Morgan Most

H.F.S. Morgan quit the Great Western Railway in 1904 and co-founded a motor sales and servicing garage in Malvern Link. In 1909 he designed and built a car for his own use. He began production a year later and the company prospered. Morgan continued to run it until he died at age 77 in 1959.

H.F.S. Morgan's first car design was a single-seat three-wheeled runabout, which was fabricated for his personal use in 1908, with help from william Stephenson-Peach, the father of friends, and the engineering master at Malvern College. Powered by a 7 hp (5.2 kW; 7.1 PS) Peugeot twin cylinder engine (from an abandoned motorcycle project) cycle, the car had a backbone chassis, an idea retained for all following Morgan three-wheelers, and used as little material and labour as Morgan could manage. A single-seat three-wheeler with coil-spring independent front suspension, unusual at the time, the driveshaft ran through the backbone tube to a two-speed transmission (with no reverse), and chain drive to each of the rear wheels. The steering was by tiller, and it had band brakes. It also had no body.

H.F.S. Morgan's 1909 Runabout used sliding pillar suspension, an independent front suspension system with each front wheel mounted on a stub axle able to slide up and down a fixed pillar that also acts as the kingpin and supported by a spring and external shock absorber (damper). One advantage is reduced unsprung weight, theoretically allowing the tire and wheel to better respond to road surface irregularities. The Morgan system is described as an 'inverted' sliding pillar, as the pillar is fixed and the hub carrier slides over it. Earlier systems had the wheel carried on the pillar, sliding through a bush on the axle.

With financial help from his father and his wife, the car was put into production at premises in Pickersleigh Road, Malvern Link, and three single-seaters exhibited at the 1910 Motor Show at Olympia in London. In spite of great interest being shown, only a few orders were taken, and Morgan decided a two-seater was needed to meet market demand. This was built in 1911, adding a bonnet, windscreen, wheel steering, and crank starting; it was displayed at the 1911 Motor Cycle Show. An agency was taken up by the Harrod's department store in London, with a selling price of £65. The Morgan became the only car ever to appear in a shop window at Harrods.

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 model. The 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.

In 1912, Morgan set out to win the trophy offered by The Light Car & Cyclecar for greatest distance covered in an hour, at Brooklands. The single-seater covered 55 mi (89 km), only to be narrowly beaten by a GWK; Morgan returned later the same year, reaching nearly 60 mi (97 km).

Morgan established its reputation via competition such as winning the 1913 Cyclecar Grand Prix at Amiens in France, driven by W. G. McMinnies, with an average speed of 42 mph (68 km/h) for the 163 mi (262 km) distance. This became the basis for the 'Grand Prix' model of 1913 to 1926, from which evolved the 'Aero', and 'Sports' Models. Morgan himself won the "very tough" ACU Six Days' Trial in 1913, in the sidecar class. The same year, the company entered the MCC reliability trial, which it continued to do until 1975.

After the First World War, the company introduced an easily changed rear wheel, which customers had been seeking a number of years. The 1921 Popular, powered by an 8 hp (6.0 kW; 8.1 PS) JAP and bodied in poplar, sold for £150. It was a sales success, the price dropping to £128, and the name changing to Standard, by 1923, when a Blackburne engine was also available. The Grand Prix was priced £155, and the Family (with two notional child seats behind the front bench, setting a standard 2+2s would follow for generations) was £148 (air-cooled engine) or £158 (water-cooled engine). The Anzani-powered Aero was also available, for £148. MAG engines were also optional.

Electric headlamps were made available in 1924, at an £8 cost. The Popular, powered by a 976 cc (59.6 cu in) engine, sold for £110, the 1,098 cc (67 cu in) Aero for £148, and the one-seater £160.

In 1925, the Standard's price had dropped to £95, and the Aero £130, compared to £149 for an Austin Chummy. Electric lighting by dynamo became standard that year.

Morgan's racing program in 1927 earned the marque eleven gold medals and three silvers from fourteen entrants at MCC's London-Edinburgh Trials alone. The team was joined by Clive Lones and C. T. Jay, who won the 1929 Cyclecar Grand Prix at Brooklands, driving a 750 cc (46 cu in) Morgan-JAP, with an average speed of 64.7 mph (104.1 km/h). And in 1930, Gwenda Stewart turned in a speed of 113 mph (182 km/h) in a race-tuned Super Sports.

By 1930, however, inexpensive four-wheeled cars were proliferating, led by the £100 Ford Popular. Morgan, and partner George Goodall, countered by putting the 8 hp (6.0 kW; 8.1 PS) 933 cc (56.9 cu in) and 10 hp (7.5 kW; 10 PS) 1,172 cc (71.5 cu in) Ford engine in their own cars.

The Morgan F-4 was introduced in 1933 at the Olympia Motor Cycle Show. The F-4 had a new pressed-steel chassis the four-cylinder Ford Sidevalve engine used in the Model Y, and a four-seat body. The F-4 was supplemented by the two-seat F-2 in 1935 and the more sporting F Super, with cycle-type wings and louvred bonnet tops, in 1937. Production of the Ford-engined three-wheelers continued until 1952.

In 1938, a 4–4 was entered at Le Mans. This led to production of factory replicas, with fold-down windscreen, cycle fenders, smaller-displacement engine, & single spare wheels, with a price of £250.

For part of the 1950s and 1960s, the USA provided the company with its largest market worldwide, taking up to 85% of all production. 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 US emissions regulations. However, this conversion, along with bringing the cars into compliance with US vehicle safety legislation, was carried out by the dealership, and not by the factory, making the cars grey market vehicles.

The +4 used Triumph TR2 (in 1953), TR3 (1956), or TR4A engines (until 1969). Plus 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.

The 4/4 returned to production in 1955 when a suitable engine was sourced. The 4/4 now uses the +8 chassis and a Ford engine.

A version of the +4, 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, traditional Morgan enthusiasts did not embrace this departure from Morgan custom, and mainstream enthusiasts did not embrace the seemingly archaic +4 chassis. Only 50 were built.

Faced with the decreasing availability of large four-cylinder engines for use in their +4 Models, Morgan began to install the recently available Rover V8 engine in their cars in 1968, giving these cars the model designation "+8".

The engine displacement jumped from the 2.3 L of the Triumph TR4 engine to 3.5 L, then 3.9 L (1990), 4.0 (1998–2004) with an optional 4.6L (1996–2000) all based on the same Land Rover block. However, the V-8 was no longer than the Triumph. These features made the +8 accelerate much more quickly than the early +4 and also improved its road-holding capability.

However, when the Rover Group re-certified their V8 engine for use in the Range Rover 4x4 sold in the US, 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 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 (series V), presented in March 2015, puts out 367 hp (274 kW) at 6100 rpm with the company suggesting 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.

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 US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration was refused, and the import of classic Morgans ceased.

Peter Morgan, son of HFS, ran the company until a few years before his death in 2003. He was replaced as chairman by Alan Garnett, a non-family Director, from 2003 to 2006. After Garnett's resignation, a four-man management team was set up.

In 2004, Morgan came out with a traditional styled model to replace the departing Plus 8. The Mk I Roadsters with the Ford UK Mondeo V6 produced 223 bhp (166 kW, 226 PS) at 6150 rev/min. It had a Getrag gearbox with direct drive in 5th with a 3.08 axle ratio. Later Marks had a Ford gearbox with direct drive in 4th with a 3.73 axle ratio. The overall gearing is virtually the same. The later Roadsters were powered by a Ford UK Mondeo V6 producing 204 bhp (152 kW; 207 PS). In 2007, the Mondeo engine was replaced by a US-specification version of the same engine in the Roadster II. In 2011–12, the engine was replaced by the 3.7 Duratec Cyclone engine and output increased to 280 bhp (209 kW; 284 PS). The company calls this latest model the Roadster 3.7.

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.

Morgan cars can be found in many areas of motorsport, from club and historic racing to more prominent examples, including the Le Mans 24hr race. A notable Morgan racecar was the Aero 8 GT car that campaigned in 2008 Britcar races and the 2008 Britcar 24hrs at Silverstone, prepared and run by Mark Bailey Racing.

The Morgan Aero SuperSports is a targa-roofed version of the AeroMax, sharing its bonded aluminium chassis and lower bodywork with the coupe. It was launched at the 2009 Pebble Beach car show in California. Its cancellation was announced in March 2015.

Based on the same chassis as the Aero Supersports, the Eva GT would have been a 2+2 grand tourer, and as such it would be longer in the body. The Eva GT would use BMW N54 twin-turbo straight-6 producing 302 bhp, Euro-6 emissions compliant. Shown at Pebble Beach in clay in 2010 and expected to go on sale in 2012, deposits have been taken since 2010. At the end of 2011, Morgan announced that it would use new magnesium Technology for the body and therefore it would not be re-presented until 2014 with deliveries after that. In 2013 dealers confirmed that the EvaGT had been cancelled.

The Morgan Motor Company announced that they would launch the "3 Wheeler" in 2011 at the Geneva Motor Show. The 3 Wheeler was initially said to have a Harley-Davidson Screaming Eagle V-twin engine and a Mazda 5-speed manual transmission, and was estimated to deliver 115 hp (86 kW) at the rear wheel. However, the prototype that was shown at Geneva had an S&S engine. Production three-wheelers turned out to have S&S engines. The kerb weight was originally estimated to be less than 500 kg (1,102 lb), but the final weight was tested at 550 kg (1,213 lb). The acceleration from zero to 60 mph (97 km/h) was estimated by Morgan as 4.5 seconds, with an (estimated) top speed of 115 mph (185 km/h). The three-wheeler is to be homologated as a motorcycle in the United States. The company states that 850 deposits have been taken since the announcement in 2011. Customer deliveries began in Europe in February 2012. US deliveries were not expected before June 2012, when the first imported three-wheeler was displayed in New York City and at the Greenwich Concours d'Elegance. The Morgan 3 Wheeler was featured in a Series 18 episode of UK motoring show Top Gear where presenter Richard Hammond selected the Morgan 3 Wheeler in a comparison of track-day cars. The 3 Wheeler won the "Not-A-Car of the Year 2011" in Top Gear magazine.

Pescarolo Sport rebranded its Le Mans Prototype as a Morgan for the 2012 24 Hours of Le Mans, partly to mark the 50th anniversary of a class victory for a Morgan Plus Four Super Sports at Le Mans.

Horsepower (143–204 bhp), weight and performance varied with emission and structural laws through its history. In its final form, the GEMS Land Rover V8 produced 190 hp (140 kW). Thus powered, the car could accelerate from 0–60 mph in 5.6 seconds.

A limited edition Plus 4 was re-introduced in 2014 as the Plus 4 Super Sports. Only 60 cars are made available and each car will be right hand drive.