CarBrandLogos archive · Morgan · 2011

MorganMorgan 3 Wheeler

An American V-twin bolted to the shape that started the company in 1909.

Photo: Mr.choppers · CC BY-SA 3.0

The story

A defining chapter in Morgan history.

Explore the ideas, engineering and context that shaped the Morgan 3 Wheeler, then continue into its specifications and place in the marque's lineage.

Origins

Morgan began in 1909 with a three-wheeler and kept building them until 1952. In 2011 it decided to do it again. The revived 3 Wheeler took its cue from an American special called the Liberty Ace and was built around the same basic idea: a large air-cooled V-twin hung out ahead of the axle line, a tubular chassis, a two-seat aluminium body, and a Mazda five-speed gearbox behind it.

Morgan Threewheeler EV3 Genf 2018 · Alexander Migl · CC BY-SA 4.0

Design and engineering

The engine is a 1983cc S&S V-twin of the kind normally found in American cruisers, and it defines the experience. The whole car rocks on its mounts at idle, and the noise arrives somewhere before the vehicle does. It weighs around half a tonne, so performance is brisk without being alarming, and in some markets it is registered as a motorcycle, with tax and licensing consequences that owners find either charming or infuriating.

In production

It was never meant to be rational. Morgan sold every one it could build between 2012 and 2021, including a short-lived battery-electric EV3 programme that was cancelled before proper production got under way. The Super 3 replaced it in 2022 with a Ford three-cylinder, which is a more sensible engine and a considerably less theatrical one.

At a glance