Morgan Cars Speech
18 May 2013
Good afternoon Ladies & Gentlemen,
My name is Jim James, Managing Director of Morgan Cars Beijing.
I am delighted to be here and to present to you two Classic Morgan cars:
- Roadster 4 Seater 3.7L
- 4/4 75th Anniversary 2.0L limited edition car
Today I would like to share with you over the course of 10 minutes three aspect of the Morgan story.
1. History – Key message:
Morgan is the Oldest privately held car company in Gt. Britain.
1909 HFS Morgan, at the age of 25, built a 3 wheel run about. It was so successful that he took pre-orders and was able to fund the purchase of the machinery and to start production. This financial independence as sustained Morgan even to today.
In 1936 built the first 4/4 – Four Wheels and 4 seats. We see the 75th Anniversary edition 4/4 here today.
Early on these cars were used both to drive from A to B, but also for racing. Racing is in the Morgan Cars DNA.
In 1912 H.F.S. Morgan broke the 1100 cc. One-hour Record travelling at a fraction short of 100 kmh for one hour at Brooklands, a famous racing circuit.
During 1930 Mrs Gwenda Stewart broke the one hour Record at Monthlery at a speed of over 160 kmh. She was later to achieve 188 KM/h. in a single seater Morgan
In 1936 Morgan Four Four to differentiate it from the three-wheeler, indicating four cylinders and four wheels.
In 1962 success was achieved again at the 24 hours endurance race at Le Mans. A Plus Four Super Sports competed and won the 2 litre class.
The Morgan Plus Eight introduced in July 1968. Last year it was reintroduced by Morgan with a 4.8L BMW engine.
2005 saw the unveiling of the spectacular AeroMax Coupe at the Geneva show.
In 2012 The Aero Coupe was launched at Geneva and then here in Beijing last year as a prelude to opening the Showroom, which is now open in Gongti.
2. The cars – Key message: Hand built, Classic, Performance
Morgan has been hand building cars for over 100 years. The objective is not to mass produce generic cars but lovingly craft custom cars for people who appreciate a classic driving experience combined with flair and style.
This is what Morgan calls ‘Automotive Theatre.’
We should make a distinction here between ‘hand built’ and ‘ hand assembled.’ Many cars today are hand assembled, with workers bolting machine made parts together. Morgan cars are assembled with hand made parts. In Malvern there are some 190 craftsmen and support staff, many of whom are second generation Morgan employees.
Morgan makes approximately 500 cars per year all to order. As a result these cars are limited in supply and in great demand.
The chassis is steel, with an ash wood frame hand crafted and unique to each car. The wood frame then has a bonded alloy adhered to it, making it light yet strong.
The wings are made of a super formed alloy, which again makes them light and strong, but also allows a more luxurious shape than metal stamping. Super forming is where the steel is injected at high temperature into a mould. This is the same method used for making air craft fuselage.
The leather on the Morgan cars comes from Muirhead in Scotland. The Scottish highlands are famous for their flavourful Whiskey, but also their fine cattle. The hides are tanned and prepared especially for automotive applications.
The Steering wheels here are from a British company called Moto-lita. They are made of Mahogany , Walnut and steel.
In all a customer can choose one of 5,000 paint colours, over 100 leathers and 100’s of other options from steering wheels to carpets.
The range is defined by the engine sizes.
Aero powered by 4.8L BMW engine
Roadster 3.7L Ford
Plus 4 , 2.0L Ford
4/4, 1.6L Ford
3. Future – Sustainability
The Auto Industry made some 60million cars in 2012. The environmental impact of both the volume and the materials used is not sustainable.
In order to ensure that our children have a planet to drive on Morgan believes in some simple principles:
a. Low Weight Simple chassis, minimal bodywork and the use of lightweight materials, notably wood and aluminium.
b. Recyclable materials Morgan include renewables, notably wood and leather. The use of finite fossil hydrocarbon-derived materials – such as plastics – is relatively low at Morgan.
c. Low Emissions Morgan uses industry leading Power trains for example from e.g. BMW new Efficient Dynamics deployment.
The final aspect is one of Durability A long-lived car is therefore better than a more disposable one.
The current situation of mass over-production results in cars being forced into the market and sold via discounts and other incentive schemes, the effects of which are most obvious in terms of the rapid depreciation of new cars over the first three tofive years of their useful lives.
The low volume of Morgan cars produced combined with the long product cycles means that the cars actually appreciate in value over time.
Morgan is proof that low volume niche manufacturers have a strong market position in the car market.
Forward Thinking
Morgan believes that the future lies in staying true to the philosophy of light weight to high power.
- LIFECar – lithium powered car
- New initiatives e.g. Magnesium chasis to reduce weight.
Conclusion:
I am very proud that we can bring these two Morgan cars today.
The Museum is the perfect place for Morgan to make history in China.
