Triple whammy
The Super is the latest in a long line of tripod Morgans that stretches back to the formation of the company in and despite the retrofuturistic look it’s arguably the most modern thing ever to come out of the firm’s Malvern factory
The previous Wheeler resembled a bathtub that’d crashed into a vtwin motorbike engine but you get the sense that a lot more work went into the looks of the Super
The design is inspired by the midtolate
th century jet age with a streamlined body aerospec inch wheels and those long sideblades that house radiators and look like the folded wings of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang
The face is dominated by round headlamps and the Hartland Strut the chunky bit of differentcoloured cast aluminium up front that braces the engine and connects to the pullrod suspension which is named after the Morgan engineer that designed it
What makes the Super really modern though is the new CX aluminium platform that also underpins the Plus Four and Plus Six The one with fewer wheels takes it further being the first ever Morgan built with a monocoque structure and the first to get fully digital dials The only piece of wood is that slab of natural ash used for the dash
The mechanicals are bang up to date The bhp S&S twocylinder engine of old has been ditched thanks to pesky emissions regs in favour of a bhp Fordsourced cyl Essentially it’s a Fiesta ST engine minus turbo Headline figures are mph in seconds and a vmax of mph but do you care about numbers when you’ve only got three wheels?
On the move the Super was never going to be a nonevent but whereas the old Wheeler required manhandling this manages to be both full of character and genuinely brilliant to drive It gives you the confidence to explore its limits not least because with just bhp on tap and only a single wheel to send it through those limits are found at perfectly sensible speeds
Without a turbo you’re always working to keep the revs high which provides a fantastic threecylinder soundtrack and allows you to constantly snick through the brilliant shortthrow MX gearbox The pedals are beautifully weighted and well positioned for heel and toe action but don’t think it’s gone soft with the new powertrain it’ll still punish a fluffed downshift
The inboard engine is mounted behind the front wheels so instantly you’ve got better weight distribution than before Its positioning also means the front suspension can be moved closer to the body with longer wishbones for better stability It shows The Super is brilliantly balanced despite the small contact patches on the ballooned Avon Speedmaster tyres up front There’s no traction control or
ABS and the steering is unassisted but you get huge amounts of feedback and it only improves as you gather momentum We’d like a slightly smaller steering wheel but thankfully Morgan offers six different versions of varying sizes and materials
The rear wheel is clad in an Avon allseason tyre partly because said wheel has to deal with the worst a grimy road can throw at it but chiefly because in good weather it provides less rear grip than a summer tyre so there’s less understeer There’s more than enough power for a healthy dose of slip exiting corners or leaving junctions too and because you’re sitting on top of the driven wheel you can feel exactly what it’s doing at all times
The redesigned suspension and simple bench seat mean it’s genuinely comfortable plus the Super meets the same frontal impact standards as the fourwheeled Plus Four and Plus Six
Price could be a sticking point and there’ll be a mountain of options so expect to spend an extra per cent if you get excited with the box ticking One of Morgan’s proudest achievements is the accessory rails that can be attached to the sideblades the front and rear bulkheads the wind deflectors and the rear luggage rack The fixing is the company’s firstever patent and allows for panniers action cameras bungee cords phone mounts and even cupholders to be tacked on
As a whole package there’s a strong argument that says the Super is the perfect sports car for these times It’s engaging loud and unassisted for the purists but using a Ford engine means you’ll struggle to see less than mpg Plus because there’s no real weight to lug around it’s kg dry you won’t be churning through tyres even if you get the rear wheel moving around Which you will
Morgan says that both the Super and the Dakarspec CXT are already bringing a younger audience to the brand too Well they’re in their s mainly but it makes a change from the fogies wanting an ashframed Plus Four to remind them of the good old days
“THIS 3 MANAGES TO BE BOTH FULL OF CHARACTER AND BRILLIANT TO DRIVE”