Morgan three-wheeler range expands with plug-in version

This quirky three-wheeler is normally powered by a Harley Davidson engine but things are about to change radically.

The Morgan EV3 will be powered by a lithium ion battery. Pic: Supplied.

The craziest car on Australian roads just got even crazier to plug into the electric car revolution.

The Morgan 3 Wheeler is a quirky motorcycle-powered indulgence whose design can be tracked back to Britain in the pioneering days of the 1930s.

Now there is a plug-in 3 Wheeler called the Morgan EV3, with a 200-kilometre range, and it’s headed for production in 2018 after a two-year development program.

Although details of the showroom EV3 have just been announced in Britain, it’s not being rushed down under.

A plug-in version of the Morgan 3 Wheeler will go into production nest year. Pic: Supplied.

“We’ll wait and see. At this stage it’s not scheduled for markets outside the UK,” says the Morgan importer for Australia, Chris van Wyk.

“But it is shocking. And fun.”

The regular 3 Wheeler is powered by a Harley-Davidson style vee-twin engine that drives the rear wheel and it sells in Australia from $103,900, with a range of dress-up items including World War II aircraft markings.

“So far we’ve sold 22 cars here. They are not all on the road yet, but four were just landed and two of those have been delivered,” says van Wyk.

Morgan has sold 22 3 Wheelers in Australia. Pic: Supplied.

It took more than four years to get the 3 Wheeler certified for Australia, which was a passion project for van Wyk.

“It’s classified as a motorcycle on a place called Earth, but in Australia it’s classified as a car. It took a lot of work. But it’s worth it.”

The EV3 is planned for production in the third-quarter of 2018 and, despite the traditional looks, it has been updated from the regular 3 Wheeler with everything from composite body panels to a 21 kilowatt-hour lithium battery and a liquid-cooled electric motor with up to 41.8 kilowatts of peak power.

The EV3 comes with claimed improvements to performance and handling over the 3 Wheeler, as well as fast-charging technology from Frazer-Nash Energy Systems.

But there is no detail on the pricing of the EV3 or the number that Morgan intends to build.