Drum brakes. A frame made from ash. Unassisted steering. Yet there is a waiting list for the traditional Morgan, made at Malvern Link, Worcestershire, at a factory which dates back to 1910.

"What they're after is a magnificent down-the-bonnet view, body panels not mechanically pressed from steel but bashed from aluminum by a man with a hammer; a white coat, and pencils behind his ears," conjectures The Sunday Times reviewer Andrew Frankel.

"They want a small steering wheel with three drilled alloy spokes and a bank of old-style instruments. And they want it from a company that has been building cars in the same place and in the same way for the thick end of a century."

"And that's what makes Morgan unique. The Roadster is not a pastiche of an old car, nor even a lovingly re-created replica, for that would suggest not only a lack of continuity but also a behind-the-scenes modernity it simply does not possess" ('Never mind the faults,' Andrew Frankel, The Sunday Times, January 9^th, 2005).

Produced from 1969 through 2004, the Plus Eight is powered by Rover's 3,922 cc 16-valve V8, producing 200 brake horsepower (@ 4,800 rpm) and 225 foot-pounds of torque (@ 3,500 rpm). It'll hit 62 mph from rest in 5.3 seconds, and will do 130 mph.

Plus Eight is replaced by the Morgan Roadster, using Ford's 2,967 cc V6 from the Mondeo ST220, producing 223 brake horsepower (@ 6,150 rpm) and 206 foot-pounds of torque (@ 4,900 rpm). It proves slightly quicker: 0-60 mph in 4.9 seconds and a top speed of 135 mph.

"I don't want one even a tiny bit, but I understand entirely why someone might," concludes Frankel of the traditional Morgan.

"Which is more than I can say about a lot of the cars that I drive."