England's Morgan Motor Company is in an enviable position today, being a 107-year-old automaker that's able to profitably leverage its heritage while experimenting with unique alternative-powered future models. One of the best-known pieces of Morgan motoring heritage--aside from the famously reborn 3 Wheeler--is today's 4/4. While this model experienced two breaks in production, its model name and basic design date back an amazing 80 years, and it's likely not a stretch to imagine a 4/4 fan from the 1930s feeling rather at home in the 4/4 of 2016.
From the company's founding, Morgan automobiles were three-wheel cyclecars. The original two-cylinder engine's piston count had doubled through the years, and for 1936, the tripod car would be joined by a quadruped, which earned its 4/4 name through its matching counts of wheels and cylinders. Prototypes of this new model were successful in numerous competitive driving trials, and when the 4/4 entered production, it used a 34-hp F-head Coventry Climax engine. The ash wood-framed, aluminum-panel two-seat body featured an angle-mounted flat radiator, flowing fenders and two spare wheels mounted vertically in the rear deck. A four-seater 4/4 debuted for 1937, while a more expensive two-seat Drophead Coupé would join them in late 1938. Before WWII ended production in 1939, an 80 MPH-capable Le Mans Replica paid tribute to the 4/4 that Prudence Fawcett campaigned in the 1938 24 Hours of Le Mans.
It wasn't until 1946 that 4/4s again left the Morgan works, these cars still powered by the OHV 1,267-cc, Solex-carbureted 38.8-hp Standard Special engine that was installed in final prewar examples, and again available with two-seat, four-seat and Drophead bodies. The 4/4 took another hiatus in 1950 when the larger and more powerful Plus 4 model took its place in the lineup. The Series II 4/4 debuted at the 1955 Motor Show in two seat Tourer form, powered by a 1,172-cc Ford side-valve engine that gave the car a 0-60 MPH time of almost 30 seconds; it also introduced the standard sloping rear deck with recessed single spare.
The 1960s brought numerous engine changes for the 4/4. The Series III model of 1960 sported a 997-cc OHV Ford Anglia engine making 39 hp; this car also used a wider track and hydraulic shocks, while the Series IV debuted at the following year's Motor Show with a 54-hp, 1,340-cc Ford Consul Classic engine and front disc brakes. Real performance arrived with 1963's 4/4 Series V and its 78-hp, Weber-carbureted 1,498-cc Ford engine that dropped 0-60 time to under 11 seconds. Ford's 1,599-cc "Kent" engine became available by 1969--the year that the four-seater body style was reintroduced for this model--and the 84-hp 1600 GT engine powered the new 4/4 Competition. That 1600 GT engine became standard 4/4 fare from 1971.
While Morgan focused its energies on the Plus 8, competition, and meeting emissions regulations in the 1970s, the 4/4 would have many changes in the 1980s. A most unusual variant was 1981-'84's Twin Cam, which found a 98-hp, 1,584-cc DOHC Fiat engine and five-speed gearbox under the louvered bonnet. Traditionalists opted for the 1,597-cc, 96-hp Ford Escort XR3 engine that was mated to a Ford five-speed for 1983, allowing the 4/4 a 10-second run to 60 MPH. The wire wheels that became standard on Plus 4s in 1985 would trickle down to 4/4s in 1990.
One hundred horsepower was achieved with less pollution when the 1991 model year 4/4's Ford SOHC 1600 CHV engine got fuel injection. Just two years later, Ford's 16-valve, DOHC 1,796 Zetec R four-cylinder would bring 114 hp and a snappy 0-60 MPH time of 7.8 seconds. Super-formed aluminum fenders trickled down to the 4/4 for 1998, and Morgan finished the 20th century by unveiling a 4/4 four-seater model that traded a rear bench seat for two buckets.
The traditional Morgan's all-aluminum Ford engine displaced 1,798 cc and made 125 hp, beginning in 2005, and this engine would power 2006's 70th Anniversary Edition 4/4. The Morgan Motor Company celebrated this milestone--which, interestingly, still hadn't amounted to a full 10,000 units built--by offering only 142 examples of this limited-edition car. The Anniversary Edition was distinguished by its period colors, traditional steel wheels with chrome hubcaps, special interior fittings, and a sheepskin bonnet strap. Efficiency triumphed when the 110-hp, 1,595-cc Ford Sigma engine debuted in the 2008 4/4 Sport, although the car remained capable of a sub-8-second run to 60 MPH and a 115 MPH top speed.
Still more special models would mark the 4/4's 75th and 80th birthdays, those being 2011's 75th Anniversary Edition and 2016's 80th Anniversary Edition. The 75th AE received the Plus 4's powerful 145-hp, 2.0-liter Ford Duratec I-4, wire wheels and unique black stripe graphics. Only 80 examples of the Series I-inspired 80th AE are being built, and they include brass detailing in the grille, wheel hubs and instrument dials, along with a mohair top, extended leather trim, matte lacquer walnut dash, cream Smiths gauges and 15-inch disc wheels. Side exit exhausts help today's 110-hp, 1.6-liter Ford engine and Mazda five-speed gearbox move the car with verve. While the Morgan faithful in America continue to shepherd their older examples, safety regulations mean we haven't been able to buy a new Morgan 4/4 here for some time; so, sadly, this ultimate 4/4 remains forbidden fruit.
SPECIFICATIONS
Engines Intake-over-exhaust 8-valve - DOHC 16-valve, inline-four
Displacements 997-1,999-cc (60.8-122-cu.in.)
Horsepower 34-145 hp
Fuel systems Carburetor/electronic fuel injection
Transmissions Four-/five-speed manual
Wheelbase 92/96 inches
Overall length 134-157.9 inches
