Morgan Supersport review

A boisterous BMW turbo engine in a 1,170kg car ought to mean trouble. In the old Plus Six, it made for a wonderfully but occasionally wild driving experience, the rough edges of which the Supersport apparently irons out with its claim of “pure, undiluted driving joy.”

First impressions are of a car that’s spookily easy to drive compared to Morgans of yore (anything before the CX platform of 2019, essentially), light and alert steering and a smooth automatic ‘box making your initial miles guiding its long, sculptured bonnet through corners pleasingly simple. Crucially with no beeps, bongs or active safety systems to shush, which might immediately secure a few buyers perturbed by more mainstream brands.

Its extra suspension travel over the Plus Six is evident right from the off, too, speed bumps no longer a concern and broken or aggressively cambered tarmac much less likely to stifle your flow. It’s a car you can throw speed and commitment at without worry.

Will I want to?

It gets better the harder you drive it (to a point), the front end biting tenaciously with more decisive inputs and the rear axle feeling best with some work to do, its turbocharged muscle helping pivot you nicely out of a corner. There’s standard stability control (later Plus Sixes had it too) and its grasp is rather tight, a mid-way Sport mode unlocking welcome agility without making the Supersport a handful, at least in the dry. Those new Michelin tyres – a Morgan first – help this thing grip properly.

Start brushing the Supersport’s limits and the precision of a Porsche is absent, though Morgan’s optional limited-slip differential (not fitted here) might help matters. The soft brakes are a bigger stumbling block to a sustained, brisk drive and feel like a disappointingly weak link in a car that otherwise inspires new levels of confidence for a Morgan.

It's a car that welcomes you in but takes some learning. Which, when Morgans are typically bought for a lifetime rather than leased for three years, is a welcome approach. There’s a learning curve that you’ll enjoy ascending.

What about more relaxed driving?

Its suspension soaks up a lot more than its predecessor’s but makes a bit of a racket doing so, denting the refinement somewhat. As does the amount of wind and road noise blustering its way into the cabin (more on the Interior tab). The engine is refined, perhaps overly so – it’s a long way from being charismatic in this tune, the optional sports exhaust mostly adding sound effects on the overrun rather than real timbre or muscle.

The ability to shift gear yourself might help; while Morgan says a manual Supersport isn’t completely impossible, it currently looks unlikely. Its old Aero cars sold best with two pedals and even the dinkier Plus Four claims only 15 per cent of stick-shifts among its sales mix – Morgan wouldn’t be able to rubber stamp its six-speed manual now. The eight-speed auto fitted here shuffles politely through its gears in auto mode and responds well to manual shifts, though the parts-bin plastic paddles lack emotion.

A significant upside to this engine/gearbox combo is a 36.8mpg fuel economy claim (to complement 175g/km CO2 emissions). Given the slim kerb weight and rich, muscular swell of power – and therefore the ease of rolling around with a high gear and low revs – you can expect to match or even better it on a road trip.