TG’s guide to concepts: the Morgan Eva GT

Which was exactly the point. Go on, think ‘Morgan’. You’re thinking wooden chassis, buxom 1930 bodywork, and wire wheels, aren’t you? It’s all running boards Toad of Toad Hall caddishness. Morgan knows this. Which is why in 2010, it decided to shock the assembled car aficionados at the Pebble Beach Concours and unveil a truly outlandish, futuristic Morgan. It was called the Eva GT, but internally, the project became known as MagMog.

Yes, the Eva GT’s technical layout was pretty well sorted. A BMW sourced bi-turbo straight-six engine was slated for the car, producing around 300bhp. Not as much as an M4, no, or even an M240i. But efficiency was a real priority here, and the idea was that the 1,250kg Eva GT would be Euro6 emissions compliant, and do 40 miles to the gallon. This was Morgan showing that it too was on the emissions-reducing bandwagon.

The rear-drive Eva GT touted a 0-62mph time of 4.5 seconds, and a top-speed of 170mph, meaning it would’ve been competitive with all but the very latest Porsche 911 Carreras.

Afraid so. Morgan is a small company and this massive project, in the midst of a stale economy, was a rocky road. Morgan originally said its 2010 concept would materialise in road-going form in 2012, and promptly took around 100 individual £5,000 deposits. However, as 2012 rolled around the car was delayed for two years, apparently to give Morgan more time to refine its magnesium alloy technology. By 2013, the project was dead in the water, with £1.4 million sunk into the idea and all customer deposits returned to the prospective buyers.

No, and in fact, it’s possibly a good thing that it decided not to wade into the £80k sports car market. That’s very congested with F-Types and AMG GTs and Nissan GT-Rs and several Porsches. Morgan has instead revitalised its existing line-up, and given us the 'new' 3-Wheeler, which is possibly the most fun you can have with your clothes on. So, a happy ending to this particular Morgan saga after all, though the Eva GT still looks good enough to be kickstarted today, doesn’t it?