Morgan Plus Four - 2018

Few badges carry their heritage as openly as the Morgan Plus 4 (often styled Plus Four). The 2014–2018 cars sat at the heart of Morgan’s Classic range, keeping the company’s vintage recipe alive while quietly adopting modern reliability. Under the hand-formed aluminium panels and ash frame lay Ford’s 2.0-litre Duratec four, a Mazda-sourced 5-speed manual and rear-wheel drive—simple, robust and delightfully analogue.

Why 2014 matters: Morgan refreshed the Plus 4 that year with a tidier cabin, detail improvements and a slightly stronger tune of the Duratec (around 150–154 bhp). It retained the famous sliding-pillar front suspension—an idea Morgan has used since the Edwardian era—plus a leaf-sprung live rear axle. On paper it looked modest; on a B-road it was immersive, light and eager, with steering feel modern cars struggle to match.

Competition? It didn’t really have a like-for-like rival. A Caterham Seven or Lotus Elise offered sharper lap times, and a Mazda MX‑5 gave everyday usability. But none had the Morgan’s old-world charisma or the theatre of seeing louvred wings framing a long bonnet. Buyers were enthusiasts who wanted a hand-built British roadster with real continuity: the Plus 4 line dates back to 1950, and this generation proudly connected Malvern’s past to its present.

A highlight of the era was the AR Motorsport Plus 4 (2015), celebrating 65 years of the model. Limited to 50 units, it used a Cosworth-honed version of the 2.0 Duratec with about 225 bhp, along with uprated suspension and brakes—track-focused intent in a classic silhouette. It nodded to Morgan’s thriving Morgan Challenge race series, where Plus 4s have long mixed it with Roadsters and other factory-backed specials.

The press loved the sense of occasion. Period reviews praised its immediacy, characterful induction note and delicate controls, while noting quirks: a tight cabin, scuttle shake on poor roads and weather gear that asked for a little patience. Morgan’s low-volume status meant minimal electronic aids and a pleasing absence of filters between driver and machine.

These 2014–2018 cars also helped carry Morgan through to its 110th anniversary celebrations and, eventually, the all-new CX-platform Plus Four in 2020. Brand impact was significant: the Plus 4 remained the company’s best-known traditional model, kept order books healthy and factory craftsmen busy, and ensured that the smell of leather and wood in Malvern continued to be part of the British sports‑car story.

Fun fact: every Plus 4’s build sheet was hand-signed, and many left the works with wire wheels and bespoke colours chosen by their first owners—proof that, even in the 2010s, you could still order a new car very much the old way.