Morgan Motor Company and Rally Raid UK have developed an elegant and avant-garde all-terrain vehicle in which only seven examples will be built.
As the fast-moving dust approached, I recognized the familiar frog-eye headlamps, flowing fenders, and long shutters. But what is it? All-terrain tires, rugged external roll cages and luggage racks filled with spare tires and life jackets? This terrifying Morgan looked to come from outside the Thunder Dome and should have been driven by Mad Max himself.
Once in focus, the car threw mud and gravel during a sideways turn, and its exhaust pipes emitted a cascade of air splitting cracking sounds. I involuntarily took a step back. Then it stopped: the Morgan Plus Four CX-T slowly stopped, and its driver jumped out. "It's your turn," he said with a laugh.
Do some off-road exploration at the Morgan Plus Four CX-T.
The idea of an overland vehicle from Morgan Motors England isn't as outlandish as it seems. Beginning in the 1920s, the automaker's now classic 4/4 and three-wheeled models were regular competitors in off-road endurance trials, relying on simple and thin tires to get to where most SUVs today wouldn't dare to set foot. It was these tenacious pioneers and their exploits that inspired the Plus Four CX-T.
The project starts with an interesting sketch. "One of our investors walked into the office, saw the drawings and immediately decided we should build it," explained Jonathan Wells, morgan's head of design. "We imagined what a modern off-road Morgan would look like."
In a bygone era, a daring duo traveled through remote areas with one of the predecessors of the Plus Four CX-T.
The result is somewhere between Ariel Nomad and Singer's ACS: a legal sports car that can explore off-the-beaten-track highways. Only seven customer cars will be produced, each priced at $233,000 (including tax). This includes being invited to an exclusive CX-T driving event in Morocco, which was postponed due to the pandemic but is now scheduled for this year.
To be clear, Morgan is not an FIA-certified car. Wells describes it as an "experiential off-road adventure vehicle." Still, many of the parts that bring his sketches to life – from shock absorbers to wirers – are racing-grade and procured by Rally Raid UK, a team that specializes in desert racing. In Rally Raid UK, the principal, known as Beady and a veteran of 30 Dakar rally races, spoke to me around the car.
"The four-cylinder BMW engine, six-speed manual transmission and aluminum 'CX' chassis are the same as the original Plus Four," he explains, "but every panel is new except for the nose cone." Even so, we wanted it to look like Morgan, not a monster truck. For example, a giant military-spec air filter is hidden in a side-mounted leather saddle bag. The other contains a dragline.
The 2,800-pound Morgan is equipped with a 259-horsepower four-cylinder BMW engine and a six-speed manual transmission.
The CX-T houses fuel tanks, wheel holders, toolboxes, tow pads and, most importantly, shovels behind its dual cockpits. "We take a single-layer depth approach," Beady points out, "which means everything has to be easy to grasp." Otherwise, you'll just lose something or cut corners. If things in the desert might go wrong, they would. Wells said buyers of the CX-T have also customized mountain bike racks, kangaroo rods and even connection points for hanging from yachts for their cars.
I embarked on a muddy and rutted route that replicated the experimental route used by the ancestors of the CX-T (which is still popular in the UK today). It's the kind of tech track that the Land Rover Defender can drive very happily, but the rear-drive Morgan needs more oil to keep the momentum going. Driving a sports car downhill and deep ditches feels strange at first, and I can't help but laugh at the madness of it all.
Behind the double cockpit, off-road gear includes fuel tanks, wheel holders, toolboxes, tow pads, and most importantly, shovels.
However, the CX-T has a tough feel, which is a testament to Beady's originality and many late nights. Its 9.1-inch ground clearance isn't enough to prevent the spine from colliding with several rocks, but the full-length chassis — which also covers the relocated side outlet exhaust — can get rid of them. The approach and exit angle of the car is also really impressive. Plus, as Wells points out, "If you do have aluminum fenders dented, you can bend them back into shape." ”
After a few laps, it's time for some high-speed maneuvering on the gravel track used by Silverstone Rally School. With 259 horsepower and about 2,800 pounds of shifting, Morgan felt surprisingly fast (the regular Plus 4 reached 62 mph in 5.2 seconds). The extended driving position, shallow windshield and low doors enhance the sense of speed. "You can take the door down and bolt it to the roof," Bidie said. "But either way, you're going to get dusty."
Again, it feels incongruous on such a rough road, but the smoother the Exe-TC suspension feels for a long journey, the faster you go. Most of the time in second gear, I quickly gained confidence, aimed my long nose at each vertex, and then used the throttle to control the angle of the car. Despite the extra weight on the rear wheels, the car feels balanced and extremely sturdy, while proving to be a lot of fun to drive. The idea of driving a Morgan car through the Dunes of Morocco suddenly became reasonable.
However, the Plus 4 CX-T is sold out, so the hope of this adventure is still a dream for me. But we can expect to see more special projects from Morgan in the future. Whatever they are, they are definitely not dull.