The Plus 8 quietly grew for 36 years straight: from 57 inches wide in 1968 to 64 (or 67, in widebody form) by 2004, widened repeatedly just to fit ever-fatter tyres under its classic body.
Median 148 hp across 82 similar cars
Lead trim: 3.5 Rover V8 OHV Bosch L-Jetronic EFI (204 bhp) · up to 220 hp
Morgan Plus Eight1968–2004
- 0spots by members
- Unclaimednobody has spotted one yet
- 0sets it belongs to
Nobody in Burbles has spotted a Morgan Plus Eight yet. See one on the street, point the app at it, and the first card is yours — with your @handle permanently credited on this page.
FactThe Plus 8 quietly grew for 36 years straight: from 57 inches wide in 1968 to 64 (or 67, in widebody form) by 2004, widened repeatedly just to fit ever-fatter tyres under its classic body.
The Morgan Plus 8 is a sports car built by Morgan from 1968 to 2004, its instant and enduring popularity credited with saving the company during the 36 years of its manufacture. The prototype was based on a modified Plus 4 chassis altered to accept the Rover alloy block 215 cu in (3.5 L) V8 purchased from GM-Buick in 1967, and production began in 1968 with Rover's production engine, a re-engineered version of the Buick 215, originally fuelled by two SU HS6 carburettors; Morgan was the first of a succession of sports car makers, including TVR and Marcos, to use it. The chassis was developed in stages to accommodate gearbox changes in 1973 and 1976, and the original 1968 Plus 8 was 57 inches wide while the last was 64 inches (with an optional 67-inch widebody). From the 1960s through the 1980s it was, according to all the auto magazines, the fastest-accelerating UK production car between 20 and 80 mph. A "LeMans Edition" appeared in 2002 and a 35th Anniversary Edition of 100 in 2003; production of the Plus 8 ended in 2004 following the discontinuation of the Rover V8.
Collectors Spotted in the Morgan Plus Eight Lineage
No member has published a public street spot of the Morgan Plus Eight yet — the First · Worldwide stamp is wide open.
Trims & Figures
4 published trims in the catalogue. A blank is a figure not recorded, not zero.
| Trim | Years | Engine | Power | Torque | 0–60 | Drive | Gearbox | MSRP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Rover V8 OHV Bosch L-Jetronic EFI (204 bhp) | 1983–2004 | 3.5 L V8 | 204 hp | — | — | — | — | — |
| 3.5 Rover V8 OHV carburettor | 1968–1983 | 3.5 L V8 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 3.9 Rover V8 (marketed as 4.0) Lucas 14CUX | 1990–2004 | 3.9 L V8 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 4.6 Rover V8 Lucas 14CUX | 1996–2004 | 4.6 L V8 | 220 hp | 260 lb-ft | — | — | — | — |
Owning one
We don’t estimate running costs for a car like this. What it costs depends on its condition, its specialist and how it is driven, and an average would mislead.
Owners’ builds
Nobody has claimed one yet.
Photographs
The same 2012 Geneva unveiling that revived the BMW-V8 Plus 8 also introduced an electric version — the Plus E, a 94-hp EV wearing the same body.
Morgan's own 2003 brochure for the 35th Anniversary Plus 8 quietly broke the news: this run of 100 cars was effectively a send-off, since Morgan's sales material said the model was to be dropped the following year.
The Plus 8 quietly grew for 36 years straight: from 57 inches wide in 1968 to 64 (or 67, in widebody form) by 2004, widened repeatedly just to fit ever-fatter tyres under its classic body.
Rivals
Same body, same money, other badges — tap any card to flip.
In 1974 Alfa built a one-off on this Spider: a Porsche-style solid rear window and lift-out roof panels, fewer than 2,000 made, the only Spider ever with a part-solid roof.
Over 100,000 people voted to name this car "Duetto" — but a chocolate-snack maker had already trademarked the word, and a Milan court ruling forced Alfa to sell it as the Spider 1600 instead.
After nearly 25 years of manual-only Spiders, the final Series 4 cars quietly added something Alfa purists never expected: an optional automatic transmission.
The mid-80s Spider's Quadrifoglio Verde trim went all-in on a single look: blood-red carpets and grey leather with red stitching, and it only ever came in three exterior colors.
This Spider was built not by Alfa but by Pininfarina itself, on a platform shared with General Motors.
The 916 Spider's strongest naturally aspirated engine, the 192 PS 3.0 12V Busso V6, was never offered in its GTV coupe twin.
The Frogeye had no boot lid at all — owners reached the spare wheel by tilting the seats forward into the dark cavity behind, a ritual they likened to potholing.
The Fairlady 2000's SR311 update came with a five-speed manual gearbox in 1967 — a genuinely unusual spec for any production car of that era.