Morgan Plus Four gets ready for serious off-roading

The rally car conversion of the Morgan Plus Four is every bit as iconic as the Porsche 911 Safari and the Nissan GT-R, and the British automaker has a serious background to back it up: even 110 years in the past, off-roading Morgans won rallies by the dozen.

The new car pictured here is called the Morgan Plus Four CX-T. It was co-designed with Rally Raid UK, a renowned builder of Dakar Rally racers. Additions included a safety cage, all-terrain tires, racing-grade coil-over springs, underbody protection, and travelling gear.

The suspension benefits from new springs, shocks and Plus Six arms complete with special spacers. As a result, the Plus Four has 230 mm (9 inches) of ground clearance and a wider-than-usual track. The wheel arches have also been reconfigured to accommodate the larger tires.

Power is still provided by the standard 2.0-liter BMW B48 turbo-four rated at 258 PS (254 hp / 190 kW) and 350 Nm (258 lb-ft) of torque. A six-speed manual transmission delivers the momentum to a BMW electronic differential lock in the back. The diff lock can operate in multiple modes: you can switch it off on the highway, set to 45% by switching to All-Terrain Mode, or set to 100% in a mode called All-Terrain Extreme.

Eight such cars will be built this year and sold from £170,000 each.