AN ENGLISH ECCENTRIC

Morgan's new Supersport takes the marque to a different level

- Story by MATT PRIOR

This is the Morgan they think could go from being the third car in your garage to the second one.

Instead of owners having a daily driver, something more special for semi-regular amusement and a Morgan for high days and holidays, the new Supersport, the British company reckons, could take the place of (and this sounds ambitious) a Porsche 911.

Initially Morgan's engineers only meant to update the Plus Six, their six-cylinder roadster. But this facelift/update/call it what you will took on a life so large that it has yielded a new name, a new appearance and even a new chassis derivation: CXV (that's 115 — Morgan's age last year) replacing CX (110). That has even necessitated homologating and crashing it again. Perhaps helpfully, it positions the Supersport further from the Plus Four, the traditional shape and style and still the meat of Morgan’s menu.

The Supersport’s chassis is still bonded aluminium, weighing just 83kg, with reshaped sills and a strengthened transmission tunnel, increasing torsional rigidity by 10% over the Plus Six. If you fit the composite (20kg) hard top, it increases by 10% again. Stronger braces attach the front and rear subframes, to which double wishbones and anti-roll bars are mounted both ends. Optionally (and as fitted to our test car), Nitron adjustable dampers are available.