Benjamin M. Monroe Blog: Morgan builds its last BMW V8-powered cars

Friday, December 21, 2018

Morgan builds its last BMW V8-powered cars

BMW is one of the few German brands that has provided its engines for some other small brands. AMG is another one, having lent engines to Pagani and now Aston Martin. But there have been some great BMW engines in other cars as well, such as the Wiesmanns and the McLaren F1, the latter of which having quite possibly the best road-car engine of all time. One of the other brands BMW sells engines to is Morgan, the small British sports car maker, who has been using BMW V8s for years now.

Unfortunately, Morgan is going to be killing off the V8 in favor of an entirely new powertrain, something more modern, for its upcoming sports car.

Currently, Morgan uses the BMW N62 V8 for its Aero 8 and Plus 8 models. You might recognize the N62 V8 from cars like the E63 BMW 650i and E60 550i. It’s a 4.8 liter naturally-aspirated V8 and it makes a sensational noise.

This new video from Morgan is a bit of a love letter to both the V8-powered cars and the engine itself. It’s a great video that talks about some of the history of Morgan’s V8 cars and the BMW engine itself, which Morgan test drive Keith Dalley claims was a great engine for Morgan over the years.

Times change, though, and Morgan needs to move on from the V8. For its new sports car, which will use an aluminum-bonded chassis, not the ash wood chassis of many past Morgans, a new unnamed powertrain will be used. While we don’t know what sort of engine will be used in this new sports car, it’s entirely possible that it’s another BMW engine. The two brands have worked so well in the past that it would only make sense to continue the partnership.

At the end of the video, we get to hear a little bit of this new car’s exhaust. It sort of sounds like a BMW I6, similar to what we’ve heard from the BMW M2 Competition. Though, we don’t think it will be the M2 Comp’s S55 engine, it’s entirely possible that it could be a variant of BMW’s B58 engine. The turbocharged inline-six would be a perfect engine for a Morgan sports car. That long hood would easily fit an inline-six and inline engines are a bit more classic and traditional than V8s, which works well with Morgan’s old-school style and craftsmanship.

We don’t know what sort of engine will replace the BMW V8 but we’re very curious. The old V8 will be tough to replace but we’re sure whatever it is, it will be great.