Classic Car Hire in Yorkshire by Reflections

If you're thinking of hiring a classic Morgan car in Yorkshire you might like to know a little bit about the history behind it.

The Morgan Motor Company was founded in 1909 by H.F.S Morgan and he ran the company until 1959 when he passed the reins to his son Peter, who was at the helm until 2003. All Morgan classic cars are still hand made in Malvern, Worcestershire by a team of craftsmen. The workforce is only 163 strong, so consequently there is a waiting list for Morgan cars, about 2 years although previously as high as 10 years. Many of the people who hire classic Morgan cars in Yorkshire are either on the waiting list to own one, or are considering putting their name down for a Morgan classic car and wish to try one out first. Up until 1936 the company only made three wheelers which were classified as motorcycles and so avoided the British car tax at the time. The 4-4 had four wheels and 4 cylinders, hence its model number. Apart from the WW2 years and between March 1951 to September 1955 the 4/4 has been in production until the present day. A 1.8 litre Ford engine is used in today's 4/4, in 1936 a 1122cc Coventry Climax engine was used.

Whether you're hoping to own a classic Morgan or are considering renting a classic Morgan hire car in Yorkshire with Reflections it is worth considering that Morgan is one of the only British made classic sports cars still in production - a true piece of classic car history.

Morgan Plus 4 - development

Morgan motor company started out in the first decade of the 1900's when Henry Morgan started to manufacture 3 wheeled roadsters built using two cylinder motorcycle engines. They were relatively cheap and had brisk performance, which kept them in demand until 1952. During this period of growth for Morgan, a 4 wheeled car was developed and in 1935 the Morgan 4/4 was launched. By the 1950's this four wheeled sports car was pretty antiquated and sales were beginning to slow. Other similar car manufacturers had the same problem, for example the MG-T series of open sports cars had evolved to the MG-TD and the MG-TF was being developed with its larger engine capacity to drive sales.

America was the growing market for many british car manufacturers and the Morgan Plus 4 was introduced in 1951, aimed at wealthy Americans. This was a deluxe replacement for the 4/4 with a longer wheelbase, hydraulic brakes, and instead of a 1.3-litre engine a 2 litre Standard Vanguard engine was fitted, giving a big lift in performance. Styling evolved in 1954, as the flat-faced radiator gave way to a domed vertical-bar grille. Also that year came a more potent engine option, the 95-hp version developed for Standard-Triumph's own sporting TRs. This was the Plus 4's only engine by 1959, when wider bodies with faired-in headlamps appeared, along with front disc brakes.

The Plus 4 was withdrawn after 1969, but returned in the mid '80s for Britain and Europe with a Fiat twin cam engine and revised interior. In 1988 Morgan switched over to the Rover Twin M16 engine and then to the Rover T16 Twin Cam engine, giving very lively performance. The Plus Four continued in this form until 2000 when it was withdrawn from sale again until 2004 when it was reintroduced with the Ford duratec engine.

Hire our lively Rover Twin Cam engined Morgan and experience the fun of this legendary marque that has retained its magic for nearly a century.   back to our Morgan for hire in Yorkshire 

Reflections Classic car hire - Yorkshire