The Morgan Motor Company is a British motor car manufacturer. The company was founded in 1910 by Harry Frederick Stanley Morgan, generally known as “HFS” and was run by him until he died, aged 77, in 1959.[1] Peter Morgan, son of H.F.S., ran the company until a few years before his death in 2003. The company is currently run by Charles Morgan, the son of Peter Morgan.
Morgan is based in Malvern Link, an area of Malvern, Worcestershire and employs 163 people. Morgan produced 640 cars in 2007. All the cars are assembled by hand. The waiting list for a car is approximately one to two years, although it has been as high as ten years in the past.
The visitor centre and museum feature a guided tour of the factory and exhibits about the company’s history from Edwardian times until the present day, developments in automobile technology, and a display of automobiles.
Early cars: three-wheelers and 4-4s
The early cars were two-seat or four-seat three-wheelers, and are therefore considered to be cyclecars. Three-wheeled vehicles avoided the British tax on cars by being classified as motorcycles. Competition from small cars like the Austin 7 and the original Morris Minor, with comparable economy and price and better comfort, made cyclecars less attractive.
V-Twin three-wheelers (1911–1939)
1912 Morgan Runabout Deluxe
H.F.S. Morgan’s first car design was a single-seat three-wheeled runabout, which was fabricated for his personal use in 1909. Interest in his runabout led him to patent his design and begin production. While he initially showed single-seat and two-seat versions of his runabout at the 1911 Olympia Motor Exhibition, he was convinced at the exhibition that there would be greater demand for a two-seat modelThe Morgan Motor Company was registered as a limited private company only in 1912 with “H.F.S.” Morgan as managing director and his father, who had invested in his son’s business, as its first chairman.
Morgan Aero 2-Seater Sports 1926
1928 Morgan Super Aero
1928 Morgan Super Aero at Goodwood Festival of Speed 2009
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Morgan built his cars’ reputation by entering them in competitions. One of his racing cars won the 1913 Cyclecar Grand Prix at Amiens in France. This became the basis for the Grand Prix model of 1913 to 1926, from which evolved the Aero, Super Sports, and Sports models.[3]
These models used air-cooled or liquid-cooled variations of motorcycle engines.[4] The engine was placed ahead of the axis of the front wheels in a chassis made of steel tubes brazed into cast lugs.[5]
The V-Twin models were not returned to production after World War II.
[edit]F-Series three-wheelers (1932–1952)
1936 Morgan F4 Open Tourer
Beginning in 1932, a new series of Morgan three-wheelers began with the F-4. The F-4, and its later siblings the F-2 and the F-Super, used a pressed-steel chassis and the four-cylinder Ford Sidevalve engine that was used in the Model Y. Production of the Ford-engined three-wheelers continued until 1952.[3]
[edit]4–4
Morgan’s first four-wheeler was the 4–4, for four-cylinder engine and four wheels. The first production 4-wheeled Morgan was released to the public in 1936 and is known as the Morgan 4–4 Series 1. Three-wheeler production continued alongside the 4–4 until 1952.
[edit]Postwar four-wheel cars
[edit]Morgan +4
1952 “flat radiator” Morgan +4
1963 Morgan +4
Main article: Morgan +4
The Morgan +4 was introduced in 1950 as a larger-engined (“plus”) car than the 4–4. The +4 used the 2088 cc Standard Vanguard engine, while the 4–4 used a Standard Special 1267 cc engine (1950–58). Later +4s used Triumph TR2–TR4 engines (1954–1969). +4 production was suspended in 1969 but brought back in 1985 with a Fiat engine (1985–1988) and then a 4 cylinder Rover engine (1988–2000). Production was again suspended and the Plus 4 returned once more in 2004 with a 155 bhp (116 kW; 157 PS) Ford 4 cylinder.
[edit]+4+
Main article: Morgan +4+
A version of the +4, designated the +4+, was made from 1964 to 1967 with a contemporary fibreglass coupe body. The light weight and reduced drag characteristics improved the performance of the +4+ over the regular +4 in every aspect. However, the traditional Morgan enthusiasts did not embrace this departure from Morgan custom, and mainstream enthusiasts did not embrace the seemingly archaic +4 chassis. Only 26 +4+ cars were built.
[edit]Morgan 4/4
1974 Morgan 4/4
Main article: Morgan 4/4
The 4–4 was replaced by the 4/4 in 1955. The 4/4 now uses the +8 chassis and a Ford engine.
[edit]Morgan +8
Morgan Aero 8
A Modern Morgan Aero 8 at the Scarsdale Concours
Main article: Morgan Aero 8
In 2000, the Morgan Aero 8 was introduced and, as always, the wooden body substructure was ash. (Contrary to popular myth, however, the chassis is metal; aluminium for the Aero 8). The Aero 8, with a BMW V8 engine in a car weighing less than a BMW Z4 and considerably less than a BMW M3, (though more than traditional Morgans) is even faster than the Plus 8, delivering what Autoweek magazine termed supercar performance. The newest Aero 8 (Ser. IV) puts out 367 hp (274 kW) at 6100 rpm giving it a top speed of over 170 mph (270 km/h). Due to the Aero 8’s light weight it can do 0–62 mph (100 km/h) in 4.5 seconds.[6]
During its customer production lifetime (2002–2009), the Aero was configured in five official versions, (I,II, III, IV and the Aero America) with variations in styling, engines, transmissions, braking and suspension. The Company canceled its production in 2009. It was followed by the Aeromax, a limited coupe edition of 100 units produced between 2008 and early 2010.
The year of highest production was 2002.
Morgan AeroMax
2011 Morgan Threewheeler, Geneva Motor Show, 2011
The Morgan Motor Company announced that they would launch the ‘3 Wheeler’ in 2011at the Geneva Motor Show The Threewheeler was initially said to have a Harley-Davidson Screaming EagleV-twin engine and a Mazda 5-speed manual transmission,and was estimated to deliver 100 horsepower (75 kW) at the rear wheel.However, the prototype that was shown at Geneva had a S&S engine. Production 3 Wheelers will have S&S engines.With a kerb weight estimated to be less than 500 kilograms (1,102 lb),the acceleration from zero to 60 miles per hour (97 km/h) is estimated by Morgan to occur in 4.5 seconds, with a top speed of 115 miles per hour (185 km/h) The 3 Wheeler is to be homologated as a motorcycle in the United States.[8][12] 550 deposits have been taken since the announcement in 2010. Customer deliveries are expected to begin in 2013.
[edit]Availability to the United States
For part of the 1950s and 1960s, the USA provided the company with its largest market worldwide, taking up to 85% of all production.[15] This ended with the first wave of US safety and emission regulations in 1971. For many years (1974 to 1992), all Morgans imported into the United States were converted to run on propane as fuel to pass the U.S. emissions regulations. However, this conversion, along with bringing the cars into compliance with US vehicle safety leglislation, was carried out by the dealership, and not by the factory, making the cars grey market vehicles.
However, when the Rover Group re-certified their V8 engine for use in the Range Rover 4×4 sold in the U.S., Morgan was able to use the same engine for a fully US compliant stock Morgan from 1992 to 1996, and again from 1998 to 2004.In 2005, the engine was replaced with the US version of another traditionally-shaped model (with a V6) called the Roadster.
In 2002, Morgan centralised its international compliancy development and regulatory interaction in-house.In 2005, its right to import its classic models ceased when supplies of its necessary airbag were exhausted and no replacement was developed. In 2006, a request for an airbag exemption to the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration was refused, and the import of classic Morgans ceased.
In 2005, the new Morgan Aero 8 model (versions 2 and 3) received a three year exemption from rear impact non-compliance,along with a separate exemption for compliance with “advanced airbag requirements”.The rear-impact exemption lapsed in May 2008 without further application. Morgan has indicated to its US dealers that it plans to re-apply for US certification for some model at as yet an undetermined date in the future.
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