FIRST DRIVE: MORGAN ENTERS A NEW AGE WITH THE SUPERSPORT
What is it?
Morgan is a car company with a heritage that most other manufacturers would love to have. However, while that is a plus-point in many areas, having decades of tradition behind you means that it’s hard to rip up the rulebook entirely. Each new model needs to be tied to the past while presenting something new for the future.
Enter the Supersport. It arrives as Morgan’s new flagship and acts as a replacement for the previous Plus Six model. The name of this car is a big change on its own, but what else has Morgan tweaked? We’ve been finding out.
What’s new?
Similar to the older Plus Six, the new Supersport remains based around a lightweight aluminium architecture, while Morgan’s traditional ash frame is used as a support for the bodywork. There have been some key new additions, mind you, with the Supersport being the first Morgan in more than a decade with a working boot. Open the rear hatch and there’s some lovely exposed ash, too, while the space inside is enough for a large weekend bag, though you can also use it to store the removable side screens when they’re not in use.
Elsewhere, we’ve got a little more technology than you might expect from Morgan, with full Bluetooth connectivity allowing you to play music and take calls from your phone. The controls for these are neatly integrated into one dial, too, so it’s all a breeze to operate when you’re on the move.
What’s under the bonnet?
Unchanged, however, is what resides under the Supersport’s long bonnet. It’s a BMW-sourced 3.0-litre twin-turbocharged straight-six, developing 335bhp and 500Nm of torque – the same outputs that you would’ve had in the older Plus Six. Zero to 60mph is dispatched in 3.7 seconds and you’ll find yourself carrying on to 166mph should you have the space and ability to do so.
Morgan has made some revisions to other parts of the car, mind you. The steering has been revised for greater control and feedback, while its speed has also been increased over the Plus Six to make this Supersport feel more agile in the corners. An optional Dynamic Handling Pack – equipped to our test car – adds adjustable front and rear dampers for an extra £3,000. Our test car also benefited from the £2,340 limited slip differential, which will no doubt be a key pick for keener drivers.
What’s it like to drive?
There’s plenty to report about how the Supersport goes from A to B. Around town, it’s far more easy-going than you might expect, with the standard eight-speed automatic slushing through the gears without issue. Move a little more quickly and the gearbox – when left in comfort mode – doesn’t appear to awaken from its slumber, struggling to shift as and when you want it. Opt for Sport Plus setting and things improve a great deal. You can take manual control via the steering wheel-mounted paddles, but they feel like they’re placed a little too far out of reach and aren’t made of the most pleasing of materials.
The 3.0-litre engine is a real thumper in the Supersport, too. The mid-range acceleration is terrific and you do get some excellent crackles and bangs on the overrun. Handling-wise, the Supersport inspires more confidence than the older Plus Six and though there’s sometimes a little bit of mid-corner shake, this is a sports car that you can get moving very quickly, very easily.
How does it look?
There are very few cars which command such attention as those from Morgan and the Supersport is no different. While the front-end look is something of a classic example of what we’d expect from the Malvern firm, it’s at the rear where things take a far more striking turn. Swept along and near concept-like, it does, to our eyes, look great and is teamed with some futuristic rear lights to give the Supersport a distinctive appearance.
We ran the Supersport for much of the time with the roof down owing to unseasonably warm spring temperatures, but for those colder periods it’s available with a carbon composite hard-top. This doesn’t fit over the existing mohair cloth roof, replacing it instead. It also transforms the look of the car, as well as boosting its cold-weather abilities.
What’s it like inside?
There’s been a definite uplift in quality against the older Plus Six here in the Supersport. As with previous ‘new’ Morgans, there’s a terrific blend of old-school craftsmanship and newer materials, with the leather seats being a particular highlight. The main clocks and dials are easy to read, while the compact screen ahead of the driver displays some key information, such as speed, in a better area of your eyeline.
There are some creature comforts, too. Heated seats will no doubt prove a hit when it’s winter, while USB sockets in the glovebox mean you can keep your phone topped up. The latter is quite necessary, as you’ll be using it for navigation. Fortunately, there’s a very handy phone holder positioned ahead of the gearstick, so you can keep it secure on the move.
What’s the spec like?
The Supersport represents quite the investment with prices starting from £102,000. Our test car, with extras such as the Dynamic Handling Pack, an active sports exhaust and the aforementioned heated seats, saw that price cranked up to £122,667. It’s a chunky amount of cash, that’s for sure.
But you do get the feeling that this Supersport lives up to that price tag, given the level of craftsmanship it offers, not to mention how special it feels from start-up to cool-down.
Verdict
Morgan sees the new Supersport as a car that could be used day in, day out, rather than just sunny Sundays. In many areas, this is true; it’s easy to drive around town, isn’t dreadful in terms of fuel economy and thankfully has more practicality on its side courtesy of that boot. Compared to the older Plus Six, it shows a marked improvement – this is a far more approachable car than the one which came before it.
The Supersport’s price tag is a beefy one, mind you, but this is a Morgan which feels resoundingly well put-together from top to bottom. It’s never going to be a rival for the market mainstays, but your first trip out in the Supersport will be enough to take these worries away.
- Model as tested: Morgan Supersport
- Price (as tested): £122,667
- Engine: 3.0-litre turbocharged straight-six
- Power: 335bhp
- Torque: 500Nm
- Max speed: 166mph
- 0-60mph: 3.7 seconds
- MPG: 36.8mpg
- Emissions: 175g/km