Morgan CX-T
Morgan has been on a bit of a mission since it got fresh investment from European investment group, Investindustrial. The 112 year old company, nestled in the Malvern Hills in Worcestershire had already started with developing a new platform, the CX-Generation, but it's been across almost all areas of the business.
It's upgrading the factory, has opened a modern new visitor experience centre, launched the great new Plus Six and Plus Four models and made the most of its relationship with BMW when it comes to engines, transmissions and other components. Traditionalists need not panic, they're still using plenty of ash wood and other bits that make a Morgan so special. The company has even acquired enough rolling chassis' from an external customer to make nine new Plus 8 GTR models this year.
It's also making this, the CX-T, an overland adventure Morgan that harks back to the days when people traversed gravel mountain passes in open-top sports tourers and luxury saloons, taking on epic road trips across continents and stopping at watering holes to enjoy a tipple with the locals. Priced at £170,000 plus taxes, only eight will be built and they have all been sold, fortunately to people who really are planning epic road trip adventures, including brothers who have bought one each to travel around the world. We headed to the Silverstone Rally School to put one to the test and get the lowdown on the whole project.
Test Car Specifications
Model tested: Morgan CX-T
Pricing: £170,000 plus taxes
Engine: BMW 2.0-litre TwinPower turbo
Transmission: Six-speed manual, rear-wheel drive
Body style: two-door sports adventurer
CO2 emissions: 165g/km (VED Band 151-170: £555 in year one, £155 years 2-5)
Combined economy: 39mpg
Top speed: 149mph
0-62mph: 5.2 seconds
Power: 258hp
Torque: 350Nm
Boot space: What boot
What's this?
It's based on a Morgan Plus Four but apart from the nosecone, engine and gearbox, essentially everything else is bespoke. During the early phase of design there were some extreme ideas with big wheels and arches, almost like it was a Dakar Rally buggy, which isn't surprising given that Mike Jones of Rally Raid UK was called on to help with the project. Things were toned down though, to make it more Morgan but even so it sits on bespoke wheels with off-road tyres and features four-way adjustable competition dampers attached to the wishbones from the Plus Six. It has a ground clearance of 230mm, a wading depth of 500mm and a rear diff-lock with off-road and extreme off-road modes.
Then there's the internal cross-bracing and that external roll cage that wraps a fibreglass roof and extends to become an equipment rack. It's hardly the traditional chrome and wood rear trunk rack you might expect to see on a Morgan, this one holds two spare wheels, Pelican waterproof storage boxes, a tool box and a set of sand mats made form the same material the army uses to get tanks out of the soft stuff. Doing fun stuff requires serious equipment.
Inside it's all surprisingly luxurious in a Morgan way, with leather seats and trim, a beautiful handcrafted dash and storage pouches for snacks, maps and the covers for those roof-mounted spotlights in case you drive through a country where they aren't allowed. Part of the dash has been replaced by equipment mounts that you can attach navigation or filming equipment too and there's also a flexible map-reading light. This Morgan is about going places.
How does it drive?
Unfortunately we didn't go far, no charging off to Casablanca, Istanbul or Buenos Aires this time, instead we were going to tackle the tracks at the Silverstone Rally School. We started in the right-hand drive prototype, the car that has been hammered by the development team, which meant we had permission to give it some real beans.
In a nutshell, it's tremendous fun, the rear skipping out on request, the diff-lock allowing you as much control as you want. It's easy to pilot around a corner sideways, the BMW motor giving you loads of torque to control those rear wheels and plough on. The six-speed manual is a joy to use, although the clutch might start to feel a bit heavy if you were stuck behind a camel train in the centre of a Saharan village on market day.
Remove the side windows and bolt them to the roof and the dust ingress isn't too bad either, although a shower was required to get it out of my hair. You could always bolt one of those portable Land Rover shower accessories to the equipment rack if you suddenly need to go to a fancy dinner at a wadi in Oman.
We didn't get an overall impression of ride comfort as we didn't venture out onto the road, but when we did jump in one of the production models, it all felt like a sports tourer with a few rattles from the equipment bolted on the back, but nothing unexpected.
While it was tempting to spend our time just charging around the rally track shouting "tally-ho" a lot, we also took on a short and muddy off-road course. It wasn't that challenging but showed how the CX-T can slide over obstacles relatively easily and has enough power and grip to get through a bit of mud. It's not going to do anything hard-core but even so it was impressive enough to add to that sense of intrepid adventure.
Verdict
We've changed our minds about the Morgan CX-T. Initially we thought it was an expensive toy, a marketing exercise and yes, we suppose it is still both of those things, but it's a genuine overland adventure tourer, designed and engineered to go out and make memories. It's a car to recreate those great trials routes, to challenge yourself and your machine by heading out beyond your comfort zone with only the basic essentials and probably a dram of whisky for the chilly desert evenings, when you're not driving of course. We'd even go so far as to say the CX-T is not just a car, like many Morgans it's a potential heirloom, like a Patek Philippe watch that is looked after for the next generation.
Exterior Design
Interior Ambience
Passenger Space
Luggage Space
Safety
Comfort
Driving Dynamics
Powertrain
