Morgan to celebrate 50th anniversary of Plus 8 with special model

The Morgan Motor Company has revealed that it will celebrate 50 years of its iconic Plus 8 with a 50^th Anniversary special edition.

The British marque has release a teaser video (see below) for the exclusive special edition ahead of its much-anticipated reveal at the Geneva Motor Show. The family-owned sports car maker plans to make 50 of the special edition models, which, according to the company, is a “true V8 powered thoroughbred tribute to Morgan’s most celebrated 4-wheeled model”.

The Morgan Plus 8 blends craftsmanship, luxury and technology. A lightweight aluminium chassis and 4.8 litre BMW engine sits beneath the traditional Morgan body. At just 1100 kg, the Plus 8 is one of the lightest V8 passenger cars in the world, giving it a 0-62 time of just 4.5 seconds, with a top speed of 155 mph.

The Plus 8 was first conceived by Peter Morgan, before being revealed to the public at the Earls Court Motor Show in 1968. The car originally came with a Rover V8 engine and Moss gearbox. It was based on the Plus 4, however was proportionally bigger and featured a large number of changed or upgraded hand-crafted parts.

Morgan’s first Plus 8 production model, the MMC11, was one of the company’s most successful models. Since it was introduced, more than 6,000 Plus 8s were made over its original 36 years of production, which ended in 2004 because of the discontinuation of the Rover V8.

However, since 2012, the Plus 8 has been reborn, with a lightweight aluminium chassis and a powerful 4.8 litre BMW engine.

The very special 50^th anniversary Plus 8 will be the star of the show on the Morgan stand when it makes its public debut at the 2018 Geneva Motor Show.

“The Plus 8 has always been the driver’s Morgan. Born of the racetrack, and having been no stranger to it since, has meant performance pedigree underpins every Plus 8 we have built. The Plus 8 has raced, and won, all over the world and has a fanatical following among Morgan owners,” said Morgan’s managing director Steve Morris.

“We can’t reveal everything about the Plus 8 50^th Anniversary Special Edition, but we’re excited to show some teaser images.”

Watch Morgan’s teaser video below.