3 Wheeler Concept

About a month ago, I stumbled upon some photos of the old Morgan Super Sports Aero 3-Wheeler (manufactured between 1927 and 1939).

Morgan Super Sports Aero

Seeing pictures of this beautiful automobile revived the car lover in me again. I've always loved the design of the cars from the early days of European Grand Prix auto racing and this vehicle shared similar design lines with the Bugatti Type 35 and other cars from the same era.

Bugatti Type 35C

Unlike the Grand Prix cars, Morgan stepped in a much different direction than Bugatti and others. The two major differences were the use of three wheels rather than four and incorporating a 9.94HP 996cc J.A.P. JTOR v-twin motorcycle engine to power the vehicle rather than the larger 90HP 1991cc single overhead cam straight-8 used by Bugatti.

Because of the transmission, performance, and horsepower limitations of the day, the Morgan wasn't capable of traveling nearly as fast as the Bugatti. However, with the advances that have been made in motorcycle engine technology and transmissions since then, the Morgan design could possibly be adapted to create a very fast (yet remarkably fuel efficient) vehicle.

There are a number of companies already making modernized versions of the old Morgan. Most of them offer kit versions (BRA, JZR, Pembleton, Triking, etc...), but few offer fully assembled vehicles. Aero Cyclecar (the makers of the BRA) and Liberty Motors (makers of the Ace Cyclecar) seem to be the only ones offering a fully assembled version. The problem with all of these it seems, is that despite a bit of modernization and different motors, they are effectively little more than Morgan replicas.

So I issued a challenge to myself. Design a car loosely based on the old Morgan design, but modernized using:

1. a more powerful modern motorcycle engine (more than likely a Moto Guzzi)
2. double wishbone front suspension (used in many sports cars today)
3. a more advanced transmission (the original Morgans didn't have a reverse gear)
4. a roll-cage incorporated into the design (for added safety)
5. some sort of protection from the weather (something that all the modern versions lack)
6. a few motorcycle design elements to complement the use of a motorcycle engine (like an exposed rear tire and saddlebags)
7. a few elements from my other automobile passion, the ratrod (flat black paint job, pinstripes, and whitewall tires)

After researching my list of goals, I came up with the following solution. To build the vehicle, I would need a Moto Guzzi 850 Le Mans II or a Moto Guzzi 850 Le Mans III (perhaps one that was wrecked in the front to keep cost down), a 1970s Triumph Spitfire Mk IV (in decent shape but doesn’t need to be running), and about $900-1000 (based on current steel prices) in 2” x 2” tube steel, 1” round stock tubing, and 18ga sheet metal. Parts that aren’t needed from the motorcycle and Triumph could be scrapped out or sold to recoup some of the expenses.

The 2” x 2” tube steel would be used to make the frame, the 1” round stock tubing would make the top of the roll cage, and the 18ga sheet metal would be used to fabricate the body panels.

1981 Moto Guzzi Le Mans II

From the Moto Guzzi, I would be able to reuse:

1. The 74HP 844cc (Le Mans II) or 76HP 844cc (Le Mans III) engine
2. Rear swing arm
3. Exhaust system
4. Rear disc brake
5. Bell housing from the transmission (possibly)

Triumph Spitfire Mk IV

From the Triumph Spitfire, I would be able to reuse:

1. The double wishbone front suspension
2. The 5-speed transmission w/reverse
3. Shift linkage
4. Driveshaft (possibly)
5. Rear differential
6. Front disc brakes
7. Dashboard (modified to fit)
8. Steering linkage
9. Turn signals
10. Side and rear mirrors
11. Alternator
12. Wiper motor

In addition to the above list, I would need:

1. A modified “tuner car” rear spoiler
2. 20” x 3” wire spoke rims and whitewall tires for the front
3. 18" x 5" wire spoke rim and whitewall tire for the rear
4. Black racing seats with 5-point harnesses
5. About 6-8 yards of oilskin to make the removable top and doors
6. “Flying Lady” hood ornament from a 1940s Cadillac
7. A pair of bug-eye headlights
8. Black hard shell saddlebags
9. A Windshield
10. Euro style wiper arm and blade
11. Some exhaust tubing to push the mufflers further back
12. Misc. bits and baubles

The drive train would start with the Moto Guzzi engine mounted between the front tires. From there, either the Guzzi bell housing would need to be modified to fit the Triumph gearbox or the Triumph bell housing modified to fit the Guzzi engine. The transmission would then be connected to a driveshaft (perhaps the one salvaged from the Triumph) to link it to the Triumph rear differential. The differential would then be modified to only output on one side to run a chain drive to the rear tire.

The end result, after a bit of fabrication and retrofitting, a flat black paintjob, and some pinstripes

With the saddlebags and doors added

According to www.3wheelers.com:

In a couple states you have the option to license a 3-wheeler as a car. Most states are fairly uniform, but these are the questions one should ask of the motor vehicles department, which anyone can call for information.

In general 3-wheelers are classed as motorcycles though in at least one State, a motorcycle must weigh a certain amount. ( 1500 lbs?). As a motorcycle there are no tests for pollution in most States. (Though in California all new motorcycles come with catalytic converters) In some States, motorcycles skip the annual safety inspections, where a car can be disqualified for hundreds of reasons. You are sometimes limited to one headlight, sometimes to one tail light, but this isn't usually enforced. No windshield wipers, turn signals, catalytic converters or any of the other things the older motorcycles do not have. If you have any of these items though they must work even though they are not required.

In general a 3-Wheeler must be insured as a motorcycle and you can not insure it as a car...(you can read the rest here)

This would allow the vehicle to be registered as a motorcycle rather than a car. What does this mean? Fewer requirements on equipment that must be on the car (lowering the weight), lower registration cost, and the ability to drive in the HOV (high occupancy vehicle) and carpool lanes in many states.

I also found that a 3-wheeler (2 wheels in front, 1 in the rear) is capable of making faster turns, handles better, and has a much higher roll-over resistance than a typical 4-wheeled car. To give an idea of performance capable with a 3-wheeled vehicle (albeit a completely different configuration), the T-Rex (with a 187HP 1352cc inline 4 cylinder engine) is able to out-accelerate and out-handle Porsches and Ferraris (0-60 in 3.5 seconds). Of course my idea for a modernized Morgan wouldn’t be able to accelerate quite as fast as the T-Rex, but the handling could quite easily surpass that of a number of sports cars on the market today and still get 45-50MPG on the highway (without being a hybrid). The biggest bonus is that (depending on the cost of the Triumph and the Moto Guzzi) the total bill for fabrication and building the 3-wheeler could easily be under $10,000 ($15K if you get ripped off on the donor vehicles).

The Bottom Line:

1. 45-50MPG highway (equivalent to a Toyata Prius, but looks a heck of a lot better)
2. 0-60MPH at or under 10 seconds (you're not gonna break any land speed records, but you'll give a few tuner cars a run for their money.)
3. Cost to build: $10-15K (less than a new econobox)
4. If manufactured on a larger scale, it could allow for the average American to own a high performance, yet fuel efficient vehicle for $15-20K (and allow the company making it to earn about $5000 profit per car).

It’s an idea.

3 Wheeler Concept