless and irrelevant. In other words, it would have been better left out..

PH is a tough crowd. wink