Midsummer is a celebration of coachbuilding by two of the longest-established coachbuilders in the world. Created in recognition of the heyday of European barchetta designs, this special – limited to just 50 examples – represents the shared vision of Morgan and Pininfarina, who have collaborated to reinterpret and celebrate the timeless Morgan silhouette.
Informed by craft
Midsummer takes Morgan’s unique blend of time-honoured craftsmanship and appropriate modern technology to even greater heights. Not just within the vehicle itself, but in the way it has been engineered and the methods which will produce every one of the 50 examples.
As a unique celebration of the coachbuilding heritage of both Morgan and Pininfarina, Midsummer exhibits the skill of Morgan’s craftspeople more than any previous model.
A homage to wood
Inspired by marine applications, beautifully sculpted wooden structures surround the cabin and create a shoulder line. Hand formed using high-quality and durable teak, hundreds of individual layers of wood are delicately laminated together to complete each section. Selected with meticulous attention-to-detail, each layer of teak is no more than 0.6mm thick.
Each vehicle will feature nine individually crafted teak sections, taking more than 30 hours to skilfully create, and utilising 83m2 of sustainably sourced teak. Most notable are the dashboard tops, which feature 126 layers of teak each, and the door top sections which feature 120 layers each. Using multiple layers as opposed to a single piece of wood, adds strength and durability, necessary for exposed elements.
Meticulous Metalwork
Throughout the development of Midsummer, Morgan’s master craftsmen – often alongside their production line responsibilities – worked in lockstep with the company’s engineering teams. Every exterior body panel on the car is unique to Midsummer, with the design and engineering of each area largely influenced by our metalworkers innate understanding of hand-forming aluminium. Working in this manner is unique to Morgan.
The number of hand-formed elements on Midsummer is higher than other Morgan models and features greater complexity. From the subtly crowned bonnet and rear through to details like the reimagined bonnet louvres and stainless steel lower sills there is over 250 hours of hand-beaten metalwork in every Midsummer, meaning each vehicle is a true celebration of craft and coachbuilding.
“Midsummer demonstrates the flexibility of the Morgan silhouette, it is striking yet unmistakably a Morgan, and looks to establish design foundations to build upon for future Morgan models.”
Jonathan Wells, Chief Design Officer, Morgan Motor Company
“Midsummer” – the name
The inspiration behind the name Midsummer is two-fold. Most prominently, the term Midsummer indicates the height of the summer, a celebration of the season which provides optimal weather conditions to experience an open-top barchetta. Observing the mid-point of the season is a practice that dates to the neolithic era, a time in the calendar providing the central point to which an abundance of traditions have emerged.
As ancient as the solstice tradition is its geographical namesake, Midsummer Hill, which forms part of the Malvern Hills – a sprawling hill range that is woven into the very fabric of Morgan. It is from the summits of these hills that – looking in a westward direction – you can see the hamlet of Moreton Jeffries, birthplace of HFS Morgan in 1881. Looking east is Malvern College, where the first Morgan car was invented. And of course, Pickersleigh Road, the historic home of Morgan since 1914.
