Fancy a sexy, retro alternative to a Smart car that does 0-100km/h in 4.5 seconds? Then you should seriously think about the Morgan 3 Wheeler, which isn’t a car but a motor trike, an all-but-forgotten form of transport harking back to pre-war Europe.

The 3 Wheeler’s single wheel is mounted at the rear, and it’s massive enough to provide huge amounts of propulsion and grip. Alas, there’s no windscreen and no roof, so it’s no substitute for a car. But, if you’ve got some goggles to hand and preferably a helmet (although it’s not compulsory), it could be a lot of fun for the summer. Luggage-wise, you can tuck away a holdall and a pair of toothbrushes in the tapering fuselage.

For many years Morgan was famous for its diminutive English cars and was a trike manufacturer from 1909-51 – that is, until four wheels became the undisputed norm. According to Charles Morgan, a descendant of the company’s founder, the recently unveiled 3 Wheeler – which can better 50 miles to the gallon (5.6 litres per 100km) – is not a replica but a reinvention.

The distinction may be lost on even die- hard Morgan fans (the sort who keep the top down even in the wet) as, apart from the optional pin-up girls, shark-mouth decals and RAF designations – retro bling, if you like – this machine is pure 1930s, from its missile-shaped front to its beetle backtail.

Stirring up memories of First World War Sopwith Camels and Battle of Britain Hurricanes – minus wings and propellers, of course – even the exhaust baffles have a machine-gun look to them, like props stolen from the set of The Red Baron. An odd sort of reinvention, then. Perhaps the only truly modern item, apart from the Mazda gearbox, is the theatrical start button, which is actually the bomb-release button found on a Eurofighter.

This is all pure Morgan of course, appropriate to a tiny-volume, slightly eccentric, family-owned British car-maker with a cult following in Germany.

Nonetheless, the 3 Wheeler hints at all sorts of more serious intentions. “The new nought-to-sixty figure is ‘miles to the gallon’ for most customers,” says Morgan, alluding to the sky-high price of petrol, and it’s certainly true that the 3 Wheeler delivers amazing performance in a very economical way.

Morgan notes that it was developed in conjunction with the Eva GT, a slippery little coupé with very high relative economy owing to its reduced weight, unveiled as a Morgan concept last year.

However, it’s not too difficult to see how the 3 Wheeler could evolve. For now available only with a 1.9 litre, fruity V-Twin engine more familiar to Hells Angels than motorists, it’s very easy to envisage a smaller but no less entertaining petrol engine complemented by a fully protected cockpit and windscreen. It would be capable of 100mpg and 100mph and would still have seat-of-the-pants handling and acceleration.

Such a vehicle would still attract the miniscule road tax of a trike and could single-handedly put Morgan back on its pre-war throne, and back into the big time of manufacturing. In fact it might return a whole generation to the sort of visceral motoring thrills that have today become the almost exclusive preserve of bikers.

It would also turn the tables on BMW’s mini-Mini – the Rocketman concept that the German company aired to much acclaim earlier this year.

Will Morgan have the courage to extend the appeal of the 3 Wheeler, or will the business remain what it’s been for years, an automotive equerry to the rich and eccentric? All that’s clear for the moment is that the 3 Wheeler is no bargain at €30,000 plus local taxes. But on a more positive note, it did steal the Geneva Motor Show in March, causing more excitement than supercars costing 10 times as much.

The proof of concept will be in sales, and Charles Morgan says that he’s already taken 300 deposits of €10,000 each and that the first delivery to a European customer will be later this month. Indeed, he’s already talking about needing to take special measures to ramp up production.

But the real excitement won’t happen until he’s found a viable way to halve the price and, just as importantly, make the 3 Wheeler rainproof.

TECH SPEC

MORGAN
3 Wheeler

Price €30,000 plus local taxes
Engine 1.8 litre V-Twin S+S, 115 bhp
Transmission 5 speed (includes reverse gear)
Top speed 185 km/h
0-100km/h 4.5 sec