Breaking the Mould

Last month we had part one of our series about unique Morgans. This month we delve into the wider world of car design, exploring a few alternative avenues the Plus 4 Plus could have taken and the intriguing Serra Coupe…

- Douglas Hallawell

At the risk of indulging in some wishful thinking, one cannot help wondering what actually denied the Plus 4 Plus a more illustrious future, and what Peter Morgan had in mind, a comfortable GT suitable for touring on the Continent. after the le Mans race in 1962, Chris Lawrence started pondering as to how to go about creating a more streamlined Morgan sportscar racer to compensate for ToK’s speed on the straights versus the (later) Porsche 904’s. This led to a partnership between Lawrence Tune and John Sprinzel racing in 1963, resulting in the creation of the four aerodynamic, lightweight and more competitive SLRs, one of which Chris was to use at racetracks thereafter.

In the light of all this, perhaps some minor tweaking to the Plus 4 Plus, such as a few more welcome horses under the bonnet in the form of the optional 4-branch tubular Derrington manifold – instead of the standard heavy cast-iron one supplied by Triumph – and a couple of type 40 (or 42) Webers, might have made it sufficiently eligible for track use as well. Moreover, had the coupé made its debut at the London Motor show a year earlier, in 1962, it could possibly have provided Chris with an earlier and, consequently, alternative solution to the SLR.