The Morgan Plus Six looks little different to the 1955 Morgan Plus 4, and that’s the allure of the retro-laced roadsters. All photos: Gautam Sharma
The Morgan Plus Six looks little different to the 1955 Morgan Plus 4, and that’s the allure of the retro-laced roadsters. All photos: Gautam Sharma
Although the Plus Six looks little changed from its seven-decade old ancestor the vehicle is underpinned by modern aluminium architecture
Although the Plus Six looks little changed from its seven-decade old ancestor the vehicle is underpinned by modern aluminium architecture
Virtually everything about driving the Plus Six is a throwback to a bygone era
Virtually everything about driving the Plus Six is a throwback to a bygone era
The first thing you need to get used to is having such an expansive bonnet stretched out in front of the windscreen as the seats are perched virtually over the rear axle
The first thing you need to get used to is having such an expansive bonnet stretched out in front of the windscreen as the seats are perched virtually over the rear axle
The Plus Six is ultralight and has a low centre of gravity
The Plus Six is ultralight and has a low centre of gravity
The headlamp pods and raised wheel arches are visible from the driver’s seat, making it easy to accurately place the car on the road
The headlamp pods and raised wheel arches are visible from the driver’s seat, making it easy to accurately place the car on the road
There’s no electronic safety net to rescue you if you get it all wrong
There’s no electronic safety net to rescue you if you get it all wrong
The charismatic Morgan is fun to drive on the right roads
The charismatic Morgan is fun to drive on the right roads
Tap into the grunt of the BMW-sourced turbo motor and you instantly glean this is a genuinely fast car
Tap into the grunt of the BMW-sourced turbo motor and you instantly glean this is a genuinely fast car
The interior is luxurious but the car is difficult to clamber in and out of
The interior is luxurious but the car is difficult to clamber in and out of

Lifestyle

Motoring

Road test: Morgan Plus Six is fun to drive, but on the right roads

At nearly half a million dirhams, retro-laced roadster is meant for only a select few

Gautam Sharma

December 28, 2023

  • English
  • Arabic

Creating ‘restomods’ is an automotive phenomenon that is fast becoming a craze.

This is a trend whereby modern mechanicals are installed – by specialist garages or savvy DIY mechanics – into an old classic, yielding a car that’s better to drive than the original ever was.

But what if you could buy a brand-new restomod, straight off the showroom floor, that is backed by a 30-month factory warranty? This is essentially what you get in a Morgan.

Founded in 1909, the ultra-niche British sportscar maker has clung to its original recipe more closely than arguably any other marque on the planet. It is almost as though time has stood still for the brand.

The Morgan Plus Six we are reviewing here looks little different to a 1955 Morgan Plus 4, and that is the allure of the retro-laced roadster in an era when virtually all new vehicle offerings appear to be electronics-laden, identikit clones of each other.

Morgan Plus Six aluminium bodywork is still cloaked over an ash wood frame, in keeping with the brand's traditional construction formula. Photo: Gautam Sharma
Morgan Plus Six aluminium bodywork is still cloaked over an ash wood frame, in keeping with the brand's traditional construction formula. Photo: Gautam Sharma

Although the Plus Six looks little changed from its seven-decade old ancestor, things are not quite as they seem, as the vehicle is underpinned by a modern aluminium architecture introduced in 2019. The drivetrain is virtually identical to a new BMW Z4. That said, the aluminium bodywork is still cloaked over an ash wood frame, in keeping with Morgan’s traditional construction formula.

Propulsion for the Plus Six is provided by BMW’s lovely B58 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbo engine mated to an eight-speed ZF automatic, which slingshots the 1,075kg (minus fluids) Morgan from zero to 100 kph in just 4.2 seconds and on to a top speed of 267 kph … should you have access to a racetrack.

Adding to adrenaline levels, the Plus Six makes do without traction control and stability control – features we nowadays take for granted – so it is all down to the driver to ensure the car does not end up wrapped around a tree or other object.

Inside the Morgan Plus Six, which has a low centre of gravity and is awkward to clamber in and out of. Photo: Gautam Sharma
Inside the Morgan Plus Six, which has a low centre of gravity and is awkward to clamber in and out of. Photo: Gautam Sharma

Virtually everything about driving the Plus Six is a throwback to a bygone era. The push-button door handle reminds me of the archaic Hindustan Ambassador in which I learnt how to drive, while the window opening mechanism (actually, there’s no mechanism) is plain laughable. Using a little knob integrated into it, the window pane slides horizontally. At least in theory. The pane was jammed slightly open in our test car, so there was no way to seal it shut or open it fully. That is old-school British quality control for you.

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Once under way, the first thing you need to get used to is having such an expansive bonnet stretched out in front of the windscreen as the seats are perched virtually over the rear axle. Fortunately, the headlamp pods and raised wheel arches are visible from the driver’s seat, making it easy to accurately place the car on the road. On the minus side, the tiny door mirrors are useless, so lane-changes are largely an exercise in guesswork.

Tap into the grunt of the BMW-sourced turbo motor and you instantly discover that this is a genuinely fast car. It is also notable is that the B58 engine sounds far better in the Morgan than in any BMW offering. It rises from a deep bassy rumble to a cultured rasp as you work through the rev range.

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The Plus Six is ultralight and has a low centre of gravity, which is favourable for its dynamics as there is minimal inertia for the chassis and brakes to overcome. The Morgan feels taut and agile up to a point, but there is a slight disconnect between car and driver, and it is unsettled by mid-corner bumps, so you may not be inclined to push it to the ragged edge. As mentioned earlier, there is no electronic safety net to rescue you if you get it all wrong.

The charismatic Morgan is fun to drive on the right roads and it elicited more thumbs-ups and approving stares from other motorists and bystanders than any supercar I’ve driven over the years. On the flip side, it is noisy, harsh-riding and awkward to clamber in and out of, so only masochists will entertain the thought of using it as a daily driver. Build quality is also patchy, so parting with half a million dirhams for the Plus Six will make sense to only a select few.

UPI facts

More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions

Company%20profile
%3Cp%3EName%3A%20Tabby%3Cbr%3EFounded%3A%20August%202019%3B%20platform%20went%20live%20in%20February%202020%3Cbr%3EFounder%2FCEO%3A%20Hosam%20Arab%2C%20co-founder%3A%20Daniil%20Barkalov%3Cbr%3EBased%3A%20Dubai%2C%20UAE%3Cbr%3ESector%3A%20Payments%3Cbr%3ESize%3A%2040-50%20employees%3Cbr%3EStage%3A%20Series%20A%3Cbr%3EInvestors%3A%20Arbor%20Ventures%2C%20Mubadala%20Capital%2C%20Wamda%20Capital%2C%20STV%2C%20Raed%20Ventures%2C%20Global%20Founders%20Capital%2C%20JIMCO%2C%20Global%20Ventures%2C%20Venture%20Souq%2C%20Outliers%20VC%2C%20MSA%20Capital%2C%20HOF%20and%20AB%20Accelerator.%3Cbr%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
How much do leading UAE’s UK curriculum schools charge for Year 6?
  1. Nord Anglia International School (Dubai) – Dh85,032
  2. Kings School Al Barsha (Dubai) – Dh71,905
  3. Brighton College Abu Dhabi - Dh68,560
  4. Jumeirah English Speaking School (Dubai) – Dh59,728
  5. Gems Wellington International School – Dubai Branch – Dh58,488
  6. The British School Al Khubairat (Abu Dhabi) - Dh54,170
  7. Dubai English Speaking School – Dh51,269

*Annual tuition fees covering the 2024/2025 academic year

Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
  • Priority access to new homes from participating developers
  • Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
  • Flexible payment plans from developers
  • Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
  • DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
Transgender report
The specs
  • Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
  • Power: 640hp
  • Torque: 760nm
  • On sale: 2026
  • Price: Not announced yet
Zayed Sustainability Prize
Neighbourhood Watch

Russia's Muslim Heartlands

Dominic Rubin, Oxford

The Sand Castle

Director: Matty Brown

Stars: Nadine Labaki, Ziad Bakri, Zain Al Rafeea, Riman Al Rafeea

Rating: 2.5/5

Overall head-to-head

Federer 6-1 Cilic

Head-to-head at Wimbledon

Federer 1-0 Cilic

Grand Slams titles

Federer 18-1 Cilic

Best Wimbledon performance

Federer: Winner (2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012)
Cilic: Final (2017*)

RESULT

Arsenal 0 Chelsea 3
Chelsea: Willian (40'), Batshuayi (42', 49')

The%20Last%20White%20Man
%3Cp%3EAuthor%3A%20Mohsin%20Hamid%C2%A0%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E192%20pages%C2%A0%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EPublished%20by%3A%20Hamish%20Hamilton%20(UK)%2C%20Riverhead%20Books%20(US)%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3ERelease%20date%3A%20out%20now%20in%20the%20US%2C%20August%2011%20(UK)%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
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%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EEngine%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3Ethree%20three%20212.7kWh%20motors%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPower%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%201%2C000bhp%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETorque%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E15%2C600Nm%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ERange%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20530km%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPrice%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Dh500%2C000%2B%20est%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EOn%20sale%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3Eearly%202023%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
more from Janine di Giovanni
Common OCD symptoms and how they manifest

Checking: the obsession or thoughts focus on some harm coming from things not being as they should, which usually centre around the theme of safety. For example, the obsession is “the building will burn down”, therefore the compulsion is checking that the oven is switched off.

Contamination: the obsession is focused on the presence of germs, dirt or harmful bacteria and how this will impact the person and/or their loved ones. For example, the obsession is “the floor is dirty; me and my family will get sick and die”, the compulsion is repetitive cleaning.

Orderliness: the obsession is a fear of sitting with uncomfortable feelings, or to prevent harm coming to oneself or others. Objectively there appears to be no logical link between the obsession and compulsion. For example,” I won’t feel right if the jars aren’t lined up” or “harm will come to my family if I don’t line up all the jars”, so the compulsion is therefore lining up the jars.

Intrusive thoughts: the intrusive thought is usually highly distressing and repetitive. Common examples may include thoughts of perpetrating violence towards others, harming others, or questions over one’s character or deeds, usually in conflict with the person’s true values. An example would be: “I think I might hurt my family”, which in turn leads to the compulsion of avoiding social gatherings.

Hoarding: the intrusive thought is the overvaluing of objects or possessions, while the compulsion is stashing or hoarding these items and refusing to let them go. For example, “this newspaper may come in useful one day”, therefore, the compulsion is hoarding newspapers instead of discarding them the next day.

Source: Dr Robert Chandler, clinical psychologist at Lighthouse Arabia

The specs

Engine: 4.0-litre V8 twin-turbocharged and three electric motors

Power: Combined output 920hp

Torque: 730Nm at 4,000-7,000rpm

Transmission: 8-speed dual-clutch automatic

Fuel consumption: 11.2L/100km

On sale: Now, deliveries expected later in 2025

Price: expected to start at Dh1,432,000

What the law says

Micro-retirement is not a recognised concept or employment status under Federal Decree Law No. 33 of 2021 on the Regulation of Labour Relations (as amended) (UAE Labour Law). As such, it reflects a voluntary work-life balance practice, rather than a recognised legal employment category, according to Dilini Loku, senior associate for law firm Gateley Middle East.

“Some companies may offer formal sabbatical policies or career break programmes; however, beyond such arrangements, there is no automatic right or statutory entitlement to extended breaks,” she explains.

“Any leave taken beyond statutory entitlements, such as annual leave, is typically regarded as unpaid leave in accordance with Article 33 of the UAE Labour Law. While employees may legally take unpaid leave, such requests are subject to the employer’s discretion and require approval.”

If an employee resigns to pursue micro-retirement, the employment contract is terminated, and the employer is under no legal obligation to rehire the employee in the future unless specific contractual agreements are in place (such as return-to-work arrangements), which are generally uncommon, Ms Loku adds.

Major honours

ARSENAL

  • FA Cup - 2005

BARCELONA

  • La Liga - 2013
  • Copa del Rey - 2012
  • Fifa Club World Cup - 2011

CHELSEA

  • Premier League - 2015, 2017
  • FA Cup - 2018
  • League Cup - 2015

SPAIN

  • World Cup - 2010
  • European Championship - 2008, 2012
Dubai Bling season three

Cast: Loujain Adada, Zeina Khoury, Farhana Bodi, Ebraheem Al Samadi, Mona Kattan, and couples Safa & Fahad Siddiqui and DJ Bliss & Danya Mohammed 

Rating: 1/5

PAST 10 BRITISH GRAND PRIX WINNERS

2016 - Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes-GP)
2015 - Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes-GP)
2014 - Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes-GP)
2013 - Nico Rosberg (Mercedes-GP)
2012 - Mark Webber (Red Bull Racing)
2011 - Fernando Alonso (Ferrari)
2010 - Mark Webber (Red Bull Racing)
2009 - Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull Racing)
2008 - Lewis Hamilton (McLaren)
2007 - Kimi Raikkonen (Ferrari)

Naga
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%C2%A0%3C%2Fstrong%3EMeshal%20Al%20Jaser%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarring%3A%C2%A0%3C%2Fstrong%3EAdwa%20Bader%2C%20Yazeed%20Almajyul%2C%20Khalid%20Bin%20Shaddad%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E4%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The specs: 2018 Chevrolet Trailblazer

Price, base / as tested Dh99,000 / Dh132,000

Engine 3.6L V6

Transmission: Six-speed automatic

Power 275hp @ 6,000rpm

Torque 350Nm @ 3,700rpm

Fuel economy combined 12.2L / 100km

The biog

Name: Ayisha Abdulrahman Gareb

Age: 57

From: Kalba

Occupation: Mukrema, though she washes bodies without charge

Favourite things to do: Visiting patients at the hospital and give them the support they need.
Role model: Sheikha Fatima bint Mubarak, Chairwoman of the General Women's Union, Supreme Chairwoman of the Family Development Foundation and President of the Supreme Council for Motherhood and Childhood.

 

The burning issue

The internal combustion engine is facing a watershed moment – major manufacturer Volvo is to stop producing petroleum-powered vehicles by 2021 and countries in Europe, including the UK, have vowed to ban their sale before 2040. The National takes a look at the story of one of the most successful technologies of the last 100 years and how it has impacted life in the UAE.

Part three: an affection for classic cars lives on

Read part two: how climate change drove the race for an alternative 

Read part one: how cars came to the UAE

Tomorrow 2021
FIGHT%20CARD
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
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Updated: January 03, 2024, 7:20 AM`
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