Morgan History

 

He then mounted a three wheeled tubular chasis onto a two-cylinder Peugeot engine that he had bought and the very first Morgan runabout was created. Initially H.F. S. had no intention of becoming a motor manufacturer, but interest in his vehicle led him to extend the Malvern Garage and start manufacture in 1910. The Morgan name was then first made public at the Olympia Motor Show of 1910. A year later, Morgan exhibited its first two seaters at the 1911 Olympia Show.

 

The Morgan Motor Company was formed as a private Limited Company in 1912. Production was interrupted during the First World War when production shifted from cars to munitions and machinery for the war effort.

 

In 1915 a four-seater was developed and marketed as the Family Runabout. Production increased to 50 cars per week making Morgan one of the largest British car manufacturers of the time. In 1918 a new factory was opened on the Madresfield estate. This is the same site as the present day factory, commonly referred to as the "Works".

 

By 1937 the Morgan Four Four roadster was a great success. This lead to the introduction of a four-seater version and, in 1938, a Drophead Coupe.

 

Later that year Morgan introduced a standard engine. The company continued to produce three-wheelers as well as four-wheelers.

 

In 1951, Morgans were popular enough to warrant their first owners club. Originally called the Morgan 4/4 club.

 

1962 saw success at the Le mans 24 hours endurance race, where a Plus Four Super Sports won the 2 litre class, averaging a speed of 94mph. The 4/4 Series Five was also introduced in this year.

 

In 1968 the Morgan Plus 8 was introduced at the Earls Court Motor Show of 1968. The car would use the newly developed Rover V8 engine, which would later become the longest continuous use of the same power unit in any Morgan.

 

In January 1971 the Morgan 4/4 club had over 600 members with a variety of Morgan models. The decision was taken to change the club’s name to The Morgan Sports Car Club. The 70s also saw the first of the annual Morgan gatherings. However it was not until 1977’s meeting that the events became known as MOG with MOG 77.

 

1984 saw Morgan’s 75th anniversary, celebrated by the gathering of over 1,200 Morgans from across the globe. It was the same year that fuel injection was fitted to the Plus Eight. Five years later in 1989, the Plus Eight saw its engine capacity rise from 3.5 to 3.9 litres.

 

The Morgan Plus 4 was reintroduced in 1985. It was also in this year that Charles Morgan, grandson of the founder, joined Morgan full time. In 1987 the first Morgan Sports Car Championship was held. This was to become an annual championship that allowed Morgan owners to race their cars against one another. The success of this championship led to the introduction of a Hill climb Championship and the Continental Morgan Championship in Europe.

 

By 1997 the production was overhauled and standardisation of certain elements of all models was introduced. There was also major investment in a new paint shop.

 

In 2000, the Morgan Aero 8 was unveiled to great acclaim at the Geneva motor show. In 2004, production of the Morgan +8 ceased due to its Rover V8 engine no longer meeting stringent emissions regulations.

 

The +8 was replaced by the Morgan V6 Roadster, which is lighter, faster and more agile. In 2005 Morgan stunned visitors to the Geneva motor show once again with the unveiling of the AeroMax Coupe concept.

 

2006 marked the 70th birthday of the Morgan 4/4 and to celebrate the company produced a limited edition run of 142 Morgan 4/4, two for each year of manufacture.

 

Once again the Geneva motor show saw the introduction of new Morgan models. The 2006 event was the launch pad for a new design of four seater Morgan, available in both +4 and Roadster format. In addition a new Aero 8 was launched featuring a re-styled front end and a significant list of revisions compared to the original Aero 8 first unveiled in 2000.