Morgan marks 25 years of BMW power
The BMW-engined Morgan era kicked off back in 2000 - and hasn't looked back since
You know when an automotive collaboration is going well when nobody really pays it any mind. Once upon a time, the notion of a BMW engine in a Morgan probably met with some grumbles of disappointment, it being a time when the Rover V8 was still in service - but now the two are more successfully allied than ever. The B48 2.0-litre turbo provides ample power for the Plus Four (still with a manual gearbox option, don’t forget), while the famed B58 3.0-litre remains a potent powertrain for the flagship Supersport.
In fact, BMW has now supplied Morgan with engines for 25 years, all the way back to the original Aero 8 of 2000. Those Pickersleigh Road sports cars with BMW engines must now account for a significant proportion of overall production, given the length of time they’ve been used for and their enduring popularity; as far back as 2018, the 300th BMW-powered Morgan (the last Plus 8, actually) was made. And think of everything that’s happened then with the CX era. To mark the big birthday, some of the finest BMW-powered Morgans have been collected together; it’s quite the sight, a reminder of just what’s left the Malvern gates in the last quarter century.
Obviously an early Aero 8 is in the shot (see below), but check out the race car as well - in 2004, a factory-backed car went to Le Mans for the first time in yonks. As well as working wonders for Morgan’s motorsport cool, the Aero 8 racer went on to influence later, more focused road cars. What a thing. These days, the early cross-eyed Aero 8s, with the 4.4-litre V8, are from £40k. The later cars with the more potent 4.8 are available for not an awful lot more if you’re willing to accept some miles, with really nice ones from the mid-60s. This glorious Series 5 manual is reckoned to be the very last Aero 8 produced, priced at £90k.
You’ll note in the picture a couple of the very special 4.8-litre Morgans as well, the AeroMax and the Aero GT. Both were extremely limited production and hugely dramatic V8s, inspired by aircraft and said to showcase ‘Morgan’s ability to marry avant-garde design with traditional craftsmanship’. As such, they remain highly prized; the last Aero GT we saw for sale was more than a quarter of a million.
Fortunately, the traditional Morgan aesthetic can be combined with BMW power for rather less than that (if without quite such presence). From 2012 the Plus 8 returned, using the Aero chassis and running gear, and now looks a great way into a 350hp+ V8 with all the expected styling charm. Both of the Plus 8s for sale on PH look stunning: take your pick from Avus Blue with Stone leather, or Rolls-Royce Green with Yarwood Honey. Don’t forget the Plus 8 Speedster, too, a glorious throwback with a soundtrack to die for.
By the time of the final Plus 8s (there’s a 50th Anniversary in there somewhere), the CX Generation of Morgans wasn’t far off. In 2019, we saw the Plus Six, the beginning of a new era for Morgan, with a bonded aluminum platform, a better interior, and BMW turbo power for the first time. The 3.0-litre Plus Six absolutely demonstrated that a modern Morgan could beguile like an old one, and proved popular as a result. Furthermore, new underpinnings or not, the Plus Six holds onto its value like any other Morgan, with prices now from £65k all the way up to £90,000 for a last-of-the-line Pinnacle.
We'd be remiss to talk about the CX era without mentioning the Plus Four, too, distilling all that was so likeable about the Six into a 2.0-litre package. In its years on sale, it has spawned the incredible CX-T, plus the LM62 tribute car (and don’t forget the Plus Six-based Midsummer), showing off the flexibility of the architecture. Plus it can definitely still channel the classic Morgan aura, as this one - complete in green over tan with wire wheels - ably demonstrates. Us? Well, Porsche Maritime Blue seems to work very nicely indeed…
Which brings us to the front of the photo, and the very good new Supersport. Still with BMW power, still very much looking like a Morgan, yet a very different prospect to those early 4.4-litre Plus 8s. Call it progress, the Malvern way. Let’s hope the same can still be said in 2050.
I like it.
also love this overview picture
and not in that picture, what sort of Morgan is the one in the picture below, looks lovely.
Do people find them pretty?
I'm genuinely shocked by this, I think they have been a throwback design wise and that is a nice thing, but presumed no one considered them pretty.
Well I never.
Do people find them pretty?
I'm genuinely shocked by this, I think they have been a throwback design wise and that is a nice thing, but presumed no one considered them pretty.
Well I never.
Do people find them pretty?
I'm genuinely shocked by this, I think they have been a throwback design wise and that is a nice thing, but presumed no one considered them pretty.
Well I never.
Do people find them pretty?
I'm genuinely shocked by this, I think they have been a throwback design wise and that is a nice thing, but presumed no one considered them pretty.
Well I never.
I like it.
and not in that picture, what sort of Morgan is the one in the picture below, looks lovely.
https://www.mitsuoka-motor.co.uk/roadster/
Do people find them pretty?
I'm genuinely shocked by this, I think they have been a throwback design wise and that is a nice thing, but presumed no one considered them pretty.
Well I never.
Some Morgans are very pretty little cars. They do look much better in the metal than photographed, I rented a plus four for the day and was was absolutely lovely in a way that no other car could be.
Classic, purposeful, fun and even muscular, but 'pretty' is the last word I would attach to a Morgan.
But then I can't really think of many cars I would call pretty?
BMW 507, Mercedes 300sl, DB2, DB5, early Alfa spider, 250GT SWB and......struggling to think of many more.
Maybe just what I consider pretty vs nice design?
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