Morgan Supersport review

This is the plushest car to pop out of the Malvern gates yet, but don’t for a moment think it’s been bombarded by screens or fattened up with luxury to get there. It represents finely crafted minimalism, with its digital displays limited to a simple speedo and trip computer directly behind the steering wheel. Everything else is analogue, including large rev counter and speedometer dials in the centre of the dashboard (the former a mite unhelpful in its location, if we’re feeling harsh) and a peppering of temperature gauges and clocks in smaller diameter.

Their fonts are new while the air conditioning continues to be controlled by twiddly knobs with a pleasing metal finish. Very effective it is too, and experience from our old Plus Four suggests the vents are well placed to heat the cockpit in winter – you should make this a year-round toy if you can.

The standard automatic transmission is a BMW item and rather proud of it judging by the huge selector sprouting from the tunnel. As in the Plus Six, it looks an interloper sat directly ahead of the delightfully knurled metal handbrake. Short of throwing an unfathomable amount of extra money into the Supersport’s development (and thus ballooning the price you pay) there’s not much Morgan could have done to make the situation better. The same goes for the less than gratifying Citroen-sourced paddles, which hardly beg you to get stuck into manual shifting.

Make your peace with those unavoidable missteps and it’s a lovely place to be – especially given you’ll have surely pored hours over configurators, colour swatches and carpet samples to orchestrate a homely cabin all of your own. There’s even a glovebox now, resplendent with USB ports to keep your devices topped up.

Mind you, it continues to feel very ‘Morgan’ on the move. This is a frenzied environment at speed; while motorway cruising is smooth and deft in regards to the drivetrain and chassis, there’s still a lot of wind noise and general commotion sneaking through the tops of the door panels – even with the hard-top fitted. The otherwise punchy Sennheiser stereo has its work cut out and Morgan’s claim of easily made hands-free calls feels exceedingly optimistic.

Still, this is a purposefully analogue driving experience. Flick your phone into Focus mode and get on with wringing the best out of where the Supersport’s development time and money has really been spent.