It's fair to say that Morgan has heavily trailed the demise of its steel chassis - we had official confirmation late last year, followed by the launch of the 70th Anniversary cars, followed by today's announcement - but the firm can be forgiven for labouring the point: it's not every day that you officially stop making the 'longest-ever running production car architecture of all time, anywhere in the world'.
We've left that statement in quotation marks just in case there's still a contractor quietly turning out Mk1 VW Beetles in South America somewhere that Morgan doesn't know about - but either way, Malvern's own steel chassis has a persuasive claim to peerless longevity.
It was introduced in 1936 (two years before the Beetle) and, aside from factory closures owing to WWII or coronavirus, has been produced continually ever since. Till this week, in fact, when the last ever steel chassis car was apparently made - the final Plus 4 70th Edition car, obviously - and sold to a long-time Morgan enthusiast (well, you'd have to be). The manufacturer reckons that 35,000 cars have exited the factory doors atop the chassis; somewhat fewer than the 21m Beetles VW claims to have built - but plenty when your business is handmade sports car and not miserable Reichsautobahn fillers.
The steel chassis originally underpinned the 4-4, so named because it was the first Morgan to feature the ingenious pairing of a four-cylinder engine with four wheels. Since then, with much detailed fettling, it has underpinned the Plus 4, Plus 4 Plus, the first generation Plus 8, 4 Seater, V6 Roadster and the 4/4, which tells you not only that Morgan could do with being a bit more imaginative about its naming conventions, but also that it has served its purpose and then some.
Novel in its day for the combination of a sliding pillar front and leaf spring rear suspension, the platform now goes to the great scrapheap in the sky safe in the knowledge that Morgan has already assured its succession; the bonded aluminium CX-generation architecture - notable for being lighter, stronger and fundamentally better - was launched at Geneva last year and has since debuted under the new Plus 4 and Plus 6.
Steve Morris, CEO and Chairman of Morgan Motor Company, said: "The steel chassis has been fundamental to Morgan's production for more than eight decades, found beneath the skin of some of the most important and successful models in the company's history. Its unique driving charm is loved by many and, in fact, demand for steel chassis cars is still strong. However, with the introduction of our CX-Generation platform, which underpins our revolutionary new range of four-wheeled products, the time has come to bid farewell to the steel chassis. We are delighted to present this final steel chassis car to a long-standing friend of the factory, who we know will enjoy it alongside his extensive Morgan collection."
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