What Do You Get If You Cross A Saab 900 Turbo Cabriolet With A Nissan Figaro?
It’s possible to get a hinny in the equine world, but how did the auto world possibly come up with the Morgan Midsummer? For those with little equine knowledge (and to be honest, I didn’t know that a hinny existed), let’s first of all clear up what a hinny actually is. A male horse (stallion) and a female donkey (a jenny) can get together and produce a domestic equine hybrid called a hinny – a cross between a male horse and a female donkey.
I was more familiar with the flipside of this, where a male donkey (a jack) and a female horse (a mare) got together and produced a mule. I’m not quite sure why I linked a Morgan with the equine world, apart from the obvious connotations of horsepower, but I think it comes down to the Morgan being a really cool modern car that has a beauty that it has all of its own but then has a hint of cars from yesteryear, ones that were also a bit exclusive and cool, even back then.
The Saab 900 Turbo Cabriolet is a bit of a stallion. I mean, look at all that exquisite eighties leather used to make its interior and some of the most comfortable seats I’ve ever enjoyed. Then there’s its striking angular styling, cool three-spoke aero mags, black soft-top roof, and the powerful 2.0-litre turbo engine that made this a quick and exciting car. Little wonder, then, that the Saab 900 Turbo Cabriolet, with his angular black physique and soft salt and pepper stone chips, attracted the attention of a lonely but very pretty pale aqua Nissan Figaro. Result… well the modern-day Morgan Midsummer, of course!
Saab isn’t really dead yet, because the cult following of the 900 and other great Saabs of yesteryear are still being restored and cherished by many a car enthusiast. The Nissan Figaro also has a dedicated following too, with her cute and loveable cabriolet style born back in the early nineties. Morgan, on the other hand, are still in business – very much in the business of making new cars. Their latest project, called the Midsummer, is a brilliant progression of the niche brand’s range of open-top roadsters that span back to the very first model that emerged in 1909/1910 known as the three-wheeled runabout, which was a single-seater that used a 5.2 kW Peugeot twin-cylinder motor. After deciding that a two-seater version was much more inclusive, the little Morgan Runabout became the only car ever to appear in a shop window at Harrods of London.
Morgans are fun! And the Midsummer is no exception. Fifty of these new models will be made, and most of the car will still be hand built. The 2024 Morgan Midsummer is a two-seat open-top sports car that represents the shared vision of Morgan and Pininfarina, who have worked in partnership on this new model to celebrate the timeless beauty of Morgan sportscars. The Morgan Midsummer boasts Morgan’s CX-generation aluminium chassis, and with a BMW 6-cylinder turbo as its power source, this little sportscar will be sure to fly!
In the Morgan, as always, wood is used in its construction, now as a design feature rather than for all-out strength. For the Morgan Midsummer, many layers of teak are used to create the car’s shoulder line and cockpit surrounds. This gorgeous natural look takes around 30 hours to make by hand, and when it comes to the curvaceous and eye-catching body panels, a further 250 hours of literal handiwork are performed for making these beautifully handcrafted pieces. The combination of human love, dedication, and care, which are so easily disregarded in today’s robotic processes, makes this a standout vehicle with elegant sports car lines and huge desirability. This car won’t be thrown away so easily in decades to come.
So what do you get when you cross a Saab 900 Convertible with a Nissan Figaro? A Morgan Midsummer with BMW power!
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