DRIVING RANGE
The Power of Three
British marque Morgan has gone back to its roots with the launch of its sensationally fun three-wheeler, writes Ben Oliver
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harles Morgan must be wondering why he didn’t do this years ago. The Morgan Motor Company was founded by his grandfather HFS Morgan just over a century ago and has remained in family ownership and control ever since, assembling its idiosyncratic sports cars by hand and at a glacial rate at the same premises – Pickersleigh Road, in the small Worcestershire town of Malvern – for almost its entire history. All car enthusiasts like to think they know a few Morgan facts, such as how the cars’ frames are still made of ash timber (some still are, but not the important, stressed parts) and how you need to put your name down at birth if you want to get one by the time you retire (the waiting list is actually much reduced, and down to a mere year or two, depending on the model). A lesser-known but entirely true Morgan fact is that the firm started by building three-wheelers; in fact it had been going for a quarter of its storied, century-long history before it built its first conventional four-wheeled car. HFS Morgan’s first threewheeled designs were simple and lightweight, allowing them to use early motorcycle engines, which in turn made them affordable. But lightweight can also mean fast, and it wasn’t long before HFS’s odd-looking cars became more powerful and streamlined and went racing. They set all sorts of speed and endurance records and lapped the infamous banked Brooklands track in Surrey alongside the thunderous, terrifying, aero-engined racers of the day. Three-wheeler production restarted after 24
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the Second World War, but in austere times exports had to be prioritized, and cars with four wheels sold better overseas. Morgan built its last three-wheeler in 1953. Its last until now, that is. Other car companies endlessly plunder their back catalogue for retro inspiration, but Morgan doesn’t have to: it’s still building the same cars it was in the fifties. Of course, there have been newer designs like the AeroMax, with entirely modern engineering but the same Morgan aesthetic. But Charles had always resisted reviving his grandfather’s greatest work and the rock on which the family firm was
SCORECARD How much? Engine: Performance: Economy: How heavy?
£25,000 excluding taxes 1982cc v-twin, 120bhp 4.5 sec 0-100kph, 200kph 8l per 100km 480kg
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founded, until a Morgan enthusiast in America designed and started to build a tribute to those pre-war three-wheelers. It looked good and was sensational to drive, so with an agility that the huge, monolithic mainstream carmakers just wouldn’t recognize, Morgan bought up the design, put its own stamp on it and is about to put it into production at Pickersleigh Road. And it looks like it might have the hit of 2011 on its hands, for all the same reasons that made HFS Morgan’s original so popular. Powered by a nose-mounted two-litre V-twin Americanmade S&S motorcycle engine with exhausts styled to look like tusks, the three-wheeler’s beltdriven single rear wheel will rocket it to 60mph in less than five seconds and on to a top speed of around 125mph. Push the fighter-plane safety catch away from the starter button and fire the engine up: it sounds as good as it looks and bucks and bellows as you prod the throttle, but flexible engine mounts mean the tiny, saddleleather lined cabin remains fairly refined. Or as refined as it’s possible to be with no roof or radio , two tiny aircraft-style flyscreens in front of driver and passenger, and your backside inches off the ground. Plainly, comfort and practicality are not the priorities here. Fun, however, is, and the threewheeler delivers that in abundance. It’s the perfect example of why less is more in motoring; less weight means better handling, and requires less power to go fast. Everything can be downsized, and not just the engine, so you end up with a car that costs just £25,000, yet like all tiny, light, open cars seems to magnify the thrills to match those of Ferraris and Lamborghinis at ten times the price. And while economic and environmental crises have made supercars socially unacceptable to some, everybody smiles at this thing. Sure, you’ll need to be well-heeled to drop £25,000 plus local taxes on a three-wheeled car with no roof; for most owners it will join a large collection as very occasional Sunday morning car. Jay Leno is the perfect customer; the American chat show host and terminal car nut drove the Morgan at its official launch at the Goodwood Festival of Speed, held in the Earl of March’s grounds in July, and ordered one on the spot. The options he’ll be able to choose from are as much fun as the car itself. The bodywork and leather cabin can be ordered in everything from battleship grey to bubblegum pink, and you can play up the fighter-plane aesthetic with roundels, mock bullet holes and sharks-teeth transfers. Over 500 buyers are already deciding how they’ll have theirs; that’s almost as many cars as Morgan made last year. We’re sure Morgan won’t let the waiting list build up the way it did in the eighties, but you should still get your order in soon. We doubt Leno will have to wait long for his. HKGOLFER.COM
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