Morgan Threewheeler returns for 2011

Morgan Motor Company delves back into its past and comes up with something rather lovely.

Yes, we know what you’re thinking. Truth be told, we had exactly the same thoughts when we first clapped our eyes on it. It looks like an old tin bath, the kind your Nan used to bathe in outside when she was a small girl, with some ancient wheels, probably half-inched from an antique Victorian pram, attached.

However, the more we gaze upon the arresting Morgan Threewheeler, the more we fall in love. Unveiled this week, the vehicle is classic car manufacturer Morgan’s attempt at relocating its heritage, and boy does Morgan have form in the world of three-wheeled motorcars.

Between 1909 and 1953, the company sold close to 30,000 of the cars that were designed by famous engineer and founder of the company Harry Morgan. Iconic racing champ Stirling Moss was particularly effusive in his love of the Threewheeler, stating: “My Morgan was a great babe magnet.”

Whether a chap’s pulling potential nowadays would be enhanced by driving this Threewheeler is doubtful, but there is something particularly alluring about its simple, yet classic design.

That’s not to say it doesn’t have all the trappings of automobile modernity. The new Morgan is fitted with the latest Harley Davidson ‘Screaming Eagle’ 1800cc engine, a five-speed gearbox courtesy of Mazda and can reach 60mph in an impressive four-and-a-half seconds.

The tasty contraption will have an official launch at next year’s Geneva motor show (March) and should be on the roads by summer. The bad news? Only 800 will be built. Best start saving now.

There, and we never mentioned a Reliant Robin.