Apart from a hiatus during World War II, the Morgan 4/4 has been in continuous production since its debut in 1936. The 4/4 was Morgan’s first car with four wheels, the name indicating that the model has four wheels and four cylinders. It is redolent of classic British motoring, and still has an ardent following.
This car is a Series II. The model was introduced in 1955 and was virtually a new car, with a chassis based on the one used in the Morgan Plus 4. It has the traditional independent front suspension using sliding pillars and coil springs and was fitted with a rigid axle and semi-elliptic leaf springs at the rear. The Series 2 also has a Ford three-speed gearbox, which this one seems to have lost along the way.
“Electrogenic transmogrified my 1957 Morgan Series II 4/4, bringing new life to my geriatric classic. The ease with which my electrified Morgan accelerates to 70 in top gear is amazing and puts a smile of surprise on my fellow Morganeer’s faces – and wonderment to BMW drivers as they see me cruise silently by.”
Electric Morgan conversion options
The two conversion options fit most Morgans, with the change in steering column in the later models giving more room for batteries. Space is still tight though…
Low Voltage with manual gearbox
Hyper9 electric motor bolted directly onto the original gearbox and driving the rear wheels using a clutch and all the gears – real classic driving. This comes in two versions: 26kWh at 110V, or 36kWh at 144V. In a Morgan you can expect about 4 miles/kWh.
High voltage with fixed reduction drive
TorqX-310 350V electric motor with 2:1 fixed reduction box driving the prop shaft. 21 or 42kWh battery options and CCS rapid charging. No gear changes required, just smooth “automatic” power.
What this customer wanted
This venerable vehicle had brought all of the customer’s children home from the maternity ward a generation ago and needed a new lease of life, transforming it into the only electric Morgan in the world! This Morgan 4/4 is driven by a single Hyper9 at 144V driving the gearbox through a lightweight flywheel for responsiveness. It has 36kWh of batteries giving about 140 miles range and a 15kW multi-phase AC charge system which will recharge it in 2.4 hours on a 22kW charger.
| Petrol Engine | Electric Motor | |
| Power: | 27kW @ 4,500rpm | 80kW @ 4,000rpm |
| Torque: | 72Nm @ 2,500rpm | 235Nm @ 0rpm |
| 0-60: | 27 seconds | 9.5 seconds |
| Top Speed: | 75mph | 90mph |
| Fuel: | Petrol | Electricity |
| Cost Per Mile: | 16p | 3.0p |
| CO2 Per Mile: | 0.3kg | 0kg |
