Morgan Plus Six 3.0 Bespoke (A) Review

The sun on your face, wind in your hair, and the slack-jawed, mouth-agape glance of every pedestrian by the side of the road.

If it's attention you crave when out and about in your two-door convertible, this Morgan Plus Six is very hard to beat.

Wood you look at it

For those unfamiliar, the car you see in the pictures is brand new, but it is built by a company that just two years ago, celebrated its 110^th anniversary. So, the Plus Six's 1930's design isn't just retro for retro's sake. And that's not the only history hiding behind that old-fashioned exterior.

With a total of 233 staff at its helm in 2019, Morgan also stayed true to the old cottage industry practice of handcrafting its cars all these years, so you get plenty of customisation options available to you when it comes to fitting out the cabin, and those gorgeous hand-rolled, beaten, and stamped body panels that attract so much attention throughout the exterior.

Pleasing cruiser

It's not all just ancient tech though, for under that bodywork lies a new CX-generation platform (CX being the Roman numerals for 110) which still utilises British-grown ash, but also comprises primarily of aluminium.

And that new platform makes the Plus Six a real pleasure to drive.

The Morgan Plus Six may have a spec sheet that reads like a track-oriented vehicle, what with its 1,075kg weight and 335bhp on offer, but, with the gentle warmth of this morning's sun coupled with the car's rather weighty and slow steering, coupled with a surprisingly pliant suspension, I'm gently coaxed into a more relaxed disposition.

And driven as such, the Plus Six richly rewards with its thunderous exhaust burble and the BMW-sourced 3.0-litre working with the eight-speed ZF gearbox to deliver smooth progress. There's also a lot that needs getting used to here, like how differently the Morgan pivots around bends with every turn of the steering wheel, thanks to a seating position that is set further back to the rear axle.

And then there are those side mirrors. Manually adjusted and absolutely tiny, they just don't instill enough trust within me and thus negotiating traffic demands a good deal of head turning to double check for traffic in neighboring lanes.

Time travel machine

But as I drive just a few more meters I find myself instinctively heading out into the highway, and with the full length of the Ayer Rajah Expressway ahead of me, the slight bother of those mirrors quickly fade into the background.

If you've got the car's window panels tucked away behind the seats those mirrors probably won't really bother you as well, as you'll obviously get full visibility all around.

And once on the highway, I take the Plus Six up to speed and its driver-oriented side begins to show. You become far more conscious of just how low to the ground you're sitting, with the sheer pace of the road underneath you exaggerated when it is almost close enough to touch. And that chassis doesn't shy from reminding you of your pace either, constantly pinging as small pebbles ring off all that newfound aluminium below.

Dig into the accelerator pedal, or flick the gear selector to the left and that exhaust burble quickly gives way to more induction and turbocharger-related noises. Whether you find that fitting to the general theme of the car will be a matter of personal taste, but there can be no denying the sheer exhilaration and urgency offered, thanks to the Plus Six's 500Nm of torque.

Thankfully, a small digital speedometer is also provided right ahead of the driver, since the analog one is the further of the two roundels from the driver, located centrally on the dashboard, making it problematic to read when on the go.

Old English

And talking about driving at speed, if all that wind is too much for you, there's always the option to put the roof up. You get a fabric item with this 'Bespoke' variant that only barely shields you from outside noise.

So, if covering miles is something you're planning for your own Morgan, you'll do well to opt for the 'Touring' variant instead, which comes with a hardtop which you can get in Ivory, or matched to your car's exterior colour as an option.

And once you're tucked into the car, you'll find that there's plenty to like in the cabin as well. The simplified and largely analog layout in this Plus Six is a world apart from the increasing use of display screens everywhere else, and works well design-wise with the relatively simple seats. It all just exudes old-world charm while still feeling solid and well put together.

That BMW-sourced gear selector does stick out like a piece of avant-garde art in an old English home however, and the effect is exaggerated still by the fact that it can be operated with only a dainty touch, whereas the handbrake and door handles require some ham-fistedness to use.

Oh, and don't be fooled, that circular cover at the back of the car does not open into any bootspace. Instead, a small compartment behind the seats (just enough for two backpacks) and a cubby hole in front of the passenger is all the space you get for anything that you have on hand. A luggage rack is a no-cost extra if you opt for the 'Touring' model.

Should you get one?

Not that it should really matter much since at $415,888 before COE (prices as of 7 April 2021), anyone able to splash out on a Plus Six should have plenty of spare change left over for any optional extras they desire.

But if that price is too steep for you to swallow, there's also the Morgan Plus Four, which is set to arrive in Singapore in just a few weeks, at $335,888 (before COE) for the variant equipped with an automatic gearbox. And if it is just that unique exterior design and envious looks from pedestrians that you're after, you might want to wait. Morgan isn't about to go anywhere in the time being.