Morgan 3 Wheeler headed to Australia

The car for a fast blast on a sunny day

This car is mad, crazy and stupid. But I still love it.

Right now, the Morgan 3 Wheeler has jumped to the top of my bucket list for 2015, even topping the Mercedes-AMG GT and the all-new Toyota HiLux.

It's directly related to a motorcycle-powered three-wheeler that was built more than 100 years ago in the very earliest days of the Morgan, with the claim that it could crack "The Ton" when 100mph (160km/h, give or take) was the benchmark number for a serious speed machine.

The whole purpose of the 3 Wheeler is driving, in the purest sense

It's taken more than four years for Morgan importer Chris van Wyk to get the born-again 3 Wheeler cleared for Australia and it's meant some major redesign work in Britain. The most obvious change is new intakes that give the car a "moustache" but there are also proper mirrors, better rollover protection, reversing light and padded steering wheel.

But the basics are totally unchanged, from the front-mounted motorcycle-style V‒twin engine to the single rear driving wheel.

The whole purpose of the 3 Wheeler is driving, in the purest sense. It's not intended for family work, or commuting, or anything where the driver is really just another passenger.

It's a car for a fast blast on a sunny day.

The 3 Wheeler is far from cheap, with a base price of $90,000

The first Australian cars are being built at Morgan next month and it’s highly likely that a few will have come with the optional RAF colour scheme, replicating a World War I fighter plane.

Orders are now being filled for later in the year and although the 3 Wheeler is far from cheap, with a base price of $90,000, that’s unlikely to deter anyone who wants one.

In any case, such buyers are likely to have some mundane cars — Audi, BMW, Mercedes and the like, perhaps even a Porsche — in the garage for the days until the 3 Wheeler is
taken out for exercise.