I remember when I was waiting for the school bus on cold winter mornings, a gentleman in Irish cloth cap would roar by in his topless Jaguar XK120, his face as red as a beet. This is the other car for him, a 1965 Morgan Plus Four Super Sport. It’s in quite good nick, as the British would say, and it’s on eBay near Tampa, Florida with the reserve not nearly met at $6,000 (but with plenty of time left).

The Super Sports models were, according to the vendor, built with aluminum bodies and “were tuned and prepared by Lawrence Tuning and raced at Le Mans in the ‘60s. Check out those whopping side-draught 42-millimeter Weber carbs. This is a very rare opportunity to acquire one of the most exciting Morgan models ever made.”

I’m assuming that’s a Triumph TR4 four-cylinder engine under the hood, with 2,138-cc displacement. But in this form they delivered 134 horsepower compared to the TR4’s 104 and, given the Lawrence Tuning and those huge carbs, could reach 118 mph with 7.5-second zero-to-60 times. Special features included a 9.0:1 compression ratio, gas-flowed head, modified camshaft, balanced crank, oil cooler, four-wheel disc brakes, and that special Lawrence intake manifold.

According to the included Morgan Chassis Record, the car was originally sold in Germany to a U.S. serviceman, Lieutenant James Dunne. He brought it home to Connecticut, where it spent more than 40 years in a barn. I can confirm we have a lot of barns here in Connecticut.

Dunne’s widow sold the Morgan to a buyer in New London, Connecticut, and it went to the current vendor in Tampa at Christmas 2024. “The car is in remarkable condition for its age,” the owner says, “and it should NOT be repainted. It does show quite well and as the saying goes, they are only original once. Ideal for a collector or bragger.”

The seller says it’s a 1965. The Record indicates it was road tested in late 1965, then “despatched” in January of 1966. The car came back to the factory in 1967 to fix some accident damage, repair the chrome wire wheels (which were already rusting), add a tonneau, a new timing cover and oil seals.

Only 101 of these Plus Four Super Sports were built, following a successful outing (first in class) by a Lawrence-tuned example at Le Mans in 1962, and this is number 71. They were produced through 1967. We’re told that the original oil cooler is present, and the heater works—essentially for those cold winter drives. The floorboards are reported in good condition, but some woodwork is required on the rockers. An exhaust needs to be made to fit the original Lawrence header. The convertible top and tonneau will have to be made, but the side curtains are present.

Seats are in the car, but raccoons got the originals, and those installed are from a regular Plus Four. Now the big thing, there’s no title. “The car was sold by Lieutenant Dunne’s widow with a bill of sale. So some legwork is required at your state’s DMV.”

On the plus side, the aluminum panels are straight, the chassis solid, and the windshield still clear. The wood dash is nicely patinaed. New chrome wire wheels would set it off nicely and are available from the usual sources (Moss Motors included).

Hagerty lists one of these in good condition at $69,000, so there’s likely to be a lot more bidding. It certainly will be an exciting car when it goes through what is sometimes euphemistically called a “light restoration.”