insideKENT Magazine Issue 49 - April 2016 | Page 127

80th Anniversary Morgan 4/4

PRICE AS TESTED: £41,490 OTR
TOP SPEED: 115MPH

80th Anniversary Model (shown above, bottom left): £40,911 OTR

0-62 MPH: 8 seconds

ECONOMY: Combined 40MPG

PERFORMANCE: 110BHP

Price for the 4/4 sport (the basic 'starter model' with 4 wheels and a flat back panel) from £36,315 OTR.

speed of 115mph, but the mid-range power of
the 4/4 is what delivers the real fun. And bearing
in mind that your bottom is flying along just
inches from the ground, it feels even faster than
it is. This perceived feeling of speed and the
resulting excitement it creates, is what real driving
is all about! Oh and I'm sure this will be of little
interest to a sports car enthusiast, but amazingly
the 4/4 delivers 40mpg, making it one of the
most economical sports cars on earth.
When driving the Morgan, there were perhaps
early feelings of naked vulnerability higher up in
your body (I wrestled with unwelcome thoughts
of 'what if we rolled it into a ditch?' for the first
mile or so), emphasised further by the wind
thrashing through your hair, but these are quickly
exposed to be just mere echoes of a boring life
spent driving modern cars, and are soon replaced
by overwhelming, ecstatic senses of freedom
and pure joy.

21st-century drivers spoilt by power-assisted
steering, fancy suspension and electric assist
braking will find the hefty brakes, hard ride and
rugged steering of the Morgan a bit of an animal
at first, but after you'll wonder how you'll ever
go back to that boring 'safe' car you take to the
office every day. In fact, you won't want to go
to the office at all – you'll just want to spend all
your time driving a Morgan!
Steering those pleasurably beefy tyre-shod
stainless steel wire wheels around the winding
Marsh roads may have given the arms a good
workout, but the pleasure of experiencing such
magical handling, feedback and precision in
cornering, delivered infinitely more reward than
being in a gym with sweaty men in Lycra – and
it felt far manlier! In fact, if I were to be caught
grinning the same way the Morgan made me
grin whilst pumping iron in the local Bannatynes,
I imagine I would be evicted by security.

127

The Morgan 4/4 experience on that sunny day
on the beautiful Marsh roads was something I
will treasure for a very long time to come. It reawoke a truth within; it spoke of what is important
in life, the things we all hope for and dream of.
It enabled time to enjoy life, time to be mindful,
time to just live in the moment and derive pleasure
from whatever we are doing. No longer did I feel
like a prisoner, as the 4/4 made me feel that I )݅́