• The Mogan Supersport is the sharpest-handling model the company currently sells, and a few U.S. fans will now be able to buy one.
• There's one major drawback, however: The six-cylinder version isn't coming across the Atlantic yet.
• For now, the U.S.-spec Supersport will basically be a Plus Four with sportier intent.

Morgan's return to the United States market continues apace with the announcement that the company's Supersport model will now join the gloriously eccentric Super 3 and old-yet-new Plus Four. The Supersport is the feistiest Morgan currently on sale, promising to combine both cutting-edge materials and old-world craftsmanship in a single package. Nothing but good news, yes? Well, there's a bit of an asterisk.

Morgan isn't a volume-selling manufacturer, and it's only able to sell cars in the U.S. under the FAST Act. This law allows for the sale of up to 325 vehicles that resemble cars that are at least 25 years old and is intended to keep the door open for small-scale replica and restomod companies.

Morgan doesn't really do restomods, per se, but the likes of the Plus Four do at least look like the sort of car Bertie Wooster would have driven. Likewise, while the Supersport features optional extras like a carbon-fiber hood, it's also a bit of an anachronistic throwback, if only in appearance.

Under those tweedy looks is an all-aluminum chassis, one that's both stiff and very light. The frame of the body is still made of ash wood, just as has been the case for decades, and over this, more aluminum is laid to form the bodywork. It's all handmade somewhere between prewar classic coachbuilding and postwar construction of propeller-powered racing aircraft.

Power here is the fly in the ointment. Across the Atlantic, the Supersport gets BMW's turbocharged 3.0-liter inline-six, good for 340 horsepower (or as much as 400 hp in the fastest trim). With a curb weight of just over 2500 pounds, this Morgan has the kind of power-to-weight ratio that'll stop anyone snickering at its 1930s-inspired styling immediately.

Unfortunately, in the U.S. market, the Supersport is more of an evolution of the Plus Four, and therefore it's fitted with a turbocharged 2.0-liter engine (again from BMW) rated at 255 horsepower. In a car that weighs about the same as an ND Miata with a hardtop, that's still plenty of power, but it is less potent.

On the positive side, the Plus Four is hugely characterful, and the Supersport just sharpens that car's handling edge a little. The latter gets a 14 percent quicker steering rack, firmer suspension, and more aerodynamically slippery bodywork. There's further an optional handling package with adjustable dampers, the aforementioned carbon-fiber hood, and lightweight 18- or 19-inch wheels.

Being handmade, Morgan buyers will have a huge amount of flexibility when it comes to selecting options and styling choices, everything from a composite roof to a walnut finish for the interior. The price for all this seems strangely reasonable, starting at $119,995. Sure, a four-cylinder BMW Z4 is about half that price, but the two are not really comparable.

In short, Morgan has decided to send over a roadgoing Supermarine Spitfire, but has given it two fewer cylinders than hoped for. Like the World Cup semi-final, not quite the result that U.S. Anglophiles were cheering for. Still, better a third Morgan in the lineup than none at all.

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