The first unit of Morgan’s track-focused Plus 8 GTR has been completed, with eight more now to come
This is Morgan’s first of nine Plus 8 GTRs, with all other units now in assembly at its Malvern manufacturing facility. This extremely limited-run and track-only model was teased last year as a sign-off for the iconic Plus 8 model line, and is built from existing chassis’ sporting some engine updates and competition-derived components for Morgan’s most discerning customers.
This first unit is finished in the same Yas Marina blue as the sketches released last year, contrasted with off-white wheels, a dark finish grille and gold detailing on the brakes and recovery hook poking out of the lower grille opening. All remaining units will be built to customer specification, with five of the nine cars heading overseas.
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The GTR itself takes inspiration from the ‘Big blue’ GT racer of the ‘90s, with a return to the iconic high shoulder line alongside swollen front and rear arches, bonnet louvres and motorsport-inspired front and rear aero. The covered spotlights, five-spoke centre lock wheels and the new hardtop are also new elements, also inciting that motorsport connection.
Like the previous Plus 8, the GTR is powered by a lightly modified version of BMW’s N62 naturally-aspirated 4.8-litre V8, paired to either a six-speed manual or six-speed ZF automatic transmission. The previous road-legal Plus 8 had a peak power rated at 362bhp, but with changes to the ECU and a new side-exit exhaust system in the GTR, Morgan is projecting a subtle power increase.
At the time of the GTR’s announcement, Morgan head of design, Jonathan Wells, said: ‘This project has allowed Morgan’s design and engineering teams to revisit some of their favourite elements of past Morgan models, as well as experiment with some features that we hope will appear on future Morgan cars.’
The GTR joins the Plus 4 CXT as a new type of Morgan special edition with an equally special price point. These limited-run models have proved to be popular with Morgan’s core clientele, so we expect more of the same in the future.
This article originally appeared at evo.co.uk
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