Morgan is staring down the 110th anniversary of the company's founding. Next year marks a major milestone for the British automaker rooted in past motoring glory, but Morgan wants to change that and there's a new model in development that should lead the way for the future.

Autocar reported Tuesday that Morgan is seeking to reinvent itself and the path to do this is forged by a new model built from scratch. This will be a high-performance sports car, and it should ultimately serve as the flagship vehicle for the entire brand. Rumor has it that the new Morgan will arrive sometime in the mid-2020s.

Both a coupe and a roadster will reportedly be offered. Each will pack the traditional front-engine, rear-drive layout that sports car drivers find most appealing. But this new Morgan will utilize modern chassis and powertrain construction and engineering. Instead of naturally aspirated V-8 engines, think turbocharged or supercharged six-cylinder mills. These will be cars with not outrageous horsepower numbers but paired with low curb weight figures and high fun-to-drive levels baked right in.

Morgan has been crafting a new chassis for such an application. It's a bonded and riveted aluminum design and the first production cars to utilize this setup will arrive as part of celebrations surrounding the 110th anniversary in 2019.

The future sports car will be an important one for Morgan. It's not simply serving as a replacement for the Aero or Plus 8, which have just bowed out of production. Instead, the new car will set design and performance directions for the future of the brand. That means it needs to be done right, and that's why Morgan is taking years to make sure it hits all the points needed for success.

Morgan is a company traditionally rooted in the past. Now it's looking to make a large step into the future. Time will tell if the small company from Malvern can pull it off. If it doesn't work, we suggest firing up the line to get that electric 3 Wheeler moving.