Michael SatterfieldIn 1994, three Morgan 4/4 four-seaters left the south of France on a mission that sounded more like fiction than a road trip. Ninety days. Thirty-eight thousand kilometers. No support crew. No roofs. Just four friends from the Mousquetaire Morgan Club and a stubborn belief that adventure still mattered.
Morgan is a company built on tradition and craftsmanship, but every so often, the cars do something bold enough to write a new chapter in the book. Les Mousquetaires, as the group was known in France, started at Château Castelmore, the birthplace of d’Artagnan, and drove east chasing sunsets across continents. Their story is finally being told in Morgan’s new film Around the World in 90 Days, and it deserves every frame.
How an Idea Became an Expedition
The plan began in a small French inn where enthusiasm turned into engineering. The Morgan factory in Malvern prepared three standard four-seater 4/4s named Elliot, Kalliste, and Diou Biban. The upgrades were focused only on survival. Five centimeters of additional ride height. Under chassis armor. Michelin X tires for rough terrain. Plus 8 fuel tanks for longer range. Tow hitches for compact trailers carrying supplies. Nothing fancy, just smart.
Then they did something most modern travelers would never consider. They left without their fabric hoods. No matter the weather the cars would remain completely open top from start to finish. It was a statement that life behind the wheel of a Morgan is meant to be felt and not filtered.
Eastward in A Morgan 4/4 Until Home Came Back Around
The route began through Paris and Brussels, where sixty Morgan owners filled the Grand Place in a rare moment of police approved parking. From there, the trip pushed into Scandinavia, Finland, and across the guarded border into Russia. Some days stopped at 100 miles due to brutal terrain. Others stretched to 600 when roads cooperated. The team camped roadside in near silence across Siberia and Mongolia, then continued through Beijing, Manchuria, and Vladivostok. The cars were craned onto a ship to Japan, crossed to Seattle, and meandered across Canada and the United States before returning to France.
They followed one rule. Always drive east and end each day watching the sun set behind them.
A Mission Beyond Miles
The four men were not only drivers. They were biologists carrying medical supplies for Russian hospitals, including AIDS and hepatitis test materials and medications for newborns. They gave lectures and training in St Petersburg, Moscow, Omsk, and Novosibirsk. The Morgans attracted crowds everywhere. The team was welcomed into homes across continents. At a checkpoint in Siberia, police reportedly laughed at cars crossing the region with no roofs. In remote Mongolia, a child asked with complete sincerity if the car came from heaven or paradise.
Despite the desert heat, monsoon-soaked ruts, and rough terrain, the cars experienced only minor issues fixed roadside with basic tools. All three returned home running and unchanged in spirit. They are still driven today.
The Film That Captured It All
Documentary filmmaker Gérard Rossignol documented the journey from start to finish. His film Beyond the Red Gate aired on French television in 1995 and offered viewers a rare cockpit view of the world as seen from a Morgan. Now Morgan revisits the story again with Around the World in 90 Days, featuring original team members and their families reflecting on what the trip demanded and what it gave back.
Jean Louis Clavère summed up their mindset clearly. “Life is not a dress rehearsal. Go try, win, lose, it doesn’t matter, but try.”
The Spirit Still Drives Today
The Morgans proved a simple truth. A Morgan is not a car for people in a hurry. It is a car for people who want to feel the world rather than pass through it. Les Mousquetaires showed what happens when curiosity triumphs over comfort and when classic machinery meets modern resolve.
Today, around the world, owners still choose Morgans for the same reason. Every journey, no matter how small, is an opportunity to write part of a personal story. The roof is optional. The spirit is not.
Enjoy the film below:
Morgan bunu tekrar yapmalı, belki onlara yazıp bunu yolculuk serinizin bir parçası haline getirmeyi teklif edebilirsiniz.
Most sports cars don’t see rain let alone mud, snow, and the open countryside. Bravo Morgan for sharing this film.
Brave to take any British car off road let alone outside of a country that sells parts for them.
I don’t know if you could make this same trip today, the world is so crazy right now.
You should do it again in a modern Morgan!
This is the first time I have ever heard this story, I wonder how many lost stories from the last 40 years we will find. As a Morgan enthusiast thank you for sharing this.
Brave for sure, I don’t know if I would do this trip in anything less than a new Defender or INEOS.
If you can do it in a Morgan, you can do it in anything.
thank you for starting this up. This website is something that is needed on the internet, someone with a little originality and willing to share stories that aren’t just AI spam
crazy to drive across all of asia in that car
Does the Morgan still have an oak frame?
I am pretty sure they use Ash.