Morgan 4/4 Roadster, 1948
Morgan Roadster
Morgan Roadster•
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Chassis No.: 17915
Auction: Kissimmee 2020
Auction date: January 12, 2020
Lot No.: T175
$14,300 | Sold
- Exterior: Green
- Interior: Black
- Body: Roadster
- The vehicles from the Samuel Vaughan have not been driven in many years
- 1 of 249 produced between 1946-1950
- Right hand drive
- 1267cc inline 4-cylinder engine
- Moss 4-speed manual gearbox
- Front coil spring suspension
- Green with Black interior
- Smiths instruments
- Rear-mounted spare
- Dunlop tires
- Slotted wheels with bright centers
- VIN ANNOUNCEMENT
To describe the Morgan Motor Company as traditional is a bit like saying the pyramids of Giza are a little bit old, for to this day, the small British firm still handcrafts the latest version of the model it introduced back in 1936. The 4/4 has been in production for more than 80 years, and is still traditionally coachbuilt over an ash frame. From its foundation by H.F.S. Morgan in 1910, the company’s production was devoted exclusively to three-wheel cyclecars. That all changed in 1936 with the introduction of the 4/4, so named on account of having four wheels and four cylinders.
Like the MGs of the time, the new Morgan was aimed at a breed of sporting motorist who valued agile handling and outright driving enjoyment over luxury appointments. And though powered only by an 1122cc engine, the lightweight Morgan 4/4 was capable of close to 70 MPH. Indeed, at the 1938 Le Mans 24-hour race, Prudence Fawcett drove a 4/4 to 13th overall and second in class. Initially produced as a two-seater, four-seater and drophead coupe versions were soon added, and when production resumed following World War II, the 4/4 now came with a more powerful 1267cc/40 HP overhead-valve engine supplied by Standard that made the Morgan even more exciting.
Production of the flat-radiator first-series 4/4 ceased in 1950 with a production total around 1800. But this 1948 two-seater 4/4 is somewhat more select. The postwar two-seat roadster is, without doubt, the driver’s choice among the “flat-rad” 4/4s. It’s lighter than the four-seater or drophead, and the 1267cc engine gives it extra power over the prewar 4/4s. It’s also rather rare, as only 249 of the 1267cc two-seaters were built from 1946 to 1950, and less than half a dozen were delivered new to the U.S. This hand-built 1948 two-seater is simply the very quintessence of the Morgan 4/4 and hugely more distinctive than the mass-produced MG TC Midget which ran to 10,000 units.
