Born: 1936 Died: Still going strong
Keeping a car company going with one basic model for 70 years is probably a unique achievement, but that's just what the Morgan Motor Company were set to do when they built their first four-wheel car, the 4/4.
The other 'four' related to the four-cylinder engine, another new departure for the maker at the time; all previous engines had been two-cylinder units. The first cars were two-seaters, and the power came from 34hp 1122cc Coventry Climax engine. In 1937, the 4/4 range was expanded to include a four-seater and a year later came a drophead coupé.
The start of the second World War caused an interruption in the car's production as the company switched to war work, but 4/4s began rolling out of the factory again in 1946. This time the power was provided by an engine from Standard, the Special, of 1256cc capacity. Power was higher too, at almost 39hp.
The end of production of the Special engine in 1949 meant that Morgan had to introduce the 1.8-litre engine from the Vanguard. This prompted a new designation of the 4/4 which was to become synonymous with the Morgan name, the 'Plus Four'. A larger 2-litre Vanguard engine was subsequently used, with 68hp available.
The power source switched to Triumph in 1954 when the 90hp 1991cc engine from the Triumph TR2 was put under the bonnet. Among other improvements, this allowed the car to "do the ton" or reach 100 mph.
Two years later the 100hp TR3 engine came along.
In the meantime, a range of less powerful cars had come out of the factory, which were to many motorheads the continuation of the 'true' 4/4; the Series II with a 36hp Ford 100E engine appeared in 1955, and in 1960 came the Series III with the 997cc Ford 105E engine and 30hp.
Three years later, a major upshift in power from the Ford Classic 109E engine with 62hp provided 4/4 aficionados with a very fast car which was relatively inexpensive, but in 1963 even this was superseded by the Series V and its Ford Cortine 116E engine.
The Plus series continued with a Triumph-powered Plus 4 Plus in 1963, which wasn't very successful. What was to be a (literally) howling success was the Plus 8, which had a Rover V8 squeezed under its front and was launched in 1968.
Meantime the 'lesser' 4/4s moved on to the 1600 introduced in the same year with a Ford Kent engine in 70hp and 96hp variants.
This power unit was retained through the 70s until in 1981 the company added Fiat's 1584cc twin-cam engine as an option.
New 1597cc Ford engines came along in 1982, and nine years later fuel injection.
This year, to celebrate its 70th anniversary of continuous production of the 4/4 (apart from the war hiatus), Morgan is producing an Anniversary edition, powered by a 125hp 1798cc engine. It is a deserved celebration of a company which found its original niche and just kept on going within it, straying only occasionally into the realms of the esoteric.
It will do that again at the Geneva Motor Show next month when it unveils a new four-seater, with 145hp 2-litre and 223hp 3-litre engine. But that will be for another story.