Morgan Marks 25 Years of BMW Engines, From Aero 8 to Supersport

Morgan is marking 25 years because it started becoming BMW engines to its automobiles — a relationship that began with the Aero 8 in 2000 and now sits on the heart of the corporate’s four-wheeled lineup. To place a highlight on the milestone, Morgan has gathered 14 BMW-powered automobiles from the previous quarter-century and introduced them collectively for a single show. The thought is straightforward: present the arc of Morgan’s fashionable period in a single place, from early V8 Aero fashions by way of the model’s present turbocharged four- and six-cylinder vary.

From the Aero 8 to the top of Morgan’s BMW V8 period

The partnership story begins with the unique Aero 8, unveiled in 2000 with BMW’s 4.4-liter M62 V8. For Morgan, that engine did greater than add energy. It gave the automobile fashionable day-to-day manners and sturdiness — the stuff that issues whenever you’re constructing a low-volume sports activities automobile with conventional building strategies.

Morgan then moved into BMW’s N62 V8 household, utilizing a 4.4-liter model in Aero 8 Collection 2 and Collection 3 fashions, and within the distinctive AeroMax. The anniversary show additionally consists of what Morgan calls the ultimate chapter of its V8 story: the 4.8-liter BMW N62 utilized in later Aero fashions and the Plus 8.

Morgan says the final core-production Plus 8 constructed at its Pickersleigh Highway facility was accomplished in 2018. The V8 period didn’t absolutely finish there, although. The corporate says it later capped the story with a run of 9 motorsport-inspired Plus 8 GTRs in 2021, and that six of these 9 automobiles are included within the anniversary group.

For BMW readers, these engine codes are acquainted, however the greater level is how lengthy Morgan stayed with naturally aspirated V8 energy in contrast with the broader market.

2019 was the pivot: B58 turbo energy and a brand new Morgan platform

Morgan frames 2019 because the turning level. That’s when the corporate launched the Plus Six with BMW’s 3.0-liter B58 TwinPower Turbo inline-six — and Morgan notes two milestones that got here with it. The B58 was the primary inline-six fitted to a Morgan, and the primary turbocharged engine the corporate had ever used.

The larger change, although, wasn’t solely the transfer to turbocharging. Morgan launched the B58 alongside its all-new CX platform, designed and engineered in-house. Morgan claims the CX platform delivers twice the torsional stiffness of its earlier aluminum structure whereas remaining below 100 kilograms.

The B58 additionally exhibits up in Morgan’s more moderen, limited-run initiatives. The corporate says it powers Midsummer, a coachbuilt barchetta revealed in Could 2024 and created with Pininfarina. This was an uncovered cockpit framed with teak and a sculptural physique, with manufacturing restricted to 50 automobiles. The ultimate items at the moment are in manufacturing at Pickersleigh Highway, with completion anticipated in early 2026.

Plus 4, the B48, and the Return to the U.S.

Morgan’s subsequent step was the Plus 4, launched in 2020 with BMW’s 2.0-liter turbo four-cylinder from the B48 household. Morgan positions it as the newest in an extended line of four-cylinder Plus 4 powertrains, however the extra attention-grabbing improvement is what that engine helped unlock in 2025: a return to the U.S. The corporate says the Plus 4 is homologated below the reproduction automobile rule of the FAST Act, which permits low-volume producers to recreate a mannequin bought within the U.S. greater than 25 years in the past.

That’s solely a part of the regulatory story. Morgan additionally says it labored with BMW to certify an engine package deal compliant with SPMV rules for CARB states. That package deal facilities across the BMW B46which Morgan describes as a SULEV-compliant model of the two.0-liter turbo four-cylinder utilized in different markets.

Supersport: The New Flagship Stays with BMW energy

Morgan’s latest flagship is Supersport, revealed in March 2025. The corporate says it introduces a brand new design language — a extra modern interpretation of the Morgan silhouette — whereas staying with BMW energy: the three.0-liter B58 inline-six. Supersport additionally debuts what Morgan calls the developed CXV platform.

Motorsport and Morgan

Two of the 14 automobiles within the show concentrate on racing. BMW engines powered the early Aero 8 GT racing program, together with entries on the 24 Hours of Le Mans and campaigns within the FIA GT3 European Championship. Representing that period is a 2004 Aero 8 LMGT Le Mans entrant. Alongside it’s a 2020 Plus 4 race automobile run in partnership with the College of Wolverhampton’s Faculty of Engineering and racing staff.

Morgan says BMW has provided virtually 5,000 engines for set up at Pickersleigh Highway over the past 25 years and calls itself BMW’s longest-standing OEM engine companion.

(Photographs offered by Morgan Media Web site)