How do you make a Morgan CX-T from a regular Plus Four?

That’s the correct response. ‘Crivens’ would also do, should you wish to indulge a bit more of the previous-century parlance a Morgan inspires. This is the CX-T, a dirt-ready Plus Four made with the help of Rally Raid UK – a company that’s pieced cars together for 25 Dakar rallies. They know what they’re doing, then. At its core is the same wooden frame and aluminium chassis as the £70k sports car you can already buy… so what’s happened to morph the stock Four into an eight-off, £200k special?

The CX-T uses the standard Morgan Plus Four’s BMW-sourced 2.0-litre turbo and six-speed manual gearbox. That serves up 255bhp and 258lb ft. So even though weight has climbed quite a bit from the 1013kg donor car, it’s still got some shove to it.

Rally Raid won’t be drawn on exact numbers, but expect around 200kg to have been added to the stock Plus Four’s figure. Which still pegs the CX-T at a fairly welterweight 1200-1220 kilos – less than a Ford Fiesta ST. And basically half the figure posted by the Audi RS e-tron GT also at TG's Speed Week 2021.

The longer suspension arms from the feistier Morgan Plus Six have been fitted to increase track widths, there are new rally-spec springs and four-way adjustable Exe-TC dampers while ground clearance now stands at 230mm. In isolation it looks properly tough and chunky, but placed beside a regular Plus Four and you realise it’s not a night-and-day change in ride height. This is no 1930s-flavoured SUV.

Rally Raid’s tweaks didn’t stop at overhauled suspension. There are new bushes all over the place, bigger 16-inch wheels wearing 215/70 Maxxis WormDrive tyres and massive underbody protection. Something our TG Garage Plus Four – which has had an occasionally flirtatious relationship with London’s more boisterous, mound-like speed bumps, could probably do with borrowing. The exhaust system has also been tucked away and now exits the rear side so it’s less vulnerable.

Well spotted. It’s bolted straight into the chassis and subframe and hosts a Dakar-spec airbox disguised as luggage on the front offside wing, mimicking the actual luggage opposite. It makes the CX-T something of a four-wheeled game of Buckaroo, as you see how much stuff you can possibly latch to it. Tools, luggage, fuel cans, spare wheels… Morgan’s also stuck a row of spotlights on the front of the roof, behind which you can tuck the two door panels when the weather’s favourable enough. Or your clothing's waterproof enough.

Not a huge amount. The seats are standard, the stock six-speed manual hasn’t called for any new paddleshifters or ginormous sequential shifter, the steering wheel remains the standard airbag-less one you’ll twirl around in the road car. The only real additions are in front of the passenger, where there are some rally ready modifications: a phone mount, a map light, USB slot, slimline document wallet and the controls for the rear differential. 

Yep. BMW’s electronic limited-slip diff isn’t usually available on the standard Plus Four (nor, even, the yet more powerful Plus Six). It’d probably be handy on tarmac but it’s basically essential if you want any semblance of traction on the loose. There are two switches: one varies the locking level, the other locks it solid. Here’s hoping Morgan’s also been playing with it for some extra-focused road cars, too…