Morgan Completes 50 Midsummers as Bespoke Craft Shapes Its Next Chapter

Morgan’s Midsummer has done more than fill 50 bespoke orders. The limited run has put English-wheel metalwork back into daily use, brought visible woodwork to the car’s exterior and helped shape a more structured plan for future specials. The final example is now complete, closing a project that began with the model’s reveal in May 2024.

Created with Pininfarina, the Midsummer is a speedster and another small-run project from the cottage-industry British maker. Its individual specification made the customer process unusually personal: buyers could choose paint inspired by a watch face, interior materials to complement furnishings at home, or intricate marquetry for the woodwork.

Chief Design Officer Jonathan Wells and the design team worked directly with all 50 customers. At the time, Morgan had no concierge group or dedicated color, materials and finishes specialist; designers handled the discussions themselves, then worked with production teams and craftspeople to turn each request into a finished car.

Wells describes the process as rewarding, though demanding. He says he gave too many customers his personal phone number and spent the following two years fielding messages from Midsummer owners on WhatsApp. For a carmaker whose appeal rests partly on hand-built character, that direct contact gave buyers an unusually close role in the design.

Some requests called for more than a paint sample. To match one customer’s watch, the team digitally scanned it, mixed a color and sent samples to the Middle East so the buyer could inspect them in sunlight. Another customer wanted a car coordinated with his helicopter. Others drew on family colors or vehicles already in their collections.

One owner’s inspiration came from an oak tree on his property, an important feature of his family’s land. Morgan depicted it on the console using Japanese marquetry, layering veneers of different colors to create a portrait in wood. That kind of request places the Midsummer closer to commissioned craft than a conventional trim-and-color options list.

Traditional skills back in use

The project also gave Morgan a reason to strengthen skills that can be difficult to retain. Wells points to sheet-metal work, panel beating, upholstery and cabinet making as key parts of the build. He stresses the distinction between cabinet making and general carpentry: the work involves precise joints and finishing suited to the car’s wood components.

Morgan has long used English ash in the structure beneath its bodywork. The Midsummer takes that material into view, making carefully finished wood a visible part of the car. Because some of these components also contribute to the structure, the company has invested in laminated wood that can be arranged for both appearance and strength.

English wheels have been at the factory for years, Wells says, but were often idle or lightly used. During the Midsummer build, workers rolled aluminum through them day and night. The change captures a practical benefit of a labor-intensive special: customer-funded work can keep specialist equipment and skilled hands active, while allowing Morgan to bring more processes in-house.

The Midsummer also marked a first for Morgan in Malvern: the car was designed in a virtual reality environment. That digital method sat alongside the hand finishing, rather than replacing it, and formed part of the project’s mix of new tools and established workshop practices.

A more deliberate role for specials

Morgan has previously built one-offs and small batches when opportunities arose. Wells says the company now sees limited series as a recurring part of a six-to-eight-year strategy, while keeping core production models central. The intended relationship runs both ways: specials can fund or preview new ideas, while production cars provide the platforms on which later specials can be developed.

The Midsummer and the Supersport offer an early example. Morgan internally called the Supersport Project 26 and the Midsummer Project 27, although the latter appeared first. Its wing proportions, along with the jigs, fixtures and tools needed to make them, helped prepare the way for the production model.

The Supersport also introduced the CX-V platform, which Wells describes as Morgan’s most capable underpinning to date. Its design allows the company to consider alternative body styles as extensions of the existing architecture. In Morgan’s approach, a special can introduce design or manufacturing ideas, and the core model can carry those developments into broader production.

Wells suggests future specials could place greater emphasis on performance or take Morgan in a surprising design direction. He points to the variety of vehicles the company has produced during his 15 years there, including off-roaders, three-wheelers, coupes, beach buggies and roadsters. He says the next step in the company’s evolution should appear later this year. For buyers, the Midsummer’s lasting significance may be the model’s role as both a highly personal car and a working test bed for Morgan’s next production ideas.

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