New Morgan Supersport is here to take on the Porsche 911
Morgan has affixed a ‘Supersport’ badge to go-faster versions of its existing cars since 1927. However, after 98 years, the Supersport has become a model in its own right, replacing the Plus Six at the top of the Morgan range.
With bold design, new technology and even somewhere to put your shopping, Morgan hopes the Supersport will appeal to a new breed of customers. “The idea is to broaden our portfolio,” says managing director Matthew Hole. It might even conquer a few sales from the Porsche 911, reckons chief designer Jonathan Wells. Fighting talk from a company that hand-builds around 800 cars a year…
My rendez-vous with the Supersport took place at Morgan Works London, the charming, boutique-style dealership tucked away on a cobbled mews in Kensington. There, I was given a secret preview of the new flagship, plus insight into what comes next for one of Britain’s oldest car companies.
‘Future-focused design’
From its fulsome front wings to its flat, triple-wipered windscreen, the Supersport could only be a Morgan. But look closer and many of its details are unapologetically modern. Jonathan Wells talks about “clashing” between the flowing bodywork and “technical and precise” details, such as the visible satin grey-painted sills or the rear diffuser.
In profile, the Supersport’s purposeful stance and elegantly tapering tail evoke the Morgan Midsummer, last year’s coachbuilt, limited-run project with Pininfarina. As MD Matthew Hole points out, though, the relationship is the other way around: “This car was in development first, so it actually informed the Midsummer’s styling.”
Combining what Wells calls “classic character and future-focused design,” the Supersport is arguably cut from a similar cloth to the new Ferrari 12Cilindri. Both resemble the future as imagined from the past; the Ferrari a radical wedge of supercar from the 1970s, the Morgan a jet-age roadster concept from the 1950s.
Styling the Supersport
Wide-eyed round headlights, a ‘horseshoe’ grille and a centrally-hinged bonnet give the Supersport a familiar Morgan face, but the bonnet’s traditional, hand-pressed cooling louvres are replaced by a 911 GT3-style central vent with a dark matte finish, along with subtle apertures in front of the doors.
At the rear, LED lamps are concealed within a full-width black panel alongside a contemporary take on traditional bumper over-riders, while twin tailpipes jut from the centre of the diffuser. There’s also a ‘Morgan’ script on the tail for the first time – “to help people identify the car on the road,” says Wells. The new font is called ‘HFS’ (after company founder Henry Frederick Stanley Morgan) and inspired by the first Morgan ‘wings’ logo from 1909.
The Supersport rides on 18-inch flow-formed ‘Superlite’ alloys as standard, but you’ll definitely want the optional 19-inch forged ‘Aerolite’ rims seen here. Weighing in at 9.7kg per corner, each wheel is more than 4kg lighter than those fitted to the Plus Six. Either way, they come wrapped in Michelin Pilot Sport 5 rubber, which provides a good balance of cornering grip and wet-weather performance.
Priced from £102,000
In a process that Wells calls “21st century coachbuilding”, the Supersport’s aluminium body is hand-formed over an ash wood frame. Its new ‘CXV’ platform is an evolution of the ‘CX’ architecture that underpinned the Plus Six, but now 10 percent stiffer and made from 60 percent recycled aluminium.
Customers can spec their Supersport with a manually folding mohair soft-top roof for £102,000, or a carbon composite hard-top for £105,000. Or they can have both for £107,000. The removable hard-top is painted in body colour and has a huge curved rear screen that bathes the cabin in light. Its shape also gives the car a flowing, fastback silhouette akin to the much-loved Morgan Aeromax.
The Supersport still has detachable side screens, but their design is much improved, with more precise fitment and tighter seals to keep out the wind and rain. Even the door hinges are much-modernised. “They feel less like a garden gate and more like a Golf,” quips Wells.
Optional Nitron handling pack
One thing that hasn’t changed is the Supersport’s engine. Its 3.0-litre BMW ‘B58’ inline six is carried over from the Plus Six, and drives the rear wheels via an eight-speed ZF automatic gearbox (unlike the smaller Plus Four, there is no manual option). It marks Morgan’s 25th year of using BMW engines – a relationship that began with the Aero 8 in 2000.
Morgan hasn’t quoted any performance figures for the Supersport yet, but having 340hp and 369lb ft of torque in a package that Wells says weighs “1,170kg with a full tank of fuel” means it won’t hang about. For reference, the Plus Six could hit 62mph in 4.2 seconds.
Notably, the new car will be available with the Dynamic Handling Pack that totally transformed how the Plus Four drives. Here, it features compression and rebound adjustable Nitron dampers tuned specifically for the Supersport, plus a mechanical limited-slip differential. “We aren’t trying to make a direct rival for the Porsche 911,” says Wells, “but we do want to offer a credible alternative.”
Craftsmanship with modern tech
Part of that credibility also means offering up-to-date technology. So the Supersport is the first Morgan to offer hands-free Bluetooth connectivity, using three microphones hidden in the centre console. Active noise cancellation means you can have a “clear conversation at 70mph with the roof down”, promises Wells.
There’s also a wireless phone charging tray and a high-spec Sennheiser audio system, complete with decorative speaker grilles and actuators in each seat to “enhance the bass sensation”. The analogue dashboard dials use the same crisp ‘HFS’ font as the boot badge.
Speaking of the boot, this is the first Morgan to feature one in more than a decade. It can be opened remotely using the key fob and is large enough to carry the two side screens – or enough luggage for a week away. As a cool finishing touch, the car’s ash wood frame is revealed when you look inside. “We wanted to create a Morgan that can be used 365 days a year,” adds Wells. That sounds like our kind of challenge…
What’s next for Morgan?
Disappointingly, the new Supersport won’t be sold in the US. “Under the replica car rule, we can only sell 325 cars over in the States each year,” explains Matthew Hole. “And the Plus Four should fill that order bank. The [three-wheeled] Super 3 is homologated as a motorcycle, so that is treated differently.”
As for next steps, Hole says: “The investment needed for plug-in hybrids means they are totally off the table for us, so EVs are the only option. And that effectively means we’re being forced to go electric five years before everybody else” [in 2030, rather than 2035].
However, while Morgan is “committed to going electric eventually”, Hole is confident that an exception suited to Britain’s many small-volume car manufacturers can be achieved. “The government is listening and open to dialogue. It’s a complex issue, but I’m sure we’ll reach a solution.”
In the meantime, it seems only right to appreciate characterful cars like the new Morgan while we can. Come back to City PM for our review soon – we’re hoping to drive the Supersport next month.
• Tim Pitt writes for Motoring Research