How Morgan Cars Are Made: by Hand, Out of Wood

"QUANTUM SHOT" #561
Link



Doing what they do best, and not changing in a changing world: this seems to work for Morgan

The Morgan Motor Company is proudly independent (even Ferrari is owned by Fiat, every sports car company seems to be a subsidiary of a larger manufacturer these days). These cars are not cheap ($44,000 for a base model, some cost as much as $300,000), the waiting list is more than a year (each car is made by hand) - can this company survive the severely affected luxury market?




London-based photographer Mark Obstfeld, who also wrote about the "James Bond's Latest Supercar" Aston Martin for DRB, returns with a look at this classic British car company which makes their cars still largely by hand, and largely out of... wood:



The Morgan Motor Company will celebrate its 100th anniversary in 2011 - its long and lustrous history can be traced on this page - and is till run by the same family; the current CEO is grandson of the founder. The factory is a sight to behold (guided tours can be arranged on their website) and it's quite revealing to see how much tender-loving care goes into a hand-built car. Perhaps of interest is that, while the shell is metal, much of the car is still made of wood:


Workers putting finishing touches to a near complete car

A welder joining sections of the metal shell - this was later shown to be so expertly done that no joins are visible at all (the wood can be seen in this photo) -



Side-wings mounted onto the chasis

Working on the wood interior (left); worker uses metal shears to individually shape a hood - because Morgans are handmade, each is slightly different and has to be done this way:




Inside one of the construction rooms

Mr. H.F.S. Morgan guided the company for almost fifity years, beginning in 1913... "After a hair-raising first drive in a 3 h.p. Benz that ran away with him down the 1-in-6 gradient of a hill between Bromyard and Hereford, he emerged intact but considerably poorer." That was in 1906, the Benz did not kill him - and in 1910 Morgan patented his own three-wheeler "Roundabout". In 1913 the company was formed and has been a family business ever since.

One of the oldest surviving (re-conditioned) Morgan sports 4/4 cars:



The Morgan Motor Company had just opened a small museum and showroom, inaugurated by HRH The Princess Royal (Princess Anne). Here is the finished room (the Morgans appear to be quite popular despite the economic crunch):



Inside the museum, a collection of vintage toy Morgans:



An original 3-wheeler from the 1920's:


photos by Mark Obstfeld (right), left - ModernMechanix

The fabulous 1964 Morgan Plus Four Plus (restoration by owner Dennis Glavis):


photos via The Morgan Motor Company

Also 1964 model - the Morgan SLR - has an enchanting shape and graceful lines:


(image via)

A rather loud Morgan Aero8 (which we got to take for a spin) -



Futuristic-looking Morgan "AeroMax" (see images here) and The Morgan "Life" - zero-emission concept car, with Qinetiq hydrogen fuel cell:



(photos credit and copyright: Mark Obstfeld and The Morgan Motor Company)

CONTINUE TO "JAMES BOND SUPERCAR" ->

Also Read: "Most Sensuous Car Shapes Ever Designed"

Permanent Link......+StumbleUpon ...+Facebook

0 comments:

Post a Comment

Check out this stream