The Morgan Plus Six has been available since 2019, featuring classic appearance and BMW power. The British niche brand collaborated with Pininfarina to produce a limited-edition special edition in an effort to liven things up. The exquisite hand-beaten metal body of the barchetta-styled Midsummer takes more than 250 hours to build. There will only be 50 of these two-seater sports cars made; all of them have already been sold.
Pininfarina claims that the extended back tails of its 1930s and 1940s models served as inspiration for the spectacular design, which is impressive from almost every perspective. Midsummer skips a traditional windscreen in favour of two aerodynamic screens that are reminiscent of vintage barchettas. Compared to the Plus Six, those rounded headlights are larger and are equipped with turn signals and daytime running lights.
The disc-like wheels are also a throwback touch that improves aerodynamics by allowing for better airflow around the car’s sides. The Michelin Pilot Sport 5 tyres are wrapped around the alloy wheels. In addition to saving weight, Morgan’s 19-inch forged wheel weighs about 6.6 pounds less than the Plus Six’s stock wheel. Weighing under 22 pounds, this new wheel has a vintage-inspired appearance. Just 2,204 pounds make up the entire car before fluids are added.
Shaping up the body isn’t the only time-consuming operation; applying all that teak takes more than 30 hours. There are 120 layers of teak on each door card and a minimum of 126 layers on the dashboard. Morgan notes that the interior is more robust than it would be if larger wood pieces were used because hundreds of layers of hand-formed laminated teak were used.
Technical specs have not been revealed, however the regular Plus Six is powered by a BMW “B58” engine. This 3.0-liter inline-six turbocharger produces 335 horsepower and 369 pound-feet of torque. An automated ZF eight-speed gearbox directs output towards the road. The gear lever is clearly BMW-original, as seen in the official photos. The Midsummer may reach 62 mph faster than the standard model, which takes 4.2 seconds. Why? Considering that it weighs about 251 pounds less.
Pricing has not been officially released, but Autocar says that owners paid somewhere between $152,000 and $190,000, depending on how the cars were built. Production will commence in this year and run through 2025. In July, Midsummer will make its public debut at the Goodwood Festival of Speed.
Morgan said it is still taking suggestions from clients for other customised projects, even though the Pininfarina-written barchetta is no longer available.
