The sexy hand-built Morgan sports car has been an institution in England, like warm beer and pubs, almost since the first one was built in 1910 in a small storybook factory in the tiny town of Malvern Link in the pastoral county of Worcestershire, where the sauce comes from.

Morgan always has been a family operation. It's now headed by Charles Morgan -- great-grandson of the automaker's founder, H.F.S. Morgan. Of all Morgans, the 1968-2003 Morgan Plus 8 model is an exotic blend of traditionalism and high performance.

Morgan is such a traditional automaker that its rakish Plus 8 looks as if it's from 1930s England, with a long hood, swooping fenders, cut-down doors and an outside spare tire at the rear. The MG -- a popular British sports car here from the 1950s into the 1970s, stopped making classic-look autos after 1955.

Morgan always has gone its own way since H.F.S. Morgan founded Morgan Motor Co. and built his first car in 1910. First-generation Morgans had three wheels with a motorcycle engine up front where you'd normally find a grille and a single wheel at the rear -- a design that provided a tax advantage in tax-crazy England. The small car was a thrill with its potent engine and superb road-holding. Amazingly, it was made alongside four-wheel Morgans until 1952.

Morgan began offering four-wheel models in 1936, when it introduced the 4/4 model (four wheels, four cylinders) because it was losing sales to new, low-cost sports cars such as MG in England. But Morgan maintained the three-wheeler model's sliding pillar independent front suspension (one of England's earliest) for even the Plus 8 -- one reason why Morgans always have had a firm ride. The old joke was that Morgan drivers could run over a coin on a road and tell if it was heads or tails.

But never mind the dated design and construction of four-wheel Morgans, which called for craftsmen fitting precisely formed aluminum body panels to ash wood framework, using old tools. The Plus 8 had agile handling. Its potent V-8 was developed by General Motors for the small 1961 Buick Special. GM sold the 3.5-liter V-8 three years later to England's Rover auto outfit, and Morgan soon got it from Rover. Except for British SU carburetors, the Morgan V-8 was nearly identical to the ex-GM V-8 and had nearly 50 percent more horsepower than the Triumph four-cylinder sports car engine it replaced. The V-8 initially had about 155 horsepower, but that figure rose to 190 by 1985 and to 225 by 2003. The Plus 8 didn't weigh much at 1,875 pounds, so it did 0-60 mph in 6.5 seconds.

Visitors to the 1968 London Motor Show felt that, as usual, Morgan hadn't changed much. But the V-8 transformed the $2,800 Plus 8 from a moderately fast car into a hot rod.

The Plus 8 looked much like the 1955-88 Morgan 4/4, and that resembled the 1950-68 Plus 4 -- and that model resembled the 1936-50 Morgan 4/4. Until 1955, Morgan gave its sports cars a vertical "flat" radiator and grille, but switched to a curved grille and headlights faired into front fenders for a sleeker look from 1954.

Morgan offered a 1963-66 coupe with a modern body on a Plus 4 chassis, but only 26 were sold. Arriving here for 2004, Morgan unveiled its first essentially new model in 50 years, the $95,000 Aero 8. Designed by Charles Morgan, it replaced the Plus 8 here and had streamlined neo-classic styling and a 282-horsepower BMW V-8 that let it do 0-60 mph in 4.2 seconds. Few were offered here, but the Plus 8 (and other Morgans) continue to be sold in other countries.

"Morgan isn't selling cars here this year because it's more profitable to sell in other world markets," said British classic car expert Norm Bries, owner of Northshore Import Sportscars in Lake Bluff. "We may not see Morgans return until 2010."

Bries began selling Morgans in 2001 and is one of only six Morgan dealers in America. He says the Plus 8 was sold mainly to "professional people in their 50s. It isn't flashy, like a modern Ferrari or Lamborghini, but buyers know its colorful history and appreciate it."

Morgan used engines from other automakers, and the light Plus 4 had the rugged Triumph four-cylinder. A modified Morgan Super Sports model with that engine won its class at the 1962 24-hour Le Mans race in France -- a major achievement for tiny Morgan. Morgans were successfully raced in America by big-name drivers.

Morgan switched to the ex-GM V-8 after Triumph dropped its four-cylinder and began using a longer six-cylinder, which didn't fit in the Morgan. But the aluminum V-8 was compact and lighter than the Triumph engine. The Plus 8 was Morgan's first really fast car and became a cult object in frenetic, trend-setting 1960s London. Usually traditional Morgan even offered Dayglo Green, McLaren Racing Orange and Hot Sin Yellow colors. It was making more than two cars daily -- and had a nine-month waiting list.

The Plus 8 was essentially a Plus 4 with some changes. The wheelbase was stretched 2 inches and chassis side members were set farther apart for a wider track and better handling. Modern cast alloy wheels replaced old-style wire wheels. But components -- from front disc brakes to the sliding pillar front suspension -- were left alone. Fenders were widened to cover larger wheels and tires, and new U.S. safety regulations caused the interior to get dashboard rocker switches instead of protruding toggles.

The old Moss four-speed manual gearbox was replaced by a better Rover four-speed manual in 1972, and the V-8 got more power. Another higher-horsepower version of the V-8 arrived in 1977, along with a five-speed manual. And a fuel-injected 190-horsepower V-8 and better steering came in 1985.

A two-seat roadster was the only Plus 8 offered. It had the usual wood-framed, steel-paneled bodywork, although some had aluminum panels. A Plus 8 could beat a heavier 265-horsepower XK-E sports car to 90 mph, but poor aerodynamics then worked against it. However, it could hit 125 mph.

A 1968 Plus 8 is valued at $22,000, and a 2003 model is at $49,000. It's a precious car, and nothing like it will be built again.