Morgan reveals £40k Super 3
All-new 635kg three-wheeler uses an atmo Ford triple and stiff monocoque chassis
Morgan has turned to the start of its 113-year history as inspiration for an all-new £40,000 three-wheeler, the Super 3 – which, it believes, will lift vehicle production at Malvern to unprecedented levels and give the marque a bigger global presence than ever when it hits the market in August.
The new model, Morgan’s first clean-sheet design since the Aero 8 in 2000, is a new take on the traditional three-wheeler that company founder HFS Morgan first started selling in 1909. It ditches the motorcycle-derived V-twin engine that has been a recurring theme in Morgan three-wheeler history in favour of a front-mounted 1.5-litre Ford inline triple, a normally aspirated 118bhp version of the one that powers the Fiesta ST.
Unlike any previous Morgan three-wheeler, the Super 3’s engine is carried on an extremely rigid but lightweight frontal casting that joins a new, Cad-designed monocoque chassis, most of whose lightweight aluminium panels are superformed in nearby Worcester. There is a similar but smaller joining casting at the rear of the body. Both elements are described as “unashamedly functional” pieces that also contribute to the car’s visual character.
When Super 3 production reaches planned levels late this year at Morgan’s Malvern Link factory, output should amount to around 15 units a week, more than double the outgoing 3 Wheeler model’s best total. Combined with similar production numbers for the recently revised Bmwengined Plus Four and Plus Six models, Morgan’s total annual output should reach or even exceed 1500 cars a year, a leap compared with the totals of 800-900 units in recent years.
Morgan managing director Steve Morris has especially high hopes for Super 3 sales in the US, where compliance regulations for motorcycles and tricycles are easier to negotiate than for cars, although he is at pains to point out that the Super 3’s crash test regime and safety engineering goes far beyond
Morgan’s first sat-nav is supplied by motorcycle accessory manufacturer Beeline, and presents directions via a characteristically uncluttered interface.
minimum requirements.
Design chief Jon Wells says modern CAD and CAE techniques were invaluable in helping his team meet the packaging challenges of the Super 3’s monocoque body-chassis, which included maintaining ultra-compact body dimensions while fitting the engine inside the body, rather than across the front as with previous V-twin models. With a 3.6m overall length, the Super 3 is 120mm longer than the outgoing model – thus
Switchgear and gauges are rated to IP65 so the interior can be washed down with a lowpressure hose after a long run.
Morgan worked with Avon to create a skinny but grippy tyre with a classic tread pattern. It brings back Avon’s Speedmaster name and features Morgan’s logo.
similar in length to a Fiat 500 – yet it provides considerably more cockpit space.
One key feature is a pair of multifunctional sideplates, one on either side of the body, which add greatly to the Super 3’s versatility. They play a vital role in directing cooling air into the twin radiators (one either side of the engine), their spacesaving shape allows the Super 3 an excellent turning circle and they provide perfect mounting space for a “limitless” selection of side-mounted panniers, racks and luggage carriers.
Versatility is a constant theme: the Super 3 bristles with snap fasteners that allow the fitting of toolboxes, cameras, mirrors, sat-navs, wind deflectors and screens. Morgan plans to offer about 200 pieces of optional equipment and will encourage approved outside suppliers to do the same.
The Super 3’s north-south engine, which produces 118bhp at 6500rpm and 110lb ft at 4500rpm, drives through a Mazda five-speed gearbox to a special bevel box, ahead of the trailing arm-mounted rear wheel, that changes the drive orientation so power can be transferred to the rear wheel by toothed belt.
The front suspension is independent by coil-sprung wishbones (operated by pushrod) and the 20in front wheels have an exaggerated positive offset to allow the wishbones to be as long as possible for what Wells terms “perfect corner geometry”.
Driving the Super 3, with its smooth and high-revving triple, is considerably different from the torquey, “rumbly” V-twin, reports Wells, because the new engine thrives on high revs. There has been much work on the engine sounds – to make it “rasp” in the mid-ranges,
STEVE CROPLEY
The seats (available in four finishes) are fixed but both the pedal box and the steering column are adjustable (the latter for both reach and rake).
and “sing” when it gets closer to its 6500rpm power peak. The 635kg Super 3 fulfils the essential function of every 3 Wheeler, says Wells, to be “a motorcycle for car people”.
Morgan is taking orders now and will start delivering customer cars in August. There won’t be different models as such but three different “themes” – Adventure Touring, Contemporary and Classic – at launch, just for guidance.
“Morgan owners are proud to be individuals, so we wouldn’t dream of telling them what to do. But the options list is essentially limitless so we want to help them focus their ideas,” said Wells.