Today's video is the FIRST Morgan to ever hit IDRIVEACLASSIC and features the iconic +4 with the interim cowl front

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Today's text for those, like me, who are a little hard on hearing:
It’s not every week we get a car like the Morgan Plus Four on IDRIVEACLASSIC and this car is a true icon.

Albeit a lot more refined and technologically advanced in 2020, the Morgan Plus Four is a car which came to market seven decades ago and is still sold today.

But lets go back to where it all started!

The Morgan +4 came to market in 1950 and was the natural progression for the Morgan 4/4 which had been produced by the Morgan Motor Company since 1936, although continued in production until 2019.

To understand the plus four naming convention, it’s imperative to understand that the earlier 4/4 was named as such because it was the first Morgan car to have four wheels, with three wheelers leading the way previously, and the second four represented the 4 cylinder engine.

In 2020 it can be hard to imagine the appeal of the earlier 3 wheel cars, but as mentioned in previous IDRIVEACLASSIC videos, British tax on cars meant that three wheeled vehicles fell into ‘cycle car’ classification and therefore were miles cheaper than four wheeled counterparts.

However after this loophole was abolished, car makers had to act fast and respond to public taste and start to produce four wheelers and with this, Morgan created the 4/4 which then lead to the +4 coming to market in 1950, being first presented at Earl’s Court Motor Show.

The +4 was named as such because the plus was said to signify the boost in power and number of new improvements. The 4/4 had been solder with the 1,267cc engine and the new +4 was sold at launch with the 2,088cc 68hp Standard Vanguard engine.

Other noted changes and upgrades included the longer bonnet, the taller radiator and crucially on the comfort front, a wider seat which offered more legroom.

It is worth noting that on this generation of the +4 the engine was changed through years and included change to the TR2 1,991 cc engine in 1953 which offered much better performance then to the TR3 engine in 1956 and then the TR4A engine until 1969 when the production was halted.

In late 1953, the model sometimes known as the interim cowl model arrived, which is the car you’re seeing today on test and was swiftly replaced in 1954 with the more recognised ‘face’. Many buyers of the 53 cars actually went back to Morgan for a facelift, so very few examples of the interim cowl exist today. So we’re very lucky to have pinched this one for test!

Several models were available and you could’ve chosen a 2 seat, 4 seat or if you had more money to spend, there was also a 2 or 4 seat drop-head coupe with a 4 seat coupe made from 1954 - 1956.

However many people see the Plus Four as so much more than a touring car capable of long distances and cross country potential and instead, see the racing potential and notable credentials.

The first wins were celebrated in 1951 and 1952 with the Plus Four winning the team award in the RAC Rally.

And winning wasn’t a fluke for this incredible car with Chris Lawrence and Richard Shepherd-Barron winning the appropriate class at the 1962 24 hours of Le Mans in their plus four prepared for the competition.

Competitions were a natural for the plus four because not only was the car immediately suited due to the high power to weight ratio, the tweaks made in 1954 including the radiator now hidden behind a cowl and grille to improve the aerodynamics and the aforementioned addition of the TR2 engine, meant that competing was not only possible but victory was highly probable with the right team behind the wheel.

Morgan then created a 2 seater competition model in 1966 - limited to 42 cars - and was 10% more expensive due to appropriate tweaks like the exhaust manifold, aluminium body which of course was lighter and therefore more suited to task and other notable differences including the Derrington wheel, 72 spoke wire wheels, uprated adjustable rear shock absorbers and the 2.2 litre twin SU carb TR4 engine.

Unlike many of our IDRIVEACLASSIC tests, this is not a classic which is affordable to many but Morgan cars are so iconic and world renowned, I made an exception on my usual rule of bringing affordable classics to the channel.

I will now hand over to Guy, a man of good taste and somebody you’ll have spotted in our Austin 7 owners interview and recent Panhard 20k special.

#Morgan #morgancar #morgan4/4 #morgan+4 #morgan4wheeler #morganfourwheeler