The all-electric Morgan 3 Wheeler has been unveiled at the Goodwood Festival of Speed.
Due to go on sale late next year, the Morgan EV3 is currently in the advanced prototype stage. It's powered by a 101bhp electric motor, mounted at the rear, but weighs just 25kg more than the standard 450kg 3 Wheeler. The car has a range of 150 miles, and can be recharged in four hours via an electric port hidden under its retro-styled petrol filler cap.
The three-wheeled Morgan EV3 is revealed at the Geneva Motorshow
While not revealing official performance figures, Morgan says it is aiming to offer the EV3 with comparable characteristics to its regular 3 Wheeler, which is capable of reaching 60mph in 8.0 seconds. While the standard 3 Wheeler can reach a top speed of 115mph, however, the EV3 is limited to 80mph.
Claimed to "look at the world of zero emissions motoring with an entirely new approach," the EV3 is the second electric vehicle made by Morgan, though is the first to be confirmed for production.
The firm's first electric model, the Plus E, was unveiled at the Geneva motor show in 2012, and featured a 94bhp electric motor mated to a five-speed manual transmission. It was said to be capable of sprinting to 62mph in 6.0 seconds, with a top speed of 115mph, and had an electric range of 120 miles.
Speaking to Autocar at the Festival of Speed, Morgan's head of design Jonathan Wells said the car would gain some styling changes before making it to production, including a more streamlined body and different wheels.
“This is early days for us," said Wells "The biggest thing is to make sure the technology is right. Next, we’ll put ten cars on the road with customers for testing. At that point we’ll have a better estimate of how many we will build.”
Though no official pricing has yet been revealed, Wells said the EV3 was built to be no more expensive than a "well-specced" 3 Wheeler, which starts at £25,950 and rises to £28,333 for the Superdry version.
The standard Morgan 3 Wheeler is powered by a 1983cc V-twin engine, producing 80bhp. That’s enough to get it to 60mph in 8.0 seconds. It has a five-star Autocar road test rating.
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2015 Goodwood Festival of Speed preview
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Presumably...
What's the point?
Autocar now quoting prices without VAT?
Someone needs to check their notes against the manufacturer's website. I'm predicting £38K for the EV version. Furthermore Morgan are missing a trick if they don't make the battery (out in front to replace the weight of the S&S engine) user switchable. Or even offer a long range version with 2 batteries...