The early cars were two-seat or four-seat three-wheelers, and are therefore considered to be cyclecars. Three-wheeled vehicles avoided the British tax on cars by being classified as motorcycles. Competition from small cars like the Austin 7 and the original Morris Minor, with comparable economy and price and better comfort, made cyclecars less attractive.
Models[]
- Morgan Grand Prix
- Morgan Aero
- Morgan Super Sports
- Morgan F-Series
- Morgan V-Twin Series
- Morgan Sports
A Morgan 3 wheeler with a twin cylinder V engine
V-Twin three-wheelers (1911–1939)[]
H.F.S. Morgan's first car design was a single-seat three-wheeled runabout, which was fabricated for his personal use in 1909. Interest in his runabout led him to patent his design and begin production. While he initially showed single-seat and two-seat versions of his runabout at the 1911 Olympia Motor Exhibition, he was convinced at the exhibition that there would be greater demand for a two-seat model. The Morgan Motor Company was registered as a limited private company only in 1912 with "H.F.S." Morgan as managing director and his father, who had invested in his son's business, as its first chairman.
Morgan built his cars' reputation by entering them in competitions. One of his racing cars won the 1913 Cyclecar Grand Prix at Amiens in France. This became the basis for the Grand Prix model of 1913 to 1926, from which evolved the Aero, Super Sports, and Sports models.
These models used air-cooled or liquid-cooled variations of motorcycle engines. The engine was placed ahead of the axis of the front wheels in a chassis made of steel tubes brazed into cast lugs.
The V-Twin models were not returned to production after World War II.
2011 Reintroduction[]
In 2011 Morgan announced that they would restart the production of the Three-wheeler, although it would be
2012 Morgan Three-wheeler
slightly updated. It is powered by an S&S engine and has a kerbweight of just over 1,200 lbs. Morgan estimated that the Three-wheeler would be capable of a 0-60 mph time of 4.5 seconds and a top speed of 115 mph.
Museums[]
Many museums, including the National Motor Museum, the Haynes International Motor Museum and the Brooklands Museum all have at least one, but the C.M. Booth Collection of Historic Vehicles in Kent is dedicated to them. The vast majority of vehicles in the collection are Morgan Three-wheelers.
C.M. Booth Collection of Historic Vehicles: http://www.morganmuseum.org.uk/C_M_Booth_Collection/Welcome.html
Replicas[]
2010 Triking
Replicas are made by companies such as Triking.
Gallery[]
