Morgan Plus 8

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Premiered at the 1968 London Motor Show, the Plus 8 was developed by race engineer Maurice Owen and has remained a good seller to this day, with a break in production from 2004 to 2012 when it was relaunched with a new BMW 4.6 V8 in place of the original Rover 3.5 unit.

Handbuilt in familiar Morgan fashion on a strengthened version of the Plus 4 chassis with an ash frame, its swooping bodywork looked as traditional as ever but gave no clues to the new model's extraordinary performance. Weighing only 1,200kg and with some 160bhp and 190lb/ft of torque on tap, the Plus 8 immediately became Britain’s fastest-accelerating production car, sprinting to 60mph in a shade over 6 seconds with a top speed of 125mph.

Constantly improved over the years, it received the Rover LT77 5-speed all-synchromesh manual gearbox in 1977 and in 1983 gained Bosch L-Jetronic fuel-injection which raised power to 190bhp and made it quicker to 80mph than the contemporary Porsche 911 Turbo. Things got even better in 1990 when the engine grew to a 3.9-litre with added torque. Combining Vintage-era charm with Cobra-like grunt, it was in such high demand that at one point the waiting list was over six years long.

This stunning Plus 8 was delivered new to a speculator in October 1997 who had ordered it several years previously and immediately sold it on to the current owner who paid a hefty premium to jump the waiting list. Finished in lustrous British Racing Green with sparkling chrome wire wheels, it has covered less than 39,000 miles to date with many invoices to show regular upkeep over the years.

Factory options include aluminium wings, Stone leather trim, walnut dash, leather instrument panel, reclining seats, clock, cigar lighter, luggage carrier and door handles (yes, they really were an option!). It comes with a full set of weather equipment including a dark green hood, sidescreens, tonneau cover, storage bag and spare wheel cover, all in good condition. Documentation includes the original handbook, a detailed log of usage, MOT to July 2019, various old MOTs plus the aforementioned maintenance invoices.

Last serviced only 300 miles ago, this Plus 8 is one of the nicest we have seen and wears its 21 years remarkably lightly. As 2018 marks the 50th Anniversary of this wonderful old school hot rod, what better way to celebrate than by getting yourself behind the wheel of this beauty? Mick Jagger loved his Plus 8 so they must be fun!