The Morgan Plus 4 Super Sports model was introduced late in 1961, offering arguably the best price-for-performance value available at that time. Its lightweight aluminum body provided crisp handling in a design reminiscent of the great fully fendered sports cars of the 1930s.
Between 1961 and 1968 only 104 Triumph TR4A-engined aluminum-bodied Super Sports were produced. Of the 95 two-seat cars built for sports car competition in the United States and abroad, 50 carried the low-bodied roadster coachwork of this example.
The example shown here-“Baby Doll V”-is famous in Morgan circles. It was ordered from the factory in the spring of 1962 by Lew Spencer, a well-known southern California SCCA member and local Morgan dealer. This car was to be his ultimate Morgan race car; a sleek low-body successor to Baby Doll IV, the car with which he won the 1962 SCCA C-production National Championship.
Fortunately for his racing competitors, by the time Baby Doll V arrived, Spencer had sold the Morgan dealership to go to work for Carroll Shelby. After that Spencer could only campaign Baby Doll V on occasional outings in nearby SCCA National events. He was successful in the few events he was able to attend.
Following Spencer’s ownership, the car was retired and in 1965 became the property of Susan Stephens Flynn, an artist and racing program illustrator. She eventually sold it to Richard Freshman in 1989.
Freshman had Fossil Motorsports and the original Baby Doll IV and V Race Team mechanic Pierre Brun restore and prepare the car for historic competitions. The 45 DCOE 9 twin Weber carburetor-equipped TR4A blueprinted engine has a ported and polished cylinder head and cc’ed combustion chambers. It was totally rebuilt with the inclusion of a brand-new billet steel crankshaft, new bearings, seals, aluminum high-compression pistons, rings, Carrillo steel rods and stainless steel valves. After the rebuild, the car was run in with approximately 150 miles of track testing.
Mr. Freshman raced the car very successfully, finishing first and third in the only two vintage historic races contested, the Chicago Historics of July 1993 and the HMSA Wine Country Classics in June 1994.
This example is finished in Lew Spencer’s signature Kingfisher Blue paint scheme, with Super Sports bucket seats. The lightweight aluminum body appears to be in excellent shape. “Baby Doll V” is still painted on the side.
The amazing Morgan Baby Dolls are accomplished “giant killers” in historic circles, where they have regularly beaten small-block Corvettes, Porsches, Abarths, and Jaguar E-types, despite their smaller displacement engines. This classic time-honored piece of Morgan racing heritage, with less than 350 race and test miles on it since its total restoration, is currently fully sorted, race-ready, and able to reward its new owner with many competitive vintage race outings or exhilarating touring miles.
SCM Analysis
Detailing
| Vehicle: | 1963 Morgan Plus 4 Low-Body Super Sport |
| Years Produced: | 1961-68 |
| Number Produced: | 104, 95 of which are two-seat competition models |
| Original List Price: | $4,200 |
| SCM Valuation: | $50,000-$65,000 |
| Tune Up Cost: | $1,000 |
| Distributor Caps: | $45 |
| Chassis Number Location: | Frame rail in front of right-hand seat |
| Engine Number Location: | On block near ignition coil |
| Club Info: | Morgan Sports Car Club, Hollands Farm/Coombe Green, Birstmorton/Malvern, Worcester WR13 6AB, England |
| Alternatives: | Austin-Healey 100S, Porsche Speedster, AC Ace Bristol, Alfa Romeo SZ |
| Investment Grade: | A |
This car sold at the RM Auction in Santa Monica on May 25, 2002, for $104,500, including buyer’s premium.
Compared to classic cars restored to original production specifications for street use, the value of cars intended for racing is much more difficult to establish. In vintage racing trim, the more common models of Porsche or MG are likely to be worth less than their street counterparts, even though the investment in them may be much greater.
On the other hand, the value of very desirable models of, say, Ferraris or Jaguars, will be relatively unaffected by whether or not they are race-prepared.
The Morgan Super Sports, like its closest counterpart, the Austin-Healey 100S, falls somewhere in between. Originally produced and sold for racing purposes, the model’s value won’t be negatively affected by the modern modifications required to make one legal for vintage racing.
The car’s provenance and racing history will contribute to its value, since that background is likely to affect its eligibility for the elite race events.
With an unbroken history-its whereabouts and its condition continuously known by Morgan enthusiasts-Baby Doll V has a provenance of significant value. The fact that this car was developed for racing by two well-known specialists, Spencer and Freshman, may make it the best Morgan racer in the world. A buyer certainly should expect to pay more for this car than the $65,000 that the SCM Price Guide suggests is the value of an excellent but relatively anonymous example of the 104 Morgan +4 SS cars.
Add to that the emotional value a personal connection can invest in a car. After the auction, Baby Doll V very quickly changed hands again. Its current custodian is a recognized Morgan specialist who literally grew up with this particular car, acquiring his love for the venerable breed by hanging around Lew Spencer’s shop in the early ’60s, and even filming Baby Doll V in its maiden races.
We can soon expect to see Baby Doll V once again on the front of the starting grid of West Coast sports car races, its pilot the same person who as a young man could only dream of driving this car on the race track. As the advertisement says, the value of realizing one’s dreams is “priceless.” Or in this case, somewhere north of $104,500.-Gary Anderson