The Morgan Plus Four is now available to order in the United States, representing the first four-wheeled Morgan that has been officially available in the market since the early 2000s. Plus Four’s introduction to the United States follows a successful homologation program that has taken more than five years.
The order book for United States orders officially opens today, with the first customer cars expected to be delivered early in 2025. Whilst today’s Plus Four presents a similar look and proportions to the model available in the United States in the early 2000s, it is a fundamentally different vehicle.
The latest Morgan Plus Four combines the company’s signature blend of industry-leading craftsmanship and engineering honesty to create the purest expression of the four-wheeled Morgan sports car available today. Navigating a delicate balance of tradition and modernity to create a unique and desirable sports car for the 21st Century.
Proudly continuing the legacy of the company’s longest-running nameplate, the latest Plus Four features a unique blend of timeless design, appropriate modern technology and engaging driving dynamics, informed by more than 70 years of evolution.
“This is a significant milestone for Morgan. The entry of Plus Four into the United States represents the culmination of many years’ hard work and dedication from countless individuals at Morgan and our partners. Indeed, it also reflects even more years of patience and anticipation from our loyal customers across the United States, a market that has always been hugely important. We are delighted to be able to bring the four-wheeled Morgan sports car back to the United States for the first time in almost 20 years.”
Matthew Hole, Managing Director, Morgan Motor Company
Pure Driving Enjoyment
Plus Four prioritises driving feel above performance figures and lap times. The company’s engineering team pursue dynamic performance that rewards the driver, giving them a greater connection to the car and the road ahead.
Plus Four is available in the United States with a ZF 8-speed automatic transmission, and is powered by the latest BMW 2.0 litre engine. The engine and gearbox calibrations are unique to Morgan and have been developed to deliver the most exciting driving experience.
In ‘normal’ driving mode, four calibrations will adapt gear shifting based on brake pressure and steering angle. In ‘Sport’ and ‘Sport+’ modes, a further four calibrations, programmed to be more dynamic, will adapt gear shifting, also based on brake pressure and steering angle.
Electronic Stability Control (ESC) is mode-dependent and has been tuned for Plus Four, with varying levels of assistance depending on the driving mode selected. AP Racing brakes, developed directly with AP, deliver the latest braking performance.
The industry-leading powertrain, braking system and ESC are possible thanks to the CX-Generation Aluminium Platform with double wishbone suspension system, which was first introduced in the Plus Four in 2020. A lightweight and rigid platform, it has provided the underpinnings to transform the performance, usability and comfort of Plus Four over its steel chassis predecessors.
For drivers wishing to further enhance the capability of their Plus Four, the optional Dynamic Handling Pack – extensively developed alongside suspension experts, Nitron – includes new springs with single way adjustable damping and adjustable spring platform, as well as the addition of a rear anti-roll bar. These changes help to deliver a greater level of dynamic performance and, like the Plus Four overall, aim to deliver driving feel and enjoyment.
Evolving Timeless Design
The design intent for the latest Plus Four is to simplify and reduce visual noise, allowing the timeless silhouette of Plus Four to be further celebrated. Every element of Plus Four has been meticulously considered down to its most intricate detail. Plus Four benefitted from a range of subtle enhancements in April 2024, these include the addition of new headlights, new front and rear splitter and mirrors.
The new 8” headlights – developed exclusively for use in Morgan sports cars – reflect a period aesthetic whilst emitting a high-quality, powerful light source. The front and rear splitter are finished in satin graphite as standard in order to raise the visual weight of the front and rear, and also return the strong horizontal line to these areas, presenting a style that was also present on earlier four-wheeled Morgan sports cars.
The exterior and interior mirrors introduced in April 2024 are designed in-house and manufactured exclusively for Morgan. Far surpassing the engineering integrity, functionality and aesthetic qualities of previous mirrors, the new units are made from lightweight aluminium. Whilst subtle, the meticulous attention-to-detail and rigorous testing process of the new mirrors represents the level of detail upon which the company prides itself.
21st Century Coachbuilding
Like every four-wheeled Morgan produced today, Plus Four combines a blend of traditional craftsmanship and appropriate modern technology, a philosophy which the company refers to as ‘21st Century Coachbuilding’. This philosophy flows throughout the company and influences its approach to designing and engineering each model, as well as the way in which every vehicle is constructed. As part of this philosophy, all models benefit from continued development and incremental improvements throughout, ensuring that the quality of each model is reflective of a modern-day sports car. Supplementing these advances, the warranty on Plus Four is now three years, with the option to extend for a further 12 months.
Each aluminium body is hand-formed over an ash wood frame. This body, which is beautifully made using age-old techniques handed down through generations, is seamlessly married to an ultra-modern aluminium platform with the latest braking, suspension, and electronic systems.
The finest Scottish leather, itself a by-product of the food and agricultural sectors, is used sparingly within the cockpit of Plus Four. This leather is trimmed into each car using traditional techniques and tools. By the nature of the model’s hand-crafted manufacture, natural materials are used sparingly with minimal waste produced.
Plus Four, a legacy
First introduced in 1950 at the Earl’s Court Motor Show in London, the Plus 4 has proven to be one of the company’s most popular models. Named Plus 4 due to its increased power over the 4-4 – the first four-wheeled Morgan – which was introduced in 1936. For the first four years of its life, the Plus 4 featured a ‘flat’ radiator and cycle wings. From 1954, however, the ‘cowl radiator’ design was introduced. This is the timeless silhouette that has become synonymous with Morgan, and the design proportions that today’s Plus Four continues.
Thousands of examples have been produced throughout its life, with exports proving popular to all key markets including the United States. It was a Plus 4 that won its class at the 1962 Le Mans 24 Hours race, the company’s most notable motorsport triumph. A Plus 4 was the first car owned by Ralph Lauren and, to this day, features in his collection – one of the most revered automotive collections in the world. Its centrality within the story of Morgan is unquestionable. In 2020, when the model was launched on the company’s new CX-Generation Aluminium Platform, its nameplate evolved to ‘Plus Four’ – which is the car that exists today.
Bespoke As Standard
At Morgan, there is no ‘bespoke’ department. Every Plus Four that enters production is bespoke as standard. Beyond the almost endless combination of colourways and options available to configure, prospective owners can go beyond this and request additional materials and features for their new Plus Four. This approach ensures that every Plus Four built is a true ‘one-off’ and is as individual as its owner.
US Homologation
Morgan has homologated Plus Four for sale in the United States under the replica car rule of the FAST Act (Fixing America’s Surface Transportation Act), a rule that enables manufacturers to replicate models that were sold in the United States more than 25 years ago. In Morgan’s case, the Plus models sold in the United States during that time. Morgan will be able to sell up to 325 Plus Four in the United States per year under this ruling.
In order to meet requirements for all states, Morgan has worked with its partner, BMW, to certify an engine package to meet SPMV (Special Purpose Motor Vehicle) regulations for CARB states. This engine package centres around the same 2.0 litre inline four cylinder engine used on the Plus Four in Europe.
Since the previous generation Plus 4 was last on sale in the United States in 2005 there has been a constant desire to bring Morgan’s core model back to market. Morgan’s homologation engineers have been working on the project to introduce Plus Four into the United States since the updated model’s inception back in 2019, and have spent considerable time working directly with US authorities specifically on the application over the past two years.
Plus Four joins Super 3 (introduced July 2023) in the US market and is available to order in the United States today from Morgan’s network of 12 official US dealerships. Plus Four’s MSRP (excludes tax, title, license, dealer and destination charges) is $84,995. Interested customers are encouraged to head to Morgan’s dedicated United States website https://www.morgan-motor-usa.com where they can configure their own Plus Four, discover more about the model and register interest with a dealership.
