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This story has got my name written all over it.
The subject is Morgan’s 3 Wheeler, and no man on this magazine is more suited to savouring it… because the very first car I ever owned was a three-wheeler of the same pattern.
It was in 60s London, where some legal aberration allowed this configuration to be driven on a simply-obtained scooter licence and, with its 204cc of raging rear-mounted thrust, a Heinkel Trojan was my first, fabulous taste of automotive freedom.
But the nostalgia remains, and no company in automotive history is as devoted to that emotion as Morgan, the very epitome of autocentricity. So, for reasons that have quite easily evaded every other marque, Morgan has revived the three-wheeler, simultaneously confronting convention and confounding authority.
The latter explains why obtaining formal compliance for the Morgan 3 Wheeler (or M3W) in this country was such a protracted and costly process, culminating in a conveyance lacking a roof, windscreen, doors or any form of heating or cooling other than whatever amuses God. Despite these omissions, the Morgan is officially classified under ADRs as a luxury car.
A vehicle mass of 550kg promises an immediacy of response that even a (rare these days) one-tonner can never match. And allows both the economy of a twin-cylinder motor and 6.0-second 0-100km/h sprints – a profound improvement on my own three-wheeler’s times which, as I recall, involved a calendar.
However, preparing to drive the Morgan reveals some of the frugalities are indeed extreme. Short of setting about the thing with spanners, there is no available adjustment of seat position, steering wheel or pedals, which limits sharing the pleasure and, more importantly, the option of a nominated driver.
As mentioned, however, there are options… and even if the trifles mentioned aren’t among them, the list still glitters. Plunder it and your M3W can be outfitted with RAF roundels and a lovely array of simulated bullet holes, neither of which, as I recall, are available from competitor Mercedes. And not even Bentley offers a range of coachwork graphics that include semi-naked ladies riding bombs.
The more technically inclined will be drawn to the mechanicals and, for their pleasure, the engine is proudly displayed out front. The still-curious will discover that only the less lovely appendages (battery, oil tank, etc) occupy the under-bonnet space, but do it so thoroughly that no further stowage is available there.
Trust me, it is uncommonly brave for a British car to offer a hammer but, as their product design indicates, Morgan is surely bold. And, anyway, they have an ace to play. Ignore the ADR’s designation and see the M3W as its maker does – a sportster – and you’re dealing with a sub-species that traditionally can get away with anything.
So let’s forget the shortcomings and be grateful that Staff Journalist Cordony has joined us in something sensible to serve as a platform for photographer Dewar and, more to the point, provide stowage for anything requiring more space than a sneeze.
Okay, there can be no denying the thing’s look-at-me power, and at a movie premiere it’d pull more paps than whatever Miley wasn’t wearing… but you’ve gotta get there first, and as driving involves much more than just arriving we shall focus on that.
Traffic reveals day-to-day realities, such as a driveline with more snatch than a Swedish movie and the nuisance of having no left footrest other than the clutch pedal.
The unassisted steering is also surprisingly heavy and parking is further hampered by a turning circle occupying approximately one page of the road directory. Why this arc is so much greater than that of a conventional four-wheeler escapes me, but, at urban speeds, the Morgan feels commendably stable.
The ride, already firm to minimise roll and heighten response, is rendered brutal when the pothole you’ve carefully straddled with the front wheels swallows the rear one and delivers your arse, parked right in front of it, a swift discourse on the limitation of the layout. And don’t worry that you’ll forget it, as every cobble-centred driveway and old timber bridge will restore the memory.
But these cavils fade as the well-surfaced country roads that serve this land so well open before us and, in a cascade of crackle and pace, the Morgan reveals its road-self. And most of it is truly rewarding.
Then there’s the tactility that the unassisted and manual everything brings to the experience, promoting an intimacy long-lost to modern motoring. Above all is the reward of response to every input made possible by the minimal mass. But that response, sadly, diminishes during hard cornering when prodigious understeer significantly reduces both pace and poise.
And, happily exploring that capability – purely for the camera, of course – brings a flood of memories sweeping back. Not of the Heinkel. Oh no. Of a later, and far greater, tasting. This Morgan brings back the bestial, brute-powered, wheelie-prone thumpers of my youth: bikes that thrilled – and threatened – with an intensity beyond any car I’ve ever experienced.
3.5 OUT OF 5 STARS
SPECS Body: 2-seat roadster Drive: rear-wheel Engine: 1983cc V2, OHV, 8v Bore/stroke: 79.0 x 76.0mm Compression: 9.0:1 Power: 60kW @ 5250rpm Torque: 140Nm @ 3250rpm Power/weight: 109kW/tonne Transmission: 5-speed manual Weight: 550kg Suspension(F): A-arms, coil springs, anti-roll bar, hydraulic shocks Suspension(R): trailing arm, coil springs, hydraulic shocks L/W/H: 3260/1738/1012mm Wheelbase: 2388mm Tracks: 1533mm (f) Steering: unassisted rack-and-pinion Brakes(F): 278mm ventilated discs; twin-piston calipers Brakes(R): 244mm drum brake Wheels: 19.0 x 2.5-inch (f); 15 x 6.0-inch (r) Tyre sizes: 4.00 x 19 H15 (f); 175/65 R15 (r) Tyres: Avon Safety Mileage Pros: Exclusivity; celebrity status; utterly unique driving experience Cons: Very expensive; not at all practical; turning circle Price: $97,500
Sticking it to ’em
