Morgan’s 3 Wheeler sports car (if you can call it that) has been a huge success for the UK automaker. The brand’s history is of course tied to the original three-wheeler, which was designed by Henry Morgan as the first ‘cyclecar’ in 1909, but it was a bold move to introduce a redesigned version 60 years after the F-series 3 wheelers ended production in 1952.
Since the new 3 Wheeler went on sale in 2012, it has become the automaker’s fastest-selling model in its 105-year history. Now, Morgan is ready to introduce a new flavor of its iconic vehicle, an electric version.
The EV3 will debut at the Goodwood Festival of Speed this week before going on sale in 2016. While Morgan doesn’t have a ton of experience with electric models — having until now only sold the Plus E — the recipe sounds simple enough. There will be a single electric motor powering the rear wheels and providing 101 horsepower.
While you might assume the electric version will play second fiddle performance-wise to the internal combustion variant, the EV3 actually makes more power and will weigh less than the 1200-pound gas-powered 3 Wheeler. The range is also decent, especially considering the size of the vehicle: 150 miles on a single charge.
With more power and less weight, expect the EV3 to best both the Plus E and the standard 3 Wheeler’s 6.0-second sprint to 60 mph. Morgan says that the “bespoke to order, hand-crafted” EV3 will “look at the world of zero emissions motoring with an entirely new approach.”
Visually, the EV3 is distinguished by a cleaner, more rounded body, of course without the side-exit exhausts and front-mounted combustion engine. It’s unclear whether the EV3 will make it to the U.S. market, but considering how rapidly the normal 3 Wheeler sold here, it makes sense for its electric counterpart to make the journey.
