First V8 Morgan GTR track car comes to life

The first of the nine, finished in a striking blue paint job, picks up on the heritage race cues that Morgan previewed earlier this year when it announced the project and went in search of nine well-heeled Morgan fans around the world to buy them – all since found. 

The blue GTR strikes an unmistakable pose with its re-sculpted wheel-arches, high shoulder line, five-spoke centre-lock wheels and hard-top, all executed in traditional coachbuilt fashion.

Track inspired touches in this road car include a front splitter, racing number in the grille and cockpit vent in the roof. Inside, there are special GTR dials and the option of carbon-fibre racing seats and harnesses. It’s all designed to evoke the Plus 8 race car known as ‘Big Blue’ that competed in GT racing in the 1990s.

Then, as now, there was a V8 under the bonnet: the BMW 4.8-litre unit that hasn’t been seen in a new Morgan since 2018. That was when the Plus 8 and Aero8 made way for Morgan’s CX generation models with their bonded aluminium chassis and six-cylinder engines. 

The late, great BMW V8 used to churn out 367PS (274kW) but for this first GTR some engine retuning and a new twin-exit sports exhausts have seen power upped to 369PS (271lW) – so while this might be the most powerful Morgan ever, it’s not by much. Should sound good though. 

“The Plus 8 GTR represents an opportunity for Morgan to celebrate the V8 engine once again, something we did not expect to do. The Plus 8 GTR is the perfect swansong to the Morgan V8,” Morgan chief executive Steve Morris tells us. 

Morgan says the remaining eight born-again Plus 8s will all be completed by April 2022, each one a bespoke model in line with the wishes of the owners, five of whom are overseas.