English automaker Morgan Motor Company has unveiled its most powerful car, the Plus 8 GTR. It’s the company’s second new car after revealing the Plus Four CX-T a few months back, and there’s an exciting story behind it all. You see, Morgan claims the Plus 8 GTR was only made possible after recently finding “a number of Plus 8 rolling chassis” lying around.
Per documentation shared in early February, 2021, this new vehicle was made possible by the “recent availability of rolling chassis from a discontinued external project.” As such, all of the models released in this set will be based on “unused, recommissioned chassis and powertrains.” Some may tell this story as a bit of fortune – luck, that allowed the chassis to be made available, while others will suggest that anything can be made possible with a large enough stack of cash. Either way, this is a vehicle that could just as easily have been left on the drawing board – and what a tragedy that would have been!
“Striking design, the finest craftsmanship, and an exhilarating sports car to drive, the Plus 8 GTR is the perfect swansong to the Morgan V8,” said Steve Morris, Chairman & CEO, Morgan Motor Company. Only eight Plus 8 GTRs will exist, and the first to roll off the production lot is the car you see here finished in Yas Marina Blue paint, a racing-inspired hue worn initially by the Plus 8 Big Blue racing car from the early 90s.
And yet, a fortuitous event and unique paint job are not what makes the Morgan Plus 8 GTR more exciting – it won’t be Morgan’s most potent creation if it didn’t come with some shove, after all. Under the hood is a BMW N62 4.8-liter naturally-aspirated V8 pumping out 375 horsepower. It’s typically the same engine in the second-gen BMW X5 4.8i SUV and Weismann GT roadster. The latter is now operating as German boutique automaker Bolden and has recently unveiled its first car, the CR4 (based on a BMW Z4 roadster).
Back to Morgan, the Plus 8 GTR enabled designers to play around with the roadster’s classic design cues. It has a higher shoulder line, a resculpted rear end, new five-spoke center-lock wheels, and redesigned wheel arches. It also gains new front wings and a front splitter handcrafted from aluminum. In addition, the hardtop features a cockpit vent to finish off the vintage racer vibe.
