Morgan has pulled the wraps off the Midsummer Coupe, the second chapter in its collaborative project with Italian design house Pininfarina, and arguably the most ambitious car the Malvern-based manufacturer has ever built.
The original Midsummer was a topless speedster limited to just 50 examples. Priced at well over £200,000 (approximately R4,372,000), every single one sold out almost immediately. With the final speedster having rolled out of the workshop in March this year, Morgan has now turned its attention to a fixed-roof interpretation of the same formula.
A Fixed Roof Changes Everything
The most obvious departure from both the speedster and the existing Morgan Supersport is the addition of a permanent roof. Where the Supersport offers a soft-top with an optional removable hard-top, the Midsummer Coupe takes a fundamentally different approach. Morgan describes it as being conceived with touring in mind, combining year-round usability, luggage practicality and long-distance comfort with the drama and occasion that made the original Midsummer so special. Jonathan Wells, Morgan’s Chief Design Officer, called it the most ambitious and rewarding project the company has ever undertaken.
Structural Engineering From the Ground Up
Despite sharing the CXV platform with the Supersport, the Coupe required substantial structural work to accommodate the fixed roof. Morgan and Pininfarina developed the roof, glazing and aluminium body as an integrated architecture from the outset, rather than simply grafting a roof onto an existing structure.
New billet-machined aluminium A-pillars, a new windscreen and a bonded fixed glass roof all contribute to a significantly stiffer body than the Supersport. The side windows have also been redesigned entirely: the detachable sidescreens of the Supersport have been replaced with proper drop-down windows, giving the Coupe a far more contemporary feel. All of this extra structure has added a modest amount of mass, with kerb weight up by just 2.5% over the Supersport’s 1,170 kg.
Coachbuilt Details and Bespoke Design
Beyond the structural changes, there are a number of distinctive design touches that set the Coupe apart. Polished stainless-steel panels run along the lower body, three individual air vent slats sit on the front wing, and the car rides on forged 19-inch aluminium wheels described as the most intricate wheel design Morgan has ever produced.
The example Morgan has revealed publicly is referred to internally as the “artists’ proof”, serving as a reference point for design, engineering and craftsmanship standards. Its cabin draws heavily from maritime aesthetics, with teak wood playing a central role. Future customer commissions will have the flexibility to explore different timber finishes, as well as personalised colour choices and upholstery.
BMW Power Under the Bonnet
The drivetrain is carried over from the Supersport 400, which means a turbocharged BMW straight-six sending 402 bhp (300 kW) and 500 Nm (369 lb-ft) of torque to the rear wheels through an eight-speed automatic gearbox. It is a proven combination, and given the Coupe’s grand touring brief, the smooth delivery of the automatic suits the character of the car well.
Production Limited to Just 10 Units
Pricing has not been disclosed, though given the speedster’s six-figure starting point, prospective buyers should expect to part with a substantial sum. What Morgan has confirmed is that production will be capped at just 10 examples, making the Midsummer Coupe five times rarer than the speedster that preceded it.
