Morgan kills off V8, confirms new sports car

Morgan has confirmed that it is readying an all-new sports car for 2020, codenamed 'Wide Body', based on an all-new bonded aluminium platform and fitted with a powertrain that's "never been installed in a Morgan".

Releasing a video farewell to its current V8-powered vehicles, the small British sports car company confirmed the last two vehicles fitted with a BMW-sourced naturally-aspirated 4.8-litre V8 were an Aero 8 and a Plus 8.

Both will be kept in Morgan's heritage collection.

Perhaps surprisingly for a car-maker that has been making V8-powered roadsters for more than 50 years, the 110-year-old British company also confirmed it has no plans for a direct replacement for the BMW V8.

Instead, the all-new sports car is expected to be powered by a downsized turbocharged V6 -- the sound of which is teased right at the end of the short documentary film below.

Interestingly, the new Wide Body will sit above the current 3 Wheeler, Roadster, Plus 4 and 4/4 in performance terms, but Morgan insists it hasn't been designed to be a direct replacement for the outgoing Plus 8 and Aero 8.

Instead, those cars will be replaced individually in the next few years.

The Wide Body, meanwhile, could push Morgan into supercar performance territory for the first time.

Claimed to have an aluminium chassis twice as stiff as the one used in the Aero 8, combined with the new powerful engine, the Wide Body is said to have been developed as the "most dynamically capable production Morgan ever."

Due on sale around 2020, some are tipping the 'wide body' reference could be a hint by Morgan that it will integrate its front fenders for the first time in its history.

Morgan's move away from the V8 could prove a controversial one for its loyal fan base.

The first Morgan V8 was launched back in 1968 when car-maker located in Malvern, Worcestershire dropped the Buick-derived Rover V8 into its Plus series roadster.

Morgan Cars Australia advises the Morgan Plus 8 and Aero 8 are both now sold out and will not be replaced, making them the last naturally-aspirated V8 Morgan models ever.

The Morgan 4/4 -- priced from $93,000 in Australia -- has also been discontinued in Europe due to the new WLTP regulations and MCA says it currently holds options on the last four production slots for cars with ADR-compliant engines. Once they are taken, the Morgan 4/4 will also be unavailable here with the atmo V8.

"The Morgan factory has not given any indication of whether a replacement model will be forthcoming and if so, when and in what configuration it may be," said MCA.

"The Plus 4 is in a similar situation to the 4/4, but with only nine ADR-compliant engines remaining. It is also available in the 110 Year Anniversary configuration, which means that a number of options are no-cost options."

The Morgan Plus 4 is currently priced from $104 000 in Australia, while the Morgan Roadster V6 remains available hare from $145,000. The Morgan 3 Wheeler is unaffected by the new emissions regulations and remains available from $104,000.

Expect more teasers of the new "upmarket, premium price" sports car to come from Morgan in 2019.