Douglass Hallawell | September 4, 2013

COURTESY OF THE MORGANEER, THE JOURNAL OF THE 3/4 MORGAN GROUP, LTD.

During the years 1963 to 1967 the Morgan buyer had a choice between the top of the range Plus 4 (in either 2 or 4-seater form) and the lesser expensive 4/4 roadster. However, only the Plus 4 range was offered in 3 distinct body styles: traditional, Drophead Coupé & coupé (Plus 4 Plus). Furthermore, in 1965/6 the roadster was listed in the factory catalogue in these 3 versions: standard high-bodied Plus 4, Competition & Super Sports.

In early 1966, Philippe Cousteau, younger son of noted oceanographer Jacques-Yves Cousteau, opted for a Plus 4 Competition in Kingfisher Blue livery with several options. With no official Morgan dealer in the Principality of Monaco, the headquarters of the Cousteau Society, Philippe had to place his order with Parisian importer Jacques Savoye. Registered E978 in Monaco & bearing chassis number 6255, his Morgan was handed over to him on July 7th 1966. Only 2 other Competition models, chassis numbers 6156 & 6346, were sold in France but 6346 is the sole currently accounted for & resides in Luzillat (south of France).

Philippe Cousteau at the controls of his PBY Catalina

Along with the Drophead Coupé & the Super Sports, the Plus 4 Competition became one of the 3 rarest models of the Plus 4 range. In its short lifespan from October 1965 to April 1967, a mere 42 (44 according to Hermen Pol) of these cars were ordered by customers from 11 countries. It was dubbed ‘The Poor Man’s Super Sports’ on account of being 22.6% cheaper than a Super Sports yet 11.5% more expensive than a standard roadster. In order to distinguish it from the standard high-bodied roadster, it sported a lowline steel body very similar to the Super Sports’ lowline aluminium body. And to justify its price and model name, it received, as standard equipment, 3 features which were normally options for Plus 4s: a tubular Derrington exhaust manifold, 72-spoke wire wheels (with matching wider base tyres) & Armstrong ‘Selectaride’ shock absorbers activated by a switch on the driver’s side of the dashboard.

Peter Morgan, nevertheless, was an avid fan of the high-line body style for the Plus 4 range so as to distinguish it from the 4/4 – the Super Sports being an exception to this policy. It was only in 1965 that Peter consented to review that policy by offering the Plus 4 Competition model alongside the standard Plus 4 roadster. In reality, this new model’s raison d’être was simply to gauge public reaction to its lowline body style. Fourteen months later, in December 1966, the standard Plus 4 roadster finally adopted that lowline body, thereby putting an end to the experience and _ brief production of the Plus 4 Competition.

Philippe Cousteau remained the proprietor of his Morgan for several years; even perhaps until the day when, during a visit to the north of France, it ended up in a garage, most likely due to a breakdown. So far, it has been impossible for me to establish if he was still the owner at the time. Notwithstanding, the fate reserved for the Morgan – several months later – proved to be ‘rocambolesque’ (ed. note – translation: incredible).

Without any sign of life from the car owner, the garage ended up with an unpaid bill, probably burdened by parking fees. And tragically, at approximately the same time, in June 1979 to be precise, Philippe died in a horrible landing accident while piloting his PBY Catalina flying boat, the ‘Calypso’. Although pure assumption on my behalf, this drama may possibly explain the abandoned Morgan in the French garage, in which case the Monaco license plates of the abandoned Morgan would have provided a further dilemma for the garage owner…

However, in 1979 the garage owner found a radical solution to his problem. He made a fortuitous discovery in a local scrapyard in the shape of a wrecked 1966 Morgan 4/4, and _ purchased its French title! Subsequently, it provided new identity and a means for disposing of the abandoned Morgan… After filing down the car’s chassis number, a new ID plate was created usurping the 4/4’s identity as a replacement for Savoye’s original plate on the bulkhead. All it then needed was an unsuspecting buyer, which he soon found. After purchasing the mystery Morgan, the new owner undertook a partial restoration of the wooden frame as well as upgrading the bog-standard TR4A’s performance, whilst preserving the original SU carbs.

Interestingly, towards the end of 2006 I discovered an ad in a French weekly magazine for this Morgan. After a lengthy phone conversation with the seller, I realized something was seriously askew. Confronted with my probing questions, the seller ended up revealing the car’s history since 1979. Given what appeared to be a fraud, I decided to pass on the opportunity of buying what was 1 of 27 LHD Plus 4 Competition models (I know, what was I thinking!). Then, in 2008, I encountered yet another ad for what turned out to be the same Morgan. I contacted the new owner, who confirmed that the engine number matched the one stamped on the bonnet halves. That convinced me that the engine is original, thus allowing me to research a step further…

By means of cross-referencing, one can indeed obtain the chassis number using the engine number. Consequently, my own data indicated the chassis number to be 6255, thereby determining the true identity of this intriguing Morgan. In 2009, at the owner’s request, the factory supplied a certificate with all the specs of his car. When the owner solicited the importer’s help in 2010, he was kindly informed by Mr Mahul of the original owner’s identity and the car’s registration number. Checking later with licensing authorities in Monaco, he learned that archives only date back to 1980 but that the registration E978 had subsequently been re-attributed twice.

Thirty four years later, as of April 2013, with its newly acquired (French) replacement title & restituted ID, the ex-Philippe Cousteau Morgan can once again take to the roads in total legitimacy. What a happy ending!

(POSTSCRIPT: (mystery solved): As this story unfolded I couldn’t help but thinking that Philippe’s family might be interested in the discovery of his Morgan. I did some research and contacted his wife and children and to my surprise got an immediate response from Philippe’s wife Jan, including a photo of them with the Morgan on their wedding day! Alas, according to Jan’s email, they only owned the car for five years and then traded it in 1971for a Lotus Elan. The next owner of the Morgan she remembered had crashed it soon after taking possession, and she assumed the car was a total loss. She was delighted to know that the car was saved and still exists, but said her family is not able to purchase it. So the Morgan Plus 4 Competition was NOT, after all, owned by Philippe when it was abandoned in northern France.

Editor’s Note: Douglas did some extensive research and sleuthing to put this story together. In so doing he also discovered another interesting ‘story within a story’. Bertrand Moutard-Martin, the current President of the Morgan Club de France, knew Philippe Cousteau when they were young boys.

Here is his remembrance (translated from French by Douglas):

“I knew Philippe COUSTEAU when I was a kid. My parents had a house in Ste Marie sur Mer, and Philippe spent his holidays in Pornic, 3 kilometres away (quite far on a bicycle!) My parents sold the house when I was 14. I was already a keen apnea (freediving – ed) fan and did so in the company of Philippe who was 2 yrs older than me. But I never saw him again. However, I have never forgotten how I once got my shoulders stuck in a rock crevice, with Philippe to release me by tugging at my feet. Proof that it’ always safer to dive accompanied!”

NOTE: Special thanks to Frank Wnek, editor of The Morganeer, the Journal of the 3/4 Morgan Group, Ltd. for allowing us to reproduce this article.