In the world of sports cars there are vehicles that try to combine sportiness with practicality, and there are some that eschew any semblance of practicality in favour of sheer fun and absolute purity.
And then there is the Morgan Super 3 that looks at those cars and snorts “you call THAT purity?” derisively.
The Super 3 is so damn dedicated to the unfiltered purity of being a sports car that not only does it not have a roof or doors, but it also doesn’t even bother with the expected number of wheels. Three seems to be more than enough. And I cannot disagree with it.
Of course, the Super 3 has quite the lineage in the reduced wheel count regard, having descended from the Morgan 3 Wheeler that was produced between 2012 and 2021. But the tri-wheel layout stretches much further back, with Morgan’s first car being the three-wheeler Runabout from 1909.
The company built three-wheelers right up until 1952 when they were phased out in favour of four-wheeled designs that it had been producing since 1935, with the 3 Wheeler reviving the practice in 2012.
Morgan’s early three-wheelers generally used V-twin motorbike engines - as did the 2012 revival - but the later F-Series three-wheelers built between 1932 and 1952 used the four-cylinder sidevalve engine from the Ford Model Y.
In a fun twist, the Super 3 splits the difference between these two eras of Morgan three-wheelers by using a non-turbo version of the fantastic three-cylinder Ford 1.5-litre EcoBoost Dragon engine.
The turbo version of this engine was last seen here in the fantastic Ford Fiesta ST, where it pumped out 147kW of power. However, without a turbo the output drops to… 87kW. But given that the Super 3 weighs a meagre 675kg, this is more than enough.
What kind of person would the Morgan Super 3 suit? If its to use as a daily driver, then a complete lunatic.
This is because the Super 3 isn’t about raw speed. Which, to be fair, you wouldn’t want it to be, after all it is tiny, doesn’t have a roof and you can literally scrape your knuckles along the road from the driver’s seat.
No, the Super 3 is all about the raw and visceral thrills of a pure sports car, unencumbered by excess weight, wheels or cylinders.
It’s 0 to 100 time of 7 seconds may sound, well, slow, but try experiencing that from the driver’s seat while you are looking up at Mazda MX-5s and the wind is battering your head. It feels much faster then.
But the true joy of the Super 3 comes from two rather different sources - namely, every single time you tip it into a corner and every single time someone else spots it.
The corner thing is obvious; the Super 3 is incredibly light and insanely direct. It follows your steering inputs like a Jack Russel on methamphetamines, eagerly diving into corners in an almost telepathic fashion, barely scrubbing off any speed and scampering out the other side, ready for the next one.
It is more of a total experience than a mere car, but it happens to be a total experience that goes around corners fantastically well and involves the driver in absolutely every way.
The second one becomes apparent the first time you roll out onto the road in it; people are literally overjoyed to see the Super 3. Kids wave excitedly, people shout and give you thumbs-ups everywhere, cars slow so the occupants can take photos, and if you stop anywhere, you immediately attract a crowd.
This is amplified by the sheer amount of pure happiness you can’t help but feel just by driving the Super 3 at any speed. It doesn’t matter if it is amazing through corners - it just makes you smile doing literally anything in it. Hell, even racing for cover so you don’t get drenched when it rains is fun in the Super 3…
Of course, a big source of this delight is the Super 3’s pure analogue nature - yes, it does have digital gauges in the dash, but that’s it.
There is no traction or stability control, no ABS and no driver aids chiming in telling you that you are wandering out of your lane - it’s all on you to keep on top of that, and that is a full time job, as literally any movement on the wheel will have the Super 3 darting eagerly in that direction.
Everything about the Super 3 is raw, visceral and bristling with feel. The steering wheel tells you exactly what is happening under those skinny front tyres at all times, while the five-speed Mazda-sourced manual transmission snicks delightfully between the cogs as the growly little triple snarls away like a very small dog that thinks it is a very much bigger dog with every prod of the throttle.
Is $95K expensive for a car that doesn't come with doors, a windscreen, a stereo, a roof, or a second wheel at the back? No. It's a damn bargain.
Then there is the fact that everything about it is quirky to the point of being eccentric - you don’t adjust the seat, you adjust the pedals instead; the handbrake doesn’t lock on until you pull it back, then up, operating like a rally-style hydraulic hand brake and allowing you to use it for hill starts easily; the start button is nestled under an aircraft-style flip up cover in the centre of the dash and the key is located between your legs. And there is an art to lowering yourself down into the cockpit with dignity…
I would go so far as to say that it is almost impossible to be in a bad mood in a Super 3. Whether it be the sublime handling, the joyously raucous nature, the sheer mechanical connection you feel with it, or even just other people’s reactions to it, everything about the Morgan Super 3 just makes you happy to be alive.
How much is the Morgan Super 3?
A basic Super 3 will set you back $95,000 in new Zealand, but that is before you go nuts on the extensive customisation options. Is $95K expensive for a car that doesn't come with doors, a windscreen, a stereo, a roof, or a second wheel at the back? No. It's a damn bargain.
What are the key statistics for the Morgan Super 3?
The Super 3 is powered by a delightfully grumble little Ford 1.5-litre three-cylinder engine. But not the rorty turbo one from the Fiesta ST - this one is naturally aspirated and pumps out a mighty 87kW of power and 150Nm of torque, or about the same as a Toyota Yaris Hybrid. But it also weighs about half as much as a Yaris!
Is the Morgan Super 3 efficient?
Who cares?
Is the Morgan Super 3 good to drive?
It is not so much "good" as it is "spectacular fun". It is impossible to be grumpy in the Super 3's driver's seat, regardless of whether you are punching it through a corner revelling in the way the nose tracks with a laser focus and the rear end is both playful and predictable, or just sitting at the traffic lights as a bunch of kids (and often adults) wave excitedly from the car next to you.
Is the Morgan Super 3 practical?
No. Of course not. And that is the whole point.
What do we like about the Morgan Super 3?
Everything. It is more of a total experience than a mere car, but it happens to be a total experience that goes around corners fantastically well and involves the driver in absolutely every way.
What don’t we like about the Morgan Super 3?
If we have to be picky, then going around a tight right-hand corner is something that can be a minor irritation - there isn't enough room inside the car for your right arm, so you have to hang it awkwardly outside the car to take a tight corner, but the side of the car is too high to do it particularly comfortably. I mean... that's it really. I don't even really care that it doesn't have an audio system.
What kind of person would the Morgan Super 3 suit?
If its to use as a daily driver, then a complete lunatic. If its to use as the best toy possible for track days, sunny days, rainy days or just days in general, then anyone lucky enough to have the money to splurge on one should buy one immediately.
