Морган Моторс: 100 жылдық тарих пен қолмен құрастырылатын автомобильдер

British motor vehicle manufacturer

Morgan Motor Company Limited is a British motor car manufacturer owned by Italian investment group Investindustrial. It was founded in 1910 by Henry Frederick Stanley Morgan. Morgan is based in Malvern Link, an area of Malvern, and employs approximately 220 people. Morgan produce 850 cars per year, all assembled by hand. The waiting list for a car is approximately six months, but it has sometimes been as long as ten years. Morgan cars are unusual in that wood has been used in their construction for a century, and is still used in the 21st century for framing the body shell. A visitor centre and museum have exhibits about the company's history from Edwardian times until the present day, developments in automobile technology, and a display of automobiles. There are also guided tours of the factory.

H. F. S. Morgan quit the Great Western Railway in 1904 and co founded a motor sales and servicing garage in Malvern Link. In 1909 he designed and built a car for his own use. Previously he developed the first independent front suspension in
the engineering shop of Malvern College. In 1990, the company was subject of a critique by Sir John Harvey Jones for his television programme Troubleshooter. Harvey Jones recommended modernising production and clearing the order backlog. The company rejected the advice, arguing that traditional techniques were part of the appeal of the company, and that a waiting list helped the company deal with recessions and preserved their exclusivity. Sales increased as a result of the programme and the company prospered. Sir John said he was very pleased to have been proven wrong in Morgan's case. Peter Morgan, son of HFS, ran the company until a few years before his death in 2003. He was replaced as chairman by Alan Garnett, a non family director, from 2003 to 2006. After Garnett's resignation, a four man management team was established. Charles Morgan (son of Peter), Matthew Parkin, Tim Whitworth and Steve Morris made up the new management team, and in 2010, after Parkin's resignation, Charles Morgan was named managing director. In 2010, the MMC became dormant and all assets were sold to a new company called Morgan Technologies for an unpaid 15 million and which took over all the former assets of the Morgan Motor Company, Aero Racing, the Morgan M3W Company and all other companies bearing the Morgan name. This cured the negative equity that had occurred over the Charles Morgan tenure. UK Company House

In January, 2013, Morgan was removed as managing director, replaced by Morris, but continued as strategy director until October 2013 when he was removed both as an employee and member of the board of directors. At the end of 2013, the shareholders appointed Andrew Duncan, a local solicitor and very close friend of the late Peter Morgan, as chairman. In 2016, he resigned as chairman and company director and was replaced as chairman by a new director, Dominic Riley. In January 2016, the company was once again UK government funded by a £6 million grant by the British Government after a series of visits from UK politicians and Royals. In August 2018, the name of Morgan Technologies, was allowed to change its name back to The Morgan Motor Company while the original company, founded by HFS Morgan in 1957, had its name changed to a numbered company and accordingly registered at UK Companies House. For most of its history, the company was owned by the Morgan family. A press release dated 5 March 2019 announced the acquisition of a majority stake in Morgan Motor Company Ltd by the Italian investment group Investindustrial. Though it was announced that as a part of Investindustrial's investment, management and staff were rewarded with shares in the company, this appears nowhere in the information registered at Companies House. And though it was also announced that the Morgan family retained a minority shareholding and would continue to be involved in the company this does not appear on any statement filed with Companies House. The price of sale was approximately the amount of the 2016 government grant which was used, at the time, to purchase back the land and buildings on Pickersleigh Road, that had been sold in 2005/6 to fund the company.

The early cars were two seat or four seat three wheelers, and are therefore considered to be cyclecars. Three wheeled vehicles avoided the British tax on cars by being classified as motorcycles. Competition from small cars like the Austin 7 and the original Morris Minor, with comparable economy and price and better comfort, made cyclecars less attractive.

H. F. S. Morgan's first car design was a single seat three wheeled runabout, which was fabricated for his personal use in 1908, with help from William Stephenson Peach, the father of friends, and the engineering master at Malvern College. Powered by a Peugeot twin cylinder engine (from an abandoned motorcycle project), the car had a backbone chassis, an idea retained for all following Morgan three wheelers, and used as little material and labour as Morgan could manage. A single seat three wheeler with coil spring The steering was by tiller, and it had band brakes. Malvern Link. Three single seater cars were exhibited at the 1910 Motor Show at Olympia in London. In spite of great interest being shown, only a few orders were taken, and Morgan decided a two seater was needed to meet market demand. This was built in 1911, adding a bonnet, windscreen, wheel steering, and crank starting; it was displayed at the 1911 Motor Cycle Show. Interest in his runabout led him to patent his design and begin production. While he initially showed single seat and two seat versions of his runabout at the 1911 Olympia Motor Exhibition, he was convinced at the exhibition that there would be greater demand for a two seat model. The Morgan Motor Company was registered as a private limited company only in 1912 with H. F. S. Morgan as managing director and his father, who had invested in his son's business, as its first chairman. Morgan himself won the "very tough" ACU Six Days' Trial in 1913, in the sidecar class. These models used air cooled or liquid cooled variations of motorcycle engines. The engine was placed ahead of the axis of the front wheels in a chassis made of steel tubes brazed into cast lugs. After the First World War, the company introduced an easily changed rear wheel, which customers had been seeking for several years. The 1921 Popular, powered by an JAP and bodied in poplar, sold for £150. The Popular, powered by a engine, sold for £110, the Aero for £148, and the one seater £160. Racing Morgans included Harold Beart's Blackburne engined special, with 3.33:1 top gear and a streamlined body, which covered 91.48 mile (147 km) in a one hour trial at Brooklands, with a peak speed of over They would be lower still in 1929: the Standard and Family at £87 10s, the Aero £110, and the Super Sports £145. In 1933, the Family was priced at only £80. provided they remained under 8 cwt. By 1930, however, inexpensive four wheeled cars were proliferating, led by the £100 Ford Popular. The vee twin models were not returned to production after World War II. The Morgan Three Wheeler Club was formed in 1945. The F 4 had a new pressed steel chassis

Morgan's first four wheeler, designated by the factory as the 4/4 because it had a four cylinder engine and four wheels, was released to the public in 1936. Powered by a Coventry Climax engine, and carrying a pair of rear mounted spare wheels, the new two seater 4/4 sold for 185 guineas (£194 5s). TR3 (1956),

Production of the 4/4 was halted during World War II but resumed afterwards. Production halted again in 1950 when the Standard engine ceased to be available but resumed in 1955 when a suitable replacement, the side valve 1,172 cc Ford 100E engine was found and has continued ever since. The 4/4 now uses the +8 chassis and a Ford engine.

Faced with the decreasing availability of large four cylinder engines for use in their +4 models, Morgan began to install the recently available Rover V8 engine in their cars in 1968, giving these cars the model designation "+8". The engine displacement jumped from the 2.3 L of the Triumph TR4 engine to 3.5 L, then 3.9 L (1990), 4.0 (1998–2004) with an optional 4.6L (1996–2000) all based on the same Land Rover block. However, this V 8 was no heavier than the Triumph engine. These features made the +8 accelerate much more quickly than the early +4 and also improved its road holding capability. Horsepower (143–204 bhp), weight and performance varied with emission and structural laws through its history. Thus powered, the car could accelerate from 0–60 mph in 5.6 seconds. In its final form, the GEMS Land Rover V8 produced .

In 2004, Morgan came out with a traditional styled model to replace the departing Plus 8. The Mk I Roadsters with the Ford UK Mondeo V6 produced 223 bhp (166 kW, 226 PS) at 6150 rev/min. It had a Getrag gearbox with direct drive in 5th with a 3.08 axle ratio. Later Marks had a Ford gearbox with direct drive in 4th with a 3.73 axle ratio. The overall gearing is virtually the same. The later Roadsters were powered by a Ford UK Mondeo V6 producing In 2007, the Mondeo engine was replaced by a US specification version of the same engine in the Roadster II. In 2011–12, the engine was replaced by the 3.7 Duratec Cyclone engine and output increased to The company calls this latest model the Roadster 3.7.

In 2000, the Morgan Aero 8 was introduced and, as always, the wooden body substructure was ash. (Contrary to popular myth, however, the chassis is metal; aluminium for the Aero 8.) The Aero 8, with a BMW V8 engine in a car weighing less than a BMW Z4 and considerably less than a BMW M3, (though more than traditional Morgans) is even faster than the Plus 8, delivering what Autoweek magazine termed supercar performance. The newest Aero 8 (series V), presented in March 2015, puts out at 6100 rpm with the company suggesting a top speed of over Due to the Aero 8's light weight it can do 0–62 mph (100 km/h) in 4.5 seconds. During its customer production lifetime (2002–2009), the Aero was configured in five official versions, (I, II, III, IV, the Aero America and V) with mild variations in styling, engines, transmissions, braking and suspension. The company cancelled the model in 2009 but relaunched it in 2015 for 2016 deliveries. The year of highest production for any Aero variation was 2002.

The Aero was followed by the Aeromax, a limited edition of 100 units produced between 2008 and early 2010. The Aeromax was a coupé variation of the Aero 8. Customers have included Richard Hammond, Rowan Atkinson and Paul O'Grady.

The Morgan Aero SuperSports is a targa roofed version of the AeroMax, sharing its bonded aluminium chassis and lower bodywork with the coupe. It was launched at the 2009 Pebble Beach car show in California. Its cancellation was announced in March 2015.

The Morgan Aero Coupé is a hard top version of the Aero SuperSports, sharing its bonded aluminium chassis, bodywork, suspension and engine. It was launched at the end of 2011. It is not available in the United States. Its cancellation was announced in March 2015.

The new Morgan Plus 8 is a classic body version of the Aero SuperSports and Aero Coupé, sharing their bonded aluminium chassis, bodywork, suspension and engine. It was launched at the end of 2011. It is not available in the United States. In 2019, Morgan announced its cancellation.

The Morgan Plus E is an electric version of a classical Morgan, a joint project of Morgan with Zytek and Radshape (Radshape Sheet Metal Ltd.), funded by the UK government. It was displayed at the 2012 Geneva Motor Show. It has never been produced and the project was abandoned.

Based on the same chassis as the Aero Supersports, the Eva GT would have been a 2+2 grand tourer, and as such it would be longer in the body. The Eva GT would use BMW N54 twin turbo straight 6 producing 302 bhp, Euro 6 emissions compliant. Shown at Pebble Beach in clay in 2010 and expected to go on sale in 2012, deposits have been taken since 2010. At the end of 2011, Morgan announced that it would use new magnesium technology for the body and therefore it would not be represented until 2014 with deliveries after that. In 2013 dealers confirmed that the EvaGT had been cancelled.

The Morgan Motor Company announced that they would launch the "3 Wheeler" in 2011 at the Geneva Motor Show. and was estimated to deliver The kerb weight was originally estimated to be less than ,

The Morgan Plus Six was announced in March 2019 at the Geneva Motor Show. Instead of the traditional Morgan ladder frame and sliding pillar suspension, it has a new bonded aluminium chassis and all independent suspension design, with double wishbones at the front and a multi link system for the rear. The Plus Six is powered by a BMW B58 turbocharged in line six cylinder petrol engine, producing 335 bhp, coupled to an eight speed ZF automatic transmission.

The Morgan Plus Four was revealed online in March 2020. Like the Plus Six, it uses a "CX Generation" bonded aluminium chassis and all independent suspension design. The Plus Four is powered by a BMW B48 turbocharged in line four cylinder petrol engine producing 255 bhp, with either a six speed manual transmission or an eight speed automatic transmission.

For part of the 1950s and 1960s, the United States provided the company with its largest market worldwide, taking up to 85% of all production. This ended with the first wave of US safety and emission regulations in 1971. For many years (1974 to 1992), all Morgans imported into the United States were converted to run on propane as fuel to pass the US emissions regulations. However, this conversion, along with bringing the cars into compliance with US vehicle safety legislation, was carried out by the dealership, and not by the factory, making the cars grey market vehicles. However, when the Rover Group re certified their V8 engine for use in the Range Rover 4x4 sold in the US, Morgan was able to use the same engine for a fully US compliant stock Morgan from 1992 to 1996, and again from 1998 to 2004. In 2005, the engine was replaced with the US version of another traditionally shaped model (with a V6), called the Roadster. In 2002, Morgan centralised its international compliancy development and regulatory interaction in house. In 2005, its right to import its classic models ceased when supplies of its necessary airbag were exhausted and no replacement was developed. In 2006, a request for an airbag exemption to the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration was refused, and the import of classic Morgans ceased. In 2005, the new Morgan Aero 8 model (versions 2 and 3) received a three year exemption from rear impact non compliance, along with a separate exemption for compliance with "advanced airbag requirements". The rear impact exemption lapsed in May 2008 without further application. Morgan has indicated to its US dealers that it plans to re apply for US certification for some model at as yet an undetermined date in the future. In April 2012, the new Morgan 3 Wheeler was showcased at the New York International Auto Show, at the Jacob Javits Center, by Bobby Singh and Gideon Lang Laddie of Manhattan Motorsports. This was the first time in 10 years that Morgan had had a presence at the largest of the American car shows and was the first US specification Morgan 3 Wheeler in the United States. The Morgan 3 Wheeler was voted one of the "Hottest Cars Of The Show" by G4TV. In May 2012, Manhattan Motorsports took delivery of Charles Morgan's Superdry edition Morgan 3 Wheeler and prepared it for its first major American trial. This vehicle was driven across the States, from New York to Los Angeles by Charles Morgan and his wife, covering 3000 miles, in the Gumball 3000. At the end of the seven day drive, the Morgan 3 Wheeler was awarded the "Spirit of Gumball" prize.

In spite of their traditional design, Morgans have always had sporting or "sports car" performance, due to their extremely low weight. Among their Australian enthusiasts, Morgans are affectionately known as "Moggies".

H. F. S. Morgan's 1909 runabout used sliding pillar suspension, an independent front suspension system with each front wheel mounted on a stub axle able to slide up and down a fixed pillar that also acts as the kingpin and supported by a spring and external shock absorber (damper). One advantage is reduced unsprung weight, theoretically allowing the tyre and wheel to better respond to road surface irregularities. The Morgan system is described as an 'inverted' sliding pillar, as the pillar is fixed and the hub carrier slides over it. Earlier systems had the wheel carried on the pillar, sliding through a bush on the axle. Morgan used developments of this suspension system throughout its existence, and it is still used on Morgan's "classic" line, although not on the Aero 8 or its derivatives. It has been cancelled, along with all the Morgan Classic line, in 2019. However, some "classics", shipped in parts to avoid the need for normal compliancy, will be shipped to the US, and assembled there for an indefinite period.

Morgan cars can be found in many areas of motorsport, from club and historic racing to more prominent examples, including the Le Mans 24hr race. A notable Morgan racecar was the Aero 8 GT car that campaigned in 2008 Britcar races and the 2008 Britcar 24hrs at Silverstone, prepared and run by Mark Bailey Racing. Pescarolo Sport rebranded its Le Mans Prototype as a Morgan for the 2012 24 Hours of Le Mans, partly to mark the 50th anniversary of a class victory for a Morgan Plus Four Super Sports at Le Mans.