CarBrandLogos archive · Morgan · 1968

MorganMorgan Plus 8

A light aluminium V8 dropped into a pre-war chassis, with predictable consequences.

Photo: Hajotthu · CC BY-SA 3.0

The story

A defining chapter in Morgan history.

Explore the ideas, engineering and context that shaped the Morgan Plus 8, then continue into its specifications and place in the marque's lineage.

Origins

Rover's aluminium V8, bought from Buick and light enough to weigh little more than the four it replaced, was the best thing that ever happened to Morgan. Dropped into a widened Plus 4 chassis in 1968, it turned a pleasant vintage-feeling roadster into something genuinely fast, and the Plus 8 stayed in production on that basis for 36 years.

Morgan Plus8 1993 1 A2 · Bernardi638 · Public domain

Design and engineering

It did not modernise much. Ash frame, steel body, sliding-pillar front suspension and a live rear axle on leaf springs all remained, which meant the Plus 8's performance was always more impressive in a straight line than the chassis strictly deserved. Aluminium bodywork became available in the 1970s, and fuel injection and 3.9- and then 4.6-litre versions of the V8 kept it competitive on paper.

Morgan Plus 8 in London · Ed Callow · CC BY 2.0

In production

The model outlived its engine. Rover stopped supplying the V8 in 2004 and the Plus 8 ended with it, but Morgan revived the name in 2012 on the bonded aluminium Aero platform with BMW's 4.8-litre V8 and built it until 2018. That later car is a very different machine in familiar clothes, stiffer and far better resolved, and it closed the story out before the Plus Six took over.

2003 Morgan Plus 8 4.0 litre V8 engine · Mr.choppers · CC BY-SA 3.0

At a glance

The facts that define it.

Produced

1968–2004

Engine

Rover V8 OHV

Body

2-door roadster

Technical specification

The Morgan Plus 8, in detail.

Production: 1968–2004 ; 2012–2018
Class: Sports car
Body style: 2-door roadster
Layout: FR layout
Engine: Rover V8 OHV ; 3.5L Rover V8 engine#3.5 L; Rover V8 engine; V8 ; 3.9L Rover V8 engine#3.9/4.0; Rover V8 ; 4.6L Rover V8 engine#4.6; Rover V8 ; BMW V8 DOHC ; 4.8L BMW_N62##N62B48; BMW V8
Transmission: 4-speed manual; (1968–77); 5-speed manual; (1977–2004); 6-speed manual; (2012–2018); 6-speed automatic; (2012–2018; Optional)
Assembly: Malvern, Worcestershire, England, United Kingdom
Manufacturer: Morgan Motor Company