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Coming to America with a Ford 3-cylinder, it might be better than most things on four wheels.
Are three wheels coming to the fore? The quirky niche seems to be getting popular.
The back-from-the-dead and hyper-efficient Aptera electric car has three wheels, as do the Vanderhall Venice and the over-styled Polaris Slingshot. But those are all recent designs. Morgan has been making cars on three wheels for over 113 years, and its latest model, the Super 3, looks like it’ll be a lot of fun.
The oblong shape is supposed to evoke a jet engine, and certainly does look aerodynamic, more so than the previous Morgan 3-Wheeler that had a bit of a Campbell’s Soup can look.
Under the jet-engine skin is a super-formed aluminum monocoque chassis, with a lovely vertically mounted aluminum subframe up front joining the double wishbone front suspension with the engine and the rest of the car. And you are correct, that means the ash frame is gone, a victim of progress and efficiency.
The flat panels on the sides are called “side blades” and are meant for hanging luggage. Morgan will gladly sell you bespoke Malle London wax-cotton pannier bags (595 English Pounds) or hard-shell suitcases in the same color as the car (1995 for the pair). You can also order little stickers that show how many lorries, tractors and F1 cars you’ve shot down. Cheeky, that.
The whole tube-like sausage is powered by a 1.5-liter Ford Dragon three-cylinder (one for each wheel?) making 118 hp and 110 lb-ft of torque. That’s 30 more horses than the last Morgan three-wheeler.
Power goes through a five-speed Mazda manual from the Miata, out a bevel gear and spins the carbon fiber-reinforced drive belt to the single rear wheel. With a curb weight of just barely under 1400 pounds, that means 0-62 mph comes up in a tidy 7 seconds and top speed is a goggle-whacking 130 mph.
In the open-air cockpit is—whatsat?—a cupholder? Yes, a cupholder, Morgan’s first. Along with a USB charging port. The US spec version arrives on our shores before the end of this year, priced lower than the previous Morgan 3-Wheeler, which was $59,000.
Is the world a better place because there are weird little fun things like this? Of course it is.