New 2022 Morgan Super 3


 Morgan is returning to the start of its 113-year history to inspire an all-new £40,000 three-wheeler model, 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 3 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 3 wheeler history in favour of a front-mounted 1.5-litre Ford in-line triple, a normally aspirated 118bhp version of the engine that powers the Ford Fiesta ST. 

Unlike any previous 3 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 model’s best total. Combined with similar production numbers for the recently revised, BMW-engined Plus Four and Plus Six models, Morgan’s total annual output should reach or even exceed 1500 cars a year, a production leap compared with the totals of 800-900 cars in recent years.

Design chief Jon Wells says modern CAD and CAE techniques were invaluable in helping his team meet the packaging challenges of 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, Super 3 is 120mm longer than the outgoing model — thus similar in length to a Fiat 500 — yet it provides considerably more generous cockpit space for occupants in practically every dimension. The seats (available in a total of four finishes) are fixed but both the pedal and box and the steering column are adjustable (the latter for both reach and rake).

One key feature of the car is a pair of novel, multi-functional sideplates, one on either side of the body, which add greatly to Super 3’s versatility. They play a vital role in directing cooling air into the twin radiators (one either side of the engine), their space-saving shape allows the Super 3 an excellent turning circle and they provide perfect mounting space for the model’s “limitless” selection of side-mounted panniers, racks and luggage carriers.


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