1964 Morgan Plus 4 Super Sports

Registration No: JMD 111B
Chassis No: 5707
MOT: Exempt

• One of just 104 examples made (ninety-six of which were two-seaters)
• Later, sleeker 'low line' bodywork (more in keeping with the Le Mans class winner)
• Offered from almost 56 years of single enthusiast ownership
• Displaying a high degree of originality, including correct Weber 42DCOE carburettors and unrestored interior

SALE ROOM NOTICE: Please note that we only have a copy of the V5C on file, so prospective purchasers may new to apply for a new one in the event of a succesful purchase. It should also be noted that the engine number does not match the engine number stated on the green logbook. The vendor is adamant that he purchased the car with the current engine block fitted and believes it to have been exchanged during its custodianship with Lawrencetune, but is of correct specification.

Introduced in 1950, the Morgan Plus 4 belied its pre-war æsthetics with a low centre of gravity, modest kerbweight, responsive handling and torquey 2,088cc engine. The latter was supplanted by more potent, but still Standard Triumph-sourced, four-cylinder units as the decade progressed. Among those to exploit the Plus 4’s competition potential was London-born Chris Lawrence. A highly talented engineer and driver, he dominated the British Automobile Racing Club’s sub-two-litre class during the 1959 season, while the next year saw him win twenty-one of twenty-two rounds! Approached by Peter Morgan, the two devised an enhanced Super Sports derivative. Announced at the 1960 Earls Court Motor Show but not entering production until the following season, the newcomer combined a lightweight (predominantly aluminium) body with a heavily reworked engine. Homologated by the F.I.A. in 1961, the Super Sports carried Chris Lawrence to class victory at the 1962 Le Mans 24 Hours (which must have been particularly sweet given that the same organisation had previously rejected his application to run as a privateer). The model also took class victories at the Sebring 12 Hours (1962 and 1963), Spa Grand Prix (1963) and Nürburgring 1000km (1963), not to mention winning the Panama Grand Prix (1963) outright. The vast majority of the 104 Plus 4 Super Sports made were two-seaters, while a switch from ‘High Line’ to ‘Low Line’ bodywork was prompted by Lawrence’s 1962 Le Mans success.

Viewed from any of three corners, ‘JMD 111B’ could be mistaken by the untrained eye as an ordinary Morgan Plus 4. From the fourth angle, however, all immediately becomes clear upon sight of that monster of a bonnet bulge, which struggles to conceal the two huge, hungry Weber 42DCOE carburettors that were one of the hallmarks of Lawrencetune’s Plus 4 Super Sports, along with the sleeker “Low Line” rear bodywork and full aluminium panelling.

As one of only 104 Super Sports produced, of which ninety-six were the two-seater variety, ‘JMD 111B’ is really something special. Factory records indicate that it was originally Green and its specification included “Lawrencetuned engine and oil cooler. Aluminium wings, bonnet and body. Wire wheels. Nylon tyres.” It was despatched on July 23rd, 1964, to Lawrencetune Engines of Acton, London W.3, and registered the next day. While Lawrencetune went to work on it, a year passed before it was sold to Mr. Peter Hahn of Radlett, Hertfordshire. He enjoyed it for five years, before selling it to the present owner on May 13th, 1970. Considering he paid £675 for it and has been driving it with vim across the years since, we’d say he got his money’s worth! He clearly had his heart set on the car, as he was living then in High Pittington, County Durham—about 250 miles from Radlett.

Much of this early history survives with the car, including a copy of the original green logbook, a copy of Mr. Hahn’s handwritten sales receipt, and the 1970-71 tax disc. A 1973 letter from Tim Cree of the Morgan Sports Car Club indicates just how sought-after the Super Sports was even then, as he wrote: “I’m pleased to be able to record the existence of another Super-Sports as I only know of about a dozen SSs at present (I know of one or two that might be but I haven’t yet positive identification). Many people (especially Americans, if the rocker cover has ‘Lawrencetune’ on it), claim their cars are Super-Sports, but the chassis no. soon identifies the car.”

It is quite evident that the vendor has always maintained the car well, and the earliest invoice on file is from the well-known Morgan garage of Melvyn Rutter in 1988. However, it has never required any major overhaul, and the most substantial work on file was performed by the Techniques Morgan service centre circa 2018. Totalling around £5,300, it entailed a full fluid and ignition service plus greasing the suspension; cleaning the carburettors; fitting new rear wheel cylinders and brake shoes; replacing the rear springs; and painting the engine, head and appropriate ancillary fittings, as well as the rear axle and chassis “where necessary.” The superb condition of the original interior is, perhaps, the greatest testament to how well the Super Sports has been cared for over the course of its life. It has required little attention since then, though interested parties will note that it received new Avon 175/70R15 tyres in 2021, and a new Enduroline battery in 2025.

Although the vendor bought the Morgan when it was only six years old, it probably goes without saying that it has, for several decades, been treated as a hobby car, and has seen only the lightest of use over the past twenty years; fewer than 300 miles separate the 2007 odometer reading of 32,841 miles and the present one of just over 33,100. In addition to the historic documents described earlier, several invoices and a copy of the Morgan factory’s chassis records are on file.

For more information, please contact:
Lucas Gomersall
lucas.gomersall@handh.co.uk
07484 082430