When did Morgan get stuck in time – and why? -

For as long as anyone can recall, Morgan cars have been clearly and proudly old-fashioned, in terms of style, ethos and production, even if the engines have been modern.

- By KRIS CULMER

And while many have always been baffled by the prospect of buying a new car that looks like a very old one, many others adore Morgan. But when exactly did the British brand get stuck in time – and why?

Let's go back to the start. In the earliest days of motoring in Britain, only the upper crust could partake; those below could afford only a motorcycle, attaching a sidecar if they needed to carry passengers. So when former railway engineer Henry Morgan decided to put his own car into production, with a simple design featuring only one rear wheel and a two-cylinder engine from a motorcycle, he was deluged by a torrent of pent-up demand for an affordable car.

Jump forward to late 1918 and Autocar readers were clamouring for a '£100 car' (that's about £5000 now) to get the masses motoring after the Great War – and our answer was Morgan's Runabout, despite the fact the Malvern creation had never really been updated.

"Anyone accustomed to cars of a conventional character must pause to admire the genius of the man who evolved a machine so efficient, so obviously simple and so cheap," we said, having prior noted that it was "far more suitable for high-speed sporting work" than AC's rival.