Latest news with #JonathanWells
Forbes
24-04-2025
- Automotive
- Forbes
Test-Driving The 2025 Morgan Supersport
The Morgan Supersport represents the brand's vision for the 21st century. Morgan is known for its steadfast commitment to classic designs and traditional methods. In a world increasingly seeking out heritage designs and iconic shapes with everything from restomods to continuation series models, Morgan remains the only manufacturer dedicated to keeping its heritage present. The Morgan Supersport is the company's latest model, designed to sit at the top of the brand's line up. Jonathan Wells, chief design officer at Morgan Motor Company said, 'The launch of the Morgan Supersport marks the culmination of five years of exploration, craftsmanship, and collaboration – our bold vision of 21st-century coachbuilding. It has been a passion project for our team, an opportunity to push boundaries and define what a flagship Morgan can be.' Although the name Supersport has appeared throughout Morgan's history since 1927, typically seen as 'Super Sports', its moniker feels very deliberate. Since the Supersport sits in the upper echelon of sports cars and starts to border on the blurry line between sports cars and supercars, it feels like Supersport defines its own class. From every angle the Supersport reveals stunning sweeping lines. Based on its familiar classic design alone, you wouldn't expect the Supersport to boast so much power. With a curb weight of just 1,170kg (2579lbs), the 3.0-liter BMW in-line six is able to put down 335 bhp and 369 lb-ft of torque to achieve 60mph in just 3.9 seconds. If anything, Morgan's excelled itself and could pull back on the power so you get more opportunity to enjoy it within the speed limit. There's two personalities looming beneath the surface. In its default driving mode, the Supersport is evocative of classic motoring, burbling along with not a care in the world. This is the best way to enjoy a gentle cruise to a car show or local cafe, it's the ideal Sunday morning vibe. But knock the gearstick to one side, click the S+ button and a completely different animal rears its head. S+ unlocks the Supersport's supercar tendencies to give you any speed you like far quicker than it has any right to. Find a long enough stretch of road and you can feel the engine roar in your chest, it rises up through the cabin as your foot sinks towards the floor. Ask for a burst of power aggressively enough and the front end will even start to rear up. The sweeping bodywork is unique in the modern automotive industry. It's not just its straight line speed that's impressive though. Supersport is built on a new lightweight CXV aluminum chassis which feels impressively stiff. Into every corner it's resolutely planted to the road and the small steering wheel gives it a racing car feel. You'll find flappy paddles tucked behind the steering wheel but the gearbox handles itself so well that there's rarely an occasion to take over. Glancing down the long bonnet and catching inquisitive glances from older generations makes you truly believe you're driving a classic car. There's few other cars that have such an impressive amount of bonnet real estate. While you can get lost thinking you're driving a classic, the strong brakes make you endlessly grateful of the modern engineering that's gone into this beauty. There's really nothing like it. Eagle-eyed BMW fans will note the familiar looking gearstick. The design largely stays true to classic Morgan interiors with a focus on including little more than the necessary functions. The modern Morgan includes some creature comforts though in the form of Bluetooth phone connectivity – which is seamless to link up – to play music and make hands free calls. There's also a wireless phone charger in front of the gearstick that doubles as a phone mount to use for navigation. In front of the driver, you get a small screen which displays a digital speedo, climate controls when you use the corresponding dial on the dash and media functions in response to the other dial. Unlike other manufacturers that have taken the inclusion of technology too far, Morgan strikes the right balance with the Supersport. It still needs a physical key to turn the ignition on and a start/stop button brings the engine to life. And, there's no annoying bings or bongs from driver assistance systems, so you can focus on just enjoying the ride. The trunk is perfectly blended into the rear panels. The door cards are beautifully minimal with a leather handle and a sliding metal handle to release the door. The metal handle also doubles as the release for the side screens which pop out like an old school headrest with two metal posts. As standard, a side screen bag is included so you can pack them away in the trunk. Yes, trunk. This is the first Morgan in more than a decade to feature rear storage inside the car, a luggage rack had been the brand's go to solution until now. These small additions combine to make a big difference to the overall liveability of the Supersport as an everyday car. While you'll want to garage it in wet and cold weather, it's more practical than ever to spend every day of the summer driving around in it. Every feature feels purposeful and well thought out. As standard, it comes with a black mohair roof but can also be specified with a hard top or both. Morgan builds cars to order with Supersport models priced from £85,000 ($113,000) as the base price before local taxes. Including the relevant taxes in the UK, this brings its entry-level price to £105,160 ($139,000). The nature of a Morgan is to be highly customizable and built to bespoke specifications, so you can really dial down into the details of the build to include everything you're looking for. The example I tried was fitted with just over £20,000 ($26,500) worth of optional extras. Externally, this included a GT Silver special paint and 18-inch Superlite frozen grey wheels. Underneath, the Supersport was enhanced with the dynamic handling package, limited slip differential and an active sports exhaust which is worth every penny to get that gorgeous exhaust note. Inside, it was adorned with a matte body color dash, connectivity pack, Sennheiser premium audio system and heated seats. Other additions included the cockpit wood finishes, leather seats and a specific stitching pattern. This level of customization means every Morgan Supersport that leaves the factory is unique. Price as tested: £122,667 ($162,950) Engine: BMW 3.0-liter TwinPower Turbo, inline six-cylinder Power: 335 bhp Torque: 369 lb-ft 0-62 mph: 3.9 secs Top speed: 166 mph
Telegraph
11-03-2025
- Automotive
- Telegraph
Morgan Supersport goes pink with more wood than ever (but at least it's still petrol)
It might have emulated the Jaguar Concept's pink-hued bodywork, but unlike the controversial Coventry Cat, at least the new Morgan Supersport is recognisably a Morgan. 'Jaguar sort-of stole our thunder,' says chief designer Jonathan Wells, 'but we had chosen this colour before we saw their car.' In case you were wondering, the hue is called Armeria Lilac. And no, Morgan isn't planning a launch video featuring new-age models in pastel shades and no cars, as did Jaguar. Instead, it is using a historic name (Supersport was first used in 1927 on a three-wheeler, with which the company made its name) and its past in shaping the bodywork over wooden frames, as well as looking to the future for what it calls its best ever sports car. In fact, the latest Morgan has more wood than ever, underpinning a hand-beaten aluminium body with swooping wings. The bonnet is the longest in Morgan's history, although the characteristic and distinctive twin lines of louvres no longer feature. With some exceptions, this latest £102,000 two-seater has all the things we expect of a car conceived and built in the Malvern Hills. Sustainability – and petrol engines With the body frame of sustainably-sourced ash and more than 60 per cent of the aluminium frame and bodywork made from recycled material, the whole car weighs comfortably short of 1.2 tonnes. 'This is a sustainable car,' says Matthew Hole, Morgan's managing director. 'It's made of wood and recycled aluminium – and Morgan owners keep their cars for a long time.' That weight includes the 335bhp, 3.0-litre, straight-six-cylinder turbo engine and eight-speed automatic gearbox. While the BMW B58 straight-six (also used in the existing Plus 6) is being phased out in the German firm's cars due to EU emissions legislation, Morgan can still use it mainly because of the light weight of its cars (less weight equates to fewer emissions). Hand-built in Malvern In fact, the very afternoon of the unveiling, Hole was due to meet the Government's business secretary, along with his counterparts from Aston Martin, Bentley and other luxury and sporting marques based in Britain, to plead their case to continue manufacturing petrol-engined models such as this. Hole says he confidently expects to be allowed to produce petrol-engined cars beyond 2035. And as well as providing valuable highly-skilled, well-paid employment, Britain's small specialist car makers also bring in valuable export revenue. 'We hand build our cars in England,' says Hole. 'When I occasionally lift the bonnet of our British rivals, it's clear they are hand assembled, not built.' Morgan has been working on the Supersport for more than four years since an initial sketch was mooted. 'When the last Aero was sold, we wondered what we would do next,' he says. 'We wanted to turn everything up a notch or two and the performance up to 11. It should be a Morgan for all seasons and we confidently expect it to be our best-handling model ever.' Uncluttered styling The style was previewed on last year's Midsummer barchetta concept, which went into very limited production. Think smoother panels (or surfacing in industry parlance) and an absence of clutter such as louvres, hinges and brackets. Such has been the level of change that the firm's current chassis (renamed CXV) has had to be re-homologated for sale. 'We had to re-crash test a car,' admits Hole, 'and we think this will be the safest and best-riding Morgan ever.' The bodywork has more wind-cheating aerodynamics and better ducting for the engine and heating and ventilation system than previous Morgans, which should keep owners cool in hot climates and warm in cold ones. Interior and roof New door hinging and side screen assemblies should improve the sealing and reduce the wind noise (as well as making it less likely you'll rip your fingernails on the screens), while the luggage space behind the seats and in the boot has been much improved. The removable hard-top is made of carbon-fibre composite and the rear screen is one of the largest ever fitted to a Morgan, vying with that of the 1963 Plus 4 Plus coupe, which proved a sales dud. The facia is completely reworked from the Plus 6, with a welcome redesign of the instruments reviving 'proper' analogue dials with a raised font style which echoes the earliest Morgans (the company was founded in 1910). There's a big increase in perceived quality. Export imperative Export markets will be key to keeping production up to 200 cars per year, which Hole predicts will split 25 per cent in the UK, 50 per cent in Europe and 25 per cent in the rest of the world. But not in the US. While Morgan is one of the first specialist car makers to have gained dispensation to access US markets under what became known as the 'Obama law' and the first seven cars are about to cross the Atlantic. They are four-cylinder Plus 4 models (rather than the six-cylinder Plus 6 or Supersport). Hole says the cost of gaining federal approval for the Plus 4 has cost more than £2 million and given him sleepless nights. Of his small firm's tilt at the US, he says: 'We're planning to sell our quota of 325 Plus 4s a year and we're not about to change our plans.'
