Production of the Plus 8 officially ended in 2018, but Morgan will bring it back in a special edition series, named the Plus 8 GTR, that is due later this year.
Limited to only 9 cars for select global markets – or rather, clients, all of them will be built on recommissioned and upgraded chassis that the small British automaker re-acquired recently from a third party company following a discontinued project. They will come to life at their Design and Engineering Center, next to the Pickersleigh Road factory, starting this summer.
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Inspired by Morgan’s racing history, the Plus 8 GTR will boast enhanced styling, such as the high shoulder line that has not been seen on the carmaker’s models for decades, extended wheel arches, new front fenders, splitter, spot lights, extra bonnet louvres, revised rear end with sculpted diffuser and a hard top. The icing on the cake will be the five-spoke center locking wheels reminiscent of the 1990s Plus 8 racers.
“Reviving a V8-powered Morgan at the current time may not seem like the obvious choice for a manufacturer firmly focused on new platforms and powertrains”, said the chief of design, Jonathan Wells. “However, when the opportunity presented itself to recommission a number of rolling chassis and create an exciting special project such as Plus 8 GTR, we embraced it fully. This project has allowed Morgan’s design and engineering teams to revisit some of their favorite elements of past Morgan models, as well as experiment with some features that we hope will appear on future Morgan cars.”
Like all ‘aero-chassis’ Plus 8s, the GTR will use BMW’s 4.8-liter V8 engine. Codenamed the N62, it produced 362 HP in the original specification, but will be upgraded in the new car, so its exact output is yet unknown. The mill will be hooked up to either a six-speed manual or a six-speed ZF automatic transmission, each one with fixed allocations.
