Currently reading: Morgan EV3 to launch at Geneva motor show

First all-electric Morgan is based on the 3 Wheeler and capable of travelling for up to 150 miles on a single charge; will go on sale this summer

Morgan will launch a near production-ready version of its EV3 concept at the Geneva motor show next month.

First revealed at the Goodwood Festival of Speed last summer in prototype form, the EV3 is designed to attract younger customers to the traditionalist Morgan brand while also paving the way for future hybrid and electric versions of its existing road cars.

The three-wheeled Morgan EV3 is revealed at the Geneva Motorshow

The EV3 is based on the Morgan 3 Wheeler and will be the first production electric vehicle to come from the Malvern-based manufacturer. Morgan’s first foray into electric vehicles was with 2011’s Plus E concept car, but that model was judged to be too heavy and sacrificed driving experience and performance.

Key to the EV3’s success will be its weight. In prototype form, the ‘Phase 1’ EV3 weighs 470kg, a significant reduction from the 525kg of the standard 3 Wheeler. Power comes from an electric motor mounted at the rear, replacing the 3 Wheeler’s 2.0-litre V-twin engine.

The electric motor has been developed by Potenza and produces 75bhp and 96lb ft. Its top speed is rated at 100mph, with the 0-60mph sprint taking 8.5sec. The lithium ion battery pack is said to provide a range of up to 150 miles, with a full recharge taking four hours. Importantly, those figures are all set to be improved with the final car.

The car shown at Goodwood was, according to design director Jonathan Wells, a fully working prototype, but did not feature the styling of the final car - something Wells describes as taking inspiration from the time-travelling Delorean featured in the Back to the Future film series.

Speaking to Autocar, Wells said that drivers of the regular 3 Wheeler could easily adapt to the EV3: “You adapt to the noise of the wind and the sensation in place of the engine, and it’s exhilarating and impressive in different ways, not least because of the acceleration. The weight distribution is similar so it’s very familiar to handle, and you can disturb the rear wheel in a corner.”

Morgan already has 10 customers in the UK and Holland lined up to buy the 'Phase 2' vehicles which will be shown in Geneva. Production of the final cars, modified to production specification using feedback from those customers, is set to get under way in the summer, with Morgan planning to make one car per week.

Production of the EV3 is being supported by the Niche Vehicle Network, a group of 400 low-volume manufacturers and suppliers that help to bring projects which would otherwise be impossible to make in-house to life.

Announcing the car, Morgan managing director Steve Morris said: “Looking firmly to the future, the production intent EV3 is arguably the most exciting electric car in the world and our first production electric vehicle.”

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russ13b 11 February 2016

emissions aren't mentioned.

i've read that article 3 times now, admittedly the last 2 were quickly and looking for a few key words. it appears to me that at no point is there a claim made that the car is "zero emissions", and as such i don't see the relevance of the first comment. this is, of course, an absolute nonsense argument about the electric car. the electric car takes the emissions away from the vehicles - "out of the city" - and relocates them to the power stations. this, in turn, improves the air quality of the areas, and that can only be a good thing. for example, how much nicer is it to be in a busy pub since the smoking ban? what needs to be looked at is overall efficiency, and how we can ensure that we end up with "better" instead of "different", otherwise a lot of very clever people are spending a lot of time, effort, and billion of pounds, working on the wrong things. there should be as much work going into reducing emissions as there is on tailpipes.
russ13b 11 February 2016

typing error

in the last sentence i intended to type "reducing factory emissions". oopsy!
xxxx 11 February 2016

power stations, depends which one.

Except the percentage of power generated from Wind, Nuclear, Solar (more so in other countries), Hydro and biomass. Bearing in mind the power coming from these increase year on year from virtually nothing 15 years ago (except nuclear of course which has been going some time now).
madmac 11 February 2016

WHat a LIE! The emissions of

WHat a LIE! The emissions of a power station needed to charge it every day is more than all the petrol Morgans running around the country! Stupid people still believe this lie.
[But many still believe other lies too,like GOD]
Sporky McGuffin 11 February 2016

madmac wrote: The emissions

madmac wrote:

The emissions of a power station needed to charge it every day is more than all the petrol Morgans running around the country!

You do understand that you don't need a whole power station to charge each electric car, right?

Fox Terrier 11 February 2016

What lie?

madmac wrote:

WHat a LIE! The emissions of a power station needed to charge it every day is more than all the petrol Morgans running around the country! Stupid people still believe this lie.
[But many still believe other lies too,like GOD]

I'm sorry, what's the lie in this story? I see no claims of zero emissions or even low emissions. It's about an EV. Or do you know it's not electric and is in fact driven by an elastic band?

Matt A 11 February 2016

Lies

Hello Madmac, you do realise of course that "the fool has said in his heart that there is no God"?
typos1 29 February 2016

Whilst its true that electric

Whilst its true that electric cars ARE NOT IN ANY WAY ZERO EMISSIONS, they do produce less emissions than petrol or diesel even if coal is used in the power station - the whole process is more efficient.