1938 Morgan 4/4 Le Mans
In 1938 Morgan made their debut at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Instantly, the team made history. The specially-prepared 1938 Morgan 4/4 was equipped with a 1098cc Coventry Climax engine and raced by Prudence Fawcett, one of the first women to complete a race at Le Mans. On its first attempt, the Morgan and its team placed 13th overall and 2nd in its class. Though this may sound like a modest result, no Morgan had ever competed in a 24-hour endurance race of that caliber and, with nearly 30 cars not able to reach the checkered flag, just finishing Le Mans in this era was a massive achievement. This result was an enormous success for the Morgan team that laid a solid foundation for years of racing pedigree to come. To commemorate their first success at Le Mans, Morgan produced a limited number of “Le Mans Replicas.” These were hand-built in the Morgan factory to the same specification as the car raced by Ms. Fawcett. Of the seven Le Mans 4/4 replicas, six were standard two-seater roadsters, but one was special ordered as a four-seater.
1938 Order Specifications:
Four-seater (factory-built and documented one of a kind)
Black on black as original
Aluminum lightweight spoked disk wheels
Large tonneau cover
Cycle type wings
Tuned engine
7.5 to 1 compression ratio
Downdraft carburetor
Outside exhaust system
Rev counter
Sloping tail
This 1938 Morgan 4/4 #EVR 804 is of particular significance for its geneses, originality, and unique history. On July 8, 1938, just three weeks after Morgan’s debut at Le Mans, the factory received a special request for a four-seater Le Mans replica. Seven weeks later, September 15, 1938, Mr. William Mallinson Rogers took delivery of his Morgan 4/4 Le Mans in its race-ready form at Brooklands in Cheshire. What Mr. Rogers may not have known at the time was that his Moggy would be the only 4-seater 4/4 Le mans ever produced.
As the Second World War loomed on the horizon, Mr. Rogers worried that this unique car would be requisitioned for the war effort. He dismantled the vehicle in his garage then hid the result from view. Each major component of the Morgan was carefully disassembled and stored with the small bits in cardboard boxes as it would remain for nearly 50 years. It was well kept and hidden in a dry lockup; little deteriorated over those five decades. As a result, every original part was in a remarkable condition when Rogers’ daughter rediscovered the vehicle in 1988. With it were Rogers’ records of maintenance and detailed, hand-written logs of each trip he had taken with the Morgan. Though its original owner passed away before its unearthing, its new caretaker, Peter Carter, would ensure that the 4/4 remained in its very exceptional original condition. Using only the original parts and with special care taken not to damage any of the original paint-work, Carter reassembled and refreshed the 50-year-old Le Mans Replica precisely as it had come from the factory.
Today, EVR 804 is still entirely as it was in 1938. The paint, carpet, woodwork, and trim are all original, making this Morgan not only historically significant for its rarity but also for the fact that it may be the best-preserved pre-war car left on Earth. So important was the rediscovery of EVR 804 that the Morgan Motor Company wrote to Mr. Carter describing his car as “ not only of considerable historical interest but also to the best of our knowledge, the only such vehicle in existence.” They continued, “We feel that it is vitally important that this car is kept in the original specification.” For the Morgan enthusiast, the significance of a Le Mans replica (premium specification and one of only 7) one-off, four-seater, factory-built, pre-war car in such original specification cannot be undersold. Add to this its current well serviced road-ready condition, very low original mileage, and perfect patina. We know you will find that this little 4-4 runs and drives beautifully. EVR 804 comes with detailed service history and documentation, including letters verifying its originality, as well as magazine excerpts featuring this car in a 1990 edition of Classic Cars magazine.
