The Morgan Plus Four Roadster: 97 Percent New, Same Vintage Charm

Following months of teasing, Morgan finally unveiled its new Plus Four roadster, and while it looks the same from the outside, the inside is anything but, reports Road & Track.

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The Morgan Plus Four roadster

Slotted under Morgan's Plus Six, the Plus Four is the second car in the company's new lineup in its new CX-generation aluminum architecture. It packs turbocharged BMW power along with an optional manual transmission. This could be the most interesting new Morgan of the lineup.

Formerly called the Plus 4, the Plus Four is 97% new, according to Morgan. The 84-year-old stell chassis from the previous model was dropped and replaced by Morgan's modular bonded aluminum design.

Of course, ash wood is still integrated into the frame.

The difference lies in weight: the entire chassis is only 97 kilograms (214 pounds), and yet it's much more rigid. This double-whammy means a better-feeling car, only lighter.

Same Plus Four, different drivetrain

The drivetrain was also changed. Instead of an aspirated Ford 2.0-liter inline-four, the Plus Four now has a BMW 2.0-liter turbocharged unit that makes 190 kilowatts (255 horsepower) and roughly 400 Joules (295 lb-ft) of torque, or 351 Joules (259 lb-ft) in the six-speed manual transmission, instead of the eight-speed automatic.

It's detuned in the manual because the gearbox isn't capable of taking that kind of torque, according to Road & Track. In automatic, the new roadster makes zero to 100 kilometers per hour (roughly 62 miles per hour) in 4.8 seconds. With stick, the race to 100 kmh (62 mph) takes only 5.2 seconds.

The top speed for both gearboxes is roughly 240 kmh (149 mph).

The suspension also saw major overhauls, with new double wishbones in rear and front. Uprights and brakes were redesigned to handle (15-inch) wire wheels, and Morgan even offers optional alloy wheels, straight from the swinging Sixties.

Pricing for the Plus Four will start at £62,995 in the United Kingdom (roughly $80,000). Like earlier versions of the Plus Four, this model will make its way to America as a kit car, but no official State-side pricing has been released. But even without knowing how, plenty of luxury car lovers and connoisseurs will surely be dying to get their hands on this new Morgan dream model.