Morgan 3-Wheeler M333 HNY
The last of the 3-wheelers?
"The Morgan 3 wheeler deconstructs driving as we know it, and offers a completely different set of solutions, and I rather like them – particularly when the sun’s out." - Chris Harris
So pull up a chair, make some tea or coffee and settle in for a short (and interesting, hopefully) history lesson. It's not until you start delving into Morgan's history that you realise that Henry Morgan's first car was a 3-wheeler, and remains the only car to have ever appeared in the window at Harrods. Fascinating stuff.
Henry worked for the Great Western Railway but quit in 1904 to set up his motor sales and servicing garage in Malvern Link, He designed and built a 3-wheeler single seat runabout for his own use in 1908, the 3 wheels meaning that he avoided the tax on cars in force at that time as it was classed as a motorcycle. The engine was a 7 horsepower Peugeot twin cylinder engine from an abandoned motorcycle project, the suspension was a bespoke coil spring independent design and a driveshaft ran through the backbone tube to a 2-speed transmission to drive the rear wheel. Sound familiar?
The backbone chassis is an idea that was retained for all subsequent Morgan 3 wheelers until they were phased out in 1952, when Morgan decided to focus on making 4-wheel cars. In 1913 Morgan set the record for the greatest distance covered in an hour by a 3-wheeler reaching nearly 60 miles at the Brooklands proving ground. Even by my maths that means driving in excess of 60mph in a machine steered by a tiller, and band brakes. Brave.
This was the start of a successful period for the company, establishing its reputation via racing and competition that led to demand far outstripping supply. The constant was either an air- or liquid-cooled variation of a motorcycle engine up front providing the power. A successful formula now for 112 years! Unfortunately, the advent of cheap and widely available 4-wheel cars from other manufacturers led to a phasing out of the 3 wheelers, as Morgan focused on their own, more conventional efforts. Not before a streamlined version had managed to average 91mph in an hour at Brooklands however.
It wasn't until 2011 that Morgan announced that they would be building three wheelers again, along very similar lines to the original cars from nearly a hundred years before. The engine is now a v-twin unit provided by S&S and pushing out approximately 115hp, with a smooth-shifting Mazda MX-5 gearbox and a kerbweight of less than 550kg, meaning 0-60mph in 5 seconds. The spirit of the car remains the same, with very little in the way of protection from the elements from the open cabin, the view out of the front dominated by the view of the front wheels, and a v-twin unit dominating the proceedings driving the rear wheel.
How does it feel to drive? Like nothing else, bar those with experience of Caterhams, or other similar stripped-back cars. You feel the road through the steering wheel, through the seat of your trousers, and through every gearchange and blip of the throttle. 30mph feels like 60, and 60 feels like a thousand! In all seriousness it does take a bit of getting used to, not least due to the 3rd wheel being seated in the middle of the car. Our only advice is just to take it steady, as this way you will also have plenty of time to drink in the views.
Why "the last of the 3-wheelers" then? In 2020 Morgan announced that they would be ending production of the 3 Wheeler in its current format when the final production run of 33 special edition P101 models was completed. All those cars promptly sold out, and whilst there are rumours of the 3 Wheeler returning in a similar format to the EV electrical concept car Morgan revealed a few years ago, it is highly unlikely that it will return in anything like its current guise. So, as Morgan has no more cars to sell, and is probably not going to make any more, then this really does represent the last of the line. We are so fortunate to have secured one of the last 3 wheelers Morgan will ever sell, and hope you will enjoy it as much as we do.
