Morgan Motoring Company

Malvern Links
Worcestershire
England
November 2006


A long time ago a good friend of mine owned a Singer Roadster. The windscreen wipers only worked in manual mode, the hood leaked and I vaguely recall the brakes needed to be pumped to slow things down. Shortly after I bought it, the motor packed up.

But for all that, touring in the Singer was an experience I’ve never forgotten. So when two or three years ago I saw a Morgan on the front cover of a motor magazine and found they were still being made, further investigation was required. Not a Singer to be sure, but it is English, it looks like a 1950’s sport car and as only the English would imagine doing, much of the car is made out of wood!

As things sometimes happen, one thing leads to another and that same good friend and I recently visited the Morgan factory in Worcestershire. I need to add that we were staying with another good friend of my friend’s who also happens to be a person of some note in the Classic Motor Racing scene. I think he was somewhat skeptical of Morgan Motor cars as a modern day vehicle - but not to the point of not wanting to join us.

So off we went. Worcestershire, just west of the Cotswold’s, is beautiful at any time of year but especially in the late fall when the cold has scared away most of the tourists but means open fires in all good pubs.

The Morgan Motor Company http://www.morgan-motor.co.uk/home.html is the last privately owned car manufacturer in the UK. They make about 600 cars per year each one of which has been pre-ordered. There are three main models – the traditional two seater, a four seater version of the same, and a very much more modern Aero 8. 2008 will see a limited edition of the very classy Aeromax.

Selecting your model is only the start of the decision making process – just about everything bar the motor, the chassis and the framework is an option. As they told us, “ if someone makes the paint, you can have the colour”.

As you tour the factory (which you can now do virtually) you find yourself pinching yourself to make sure you aren’t dreaming the experience – yes, that really is a wood plane you are seeing over there – and yes, they really are hand beating the motor bonnet into shape!

Whilst this was going on I noticed our English friend, Chris, taking a close interest in the Aero 8. He said later he was impressed and coming from him that was rather more than faint praise.

All in all, if you have any interest in motor cars and happen to be in the UK, this is a visit you should try and make. The Morgan people will welcome you. And if you can arrange a test drive – well, I don’t really have enough superlatives.

What’s this got to do with aviation? I once read somewhere that sitting in the cockpit of a Morgan looking out over that long bonnet is about as close as you can come to looking out over the long nose of a Spitfire.

I now know what the Morgan is like …

Happy motoring!