CAT FIGHT
Morgan history can be a confusing subject but two things are generally understood: the engine in the nose of a Morgan can be from any of half a dozen makers but the basic design of ash framed body on steel chassis hasn’t changed since… well, ever.
Until this year that is, when the final steel-chassised Morgan rolled out of the Malvern factory. Its replacement is still traditionally bodied but the car sits on a modern aluminium chassis which seems like a perfect way to update the underpinnings of the retro roadster without changing the style which is its unique selling point.
It’s amazing Morgan took this long to combine the Thirties style and a modern concept… except it wasn’t the first. That honour goes to the tiny British firm of Panther, better known for the outlandish six-wheeler Panther Six and the adventurous but ultimately doomed mid-engined Solo. The Kallista – itself an evolution of the fibreglassbodied Lima – was an aluminiumbodied roadster on a steel chassis and was the biggest-selling model in Panther’s history.
Despite that, it’s
