One of the prettiest BMW-powered cars we’ve seen in recent years isn’t actually a BMW. The ubiquitous B58 engine is nestled underneath the long hood of Midsummer. It’s a joint effort between Morgan and Pininfarina, based on the existing Plus Six model. We can only dream of a BMW with this design and its remarkably low dry curb weight of just 1,000 kg (2,204 lbs).
The car’s elongated rear takes after Pininfarina-designed models from the early days. Thinks 1930s and 1940s. The two-seater sports car has been styled as a barchetta with dual aero screens instead of a traditional windshield. Those retro-flavored, disc-esque wheels not only look great but improve aero over the standard ones installed on the Plus Six. Each wheel of the Midsummer weighs merely 10 kg (22 lbs), or 3 kg (6.6 lbs) less than the standard wheel.
Then there’s the interior, which looks like a work of art with all that teak. Just like the hand-beaten aluminum body, the teak is hand-formed. While the exterior body takes 250 hours to finalize, the cabin’s teak necessitates over 30 hours. Hundreds of layers have been used throughout the cabin to create an exquisite interior that might make you think of Rolls-Royce craftsmanship.
Morgan doesn’t say whether there are any changes other than the new design. That tells us the turbocharged inline-six engine is carried over unchanged from the Plus Six. The 3.0-liter mill is rated at 335 hp (250 kW) and 500 Nm (369 lb-ft) in the regular model. 0 to 62 mph (100 km/h) takes 4.2 seconds and top speed is 166 mph (267 km/h). Midsummer should have similar performance, if not even better since it’s roughly 114 kg (251 lbs) lighter.
If there is one thing we don’t like about the interior, it’s ironically the BMW gear lever. It looks too modern for an otherwise vintage-styled cabin. The Plus Six uses a ZF eight-speed automatic transmission, which is likely the case with Midsummer as well.
Morgan is making only 50 units of the Pininfarina-designed barchetta-bodied beauty. Pricing hasn’t been disclosed but the car is already sold out anyway. Midsummer isn’t the only non-BMW to use this engine since it’s also found in the Toyota Supra, Ineos Grenadier, and the obscure Boldmen CR4.
Source: Morgan
