Morgan Return to their Roots
Built between 1909 and 1953, around 30,000 of the original "two-at-the-front/one-at-the- back" cars were built at the company's Malvern plant in the UK and many more were made under licence by Darmont Morgan in France.
Surprisingly, the Three wheelers had a successful motor racing career and one actually triumphed in the 1913 French Grand Prix. Well tuned, the little car could regularly lap the banked Brooklands track at an average speed of more than 160km/h.
One famous previous owner, Sir Stirling Moss, is on record as saying: "My Morgan was a great babe magnet".
Now, the Morgan Motor Company has announced the rebirth of the Three wheeler and the first of the new cars will go to their owners next year and it will be a far cry from the original version.
Morgan engineers and designers will cleverly combine the original concept and modern technology to come up with a new classic design.
The 2011 Three wheeler will be powered by the latest 75kW "Screamin' Eagle" V-twin 1800cc Harley-Davidson engine mated with a five-speed Mazda gearbox and buyers can look forward to a top speed of 185km/h and a sprint time to 100km/h of around 4.5 seconds.
Weighing in at just 500kg, the new Morgan will be built around a sturdy tubular frame and two gloss-black rollover bars will surround the passenger compartment.
Morgan describes the car as having an "aerodynamic super-formed aluminium 'bullet' hull" and it is designed to protect the occupants from the weather and a padded-leather, aircraft-style cockpit will impart a feeling of 'flying through the air'.
Buyers will be able to choose from eight colours with black detailing and black or tan leather for the seats, dash and side pads. The leather-wrapped steering wheel will have an alloy centre and there will be aluminium aircraft-like toggle switches and what Morgan describes as a "bomb-release" type start button.
The Three wheeler will come with gloss-black wheel arches, lights and wire wheels. There will be matte black exhausts with a gloss-black heat shield and twin flyscreens.
