Description

1993 Morgan Plus 8

A lovely Plus 8 with 44,500 miles on the clock; fresh MOT; handsome spec in black with black leather; lots of nice history; a very smart example

Premiered at the 1968 London Motor Show, the Plus 8 was developed by race engineer Maurice Owen and Peter Morgan in the small development shop at the back of the factory in Malvern.

Handbuilt in familiar Morgan fashion on a strengthened version of the Plus 4 chassis with aluminium over ash frame coachwork, its swooping bodywork looked as traditional as ever but gave no clues to the new model's extraordinary performance. Weighing less than 1,000kg and with some 160bhp and 190lb/ft of torque on tap, the Plus 8 immediately became Britain’s fastest-accelerating production car, sprinting to 60mph in a shade over 6 seconds with a top speed of 125mph.

Constantly improved over the years, it received the Rover LT77 5-speed all-synchromesh manual gearbox in 1977 and in 1983 gained Bosch L-Jetronic fuel-injection which raised power to 190bhp and made it quicker to 80mph than the contemporary Porsche 911 Turbo. Things got even better in 1990 when the engine grew to a 3.9-litre with added torque. Combining Vintage-era charm with Cobra-like grunt, it was in such high demand that at one point the waiting list was over six years long.

This most attractive black on black Plus 8 was delivered as a new car through Libra Motive in 1993 – according to the Chassis Record on file. The owner clearly liked black, as not only was the car painted black, it had black leather and black Rivenhood, tonneau and sidescreens, head rests and a galvanised chassis as well as the charming listed option of door handles!

The sale of this car happened not long after the infamous Sir John Harvey Jones visit to the factory in 1991, so premiums were to be had on a new car. Its first owner kept it for six months, its second owner for 18 months and its third for about three years….the car being acquired by our vendor back in 1998 from Lifes Motors in Southport with 16,300 miles on the clock.

Although there is no mention of it on the build record, by now it was sporting a walnut dashboard, Cibie spot lamps, a stainless luggage carrier and Union Jack badges, all equipment still with the car today.

The accompanying service book shows seven stamps to 16,465 miles, its current owner then mostly using A D Garages in Garstang for its regular servicing according to the multiple invoices on file. There are a further 18 of these (25 services in total), the 2016 invoice indicating a mileage of 42,962 miles at this time.

Further to this, there are 25 old MOTs on file, showing that over the last few years its mileage has been minimal – a house move dictating its reluctant sale. It was given a fresh MOT just before the sale which expires in May 2022 with no advisories, a job which entailed freeing off the rear brakes and fitting new shoes – all sorted.

We have spotted the usual cracks around the headlight pods - a perennial issue with the model, but the car remains presentable.

This is a particularly attractive Plus 8 which still has under 45,000 miles on the clock. It has been well serviced throughout its life, well cared for and driven some 100 miles to the sale.

For more information – contact matthew.parkin@brightwells.com