Morgan confirms Super Sports three-wheeler

Morgan Super Sports three-wheeler

Exactly one month ago I blogged the wonderful news that the British car company Morgan planned to reintroduce its classic 3-wheeler design for the 21st Century. Now further details have emerged of the new 2011 Super Sports and I'm delighted to see that they have kept it true to the original. Of course a few compromises have had to be made for modern driving, such as the provision of roll-over hoops but by and large it looks just like the Morgans of the '20s and early '30s and is all the better for it. Even the engine, although an American Harley-Davidson design, can claim to have links to the original motorcycle engines from the likes of JAP, Matchless and Anzani that were used in the original Super Sports (below) and which were also V-twins.

The combination of a modern, compact fuel efficient engine with decent power levels combined with a car that weighs a mere 500 kilograms should make for thrilling yet economical driving. Morgan are to be applauded for sticking with this simple approach to motoring, one that boldly flies in the face of modern car design where everything is bulkier and busier and which instead harks back to earlier, leaner times that other car makers are only just beginning to cotton on to.

I like the "get-in-and-drive simplicity and reliability" mentioned in the article and Morgan's sensible idea to keep things basic. I'm also pleased to see that the price is likely to be a more reasonable £25,000 and not the frankly ridiculous £46,000 that was bandied about to begin with. It may be a tiny niche but this may well be the best way to experience motoring as it was 80-odd years ago without all the attendant worries and shortcomings of a classic car. Time to start saving up those pennies!