Took two cars to our local test track a few weeks back (Longcross, home of The Corner, cobbled to the inside) for some action photos in pretty vile conditions. One was a Morgan 3 Wheeler which, although a 2014 model, is in effect a classic car from new. The other was an Audi RS4.
Apparently the Norwegians have a phrase. “There’s no such thing as bad weather, only bad clothing,” they say. But whoever said it presumably wasn’t driving the Morgan at the time.
It’s a car redolent of an era gone by. It’s also a romantic drive, watching the front wheels scythe through puddles and feeling the steering wheel writhe in your hands. Even in terrible conditions it’s a joy, but there’s no question you feel vulnerable. Your awareness is heightened.
The RS4 feels astonishingly different; any capable new car is. For one thing, it’s warm and dry, plus there’s the omnipresent security of plenty of metal around you and stability control and ABS. It’s so secure that the first thing most drivers would know about something going wrong would be if it did.
I’m not going to rue the advances in vehicle technology that have got us here. But I suggest a course a bit like a Speed Awareness session. Anyone caught not adjusting their driving for the conditions has to spend a day not in the classroom, but in a Morgan 3 Wheeler or on a motorbike.
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yes
Yes Gargantuan !
With due respect because the press staunchly won't compare the two vehicles, the uninformed reader can't make comparisons. The Triking is similar in dimension to the original, it also doesn't have those unbelievably awful lower front wishbones, with the spring damper unit joining them at about two thirds the length of the wishbone, which I pointed out on this site when the car was launched, and was not surprised when one failed during the Autocar test !
Debatable...
"Overall length 3 metres
Overall width 1.5 metres
Overall height 1 metre"
Given this makes the current 3 Wheeler a total of 25cm longer and 25cm wider (and the same height), and still smaller than a current-specification Ford Fiesta, I feel your claim is - with due respect - missing the mark somewhat. Were it to have grown in the same manner as the new Mini versus the old (i.e. some 60cm longer and goodness knows how much wider) I might be inclined to agree, but given the above figures I cannot. In addition, your comment about the wishbones would appear to overlook that the Triking uses a very similar design itself, with the suspension damper approximately 2/3rds of the way along the wishbone. The failure seems to have been more down to metallurgy defects (or insufficiencies, perhaps) rather than an inherent flaw in the design.
P.S. - No, I'm not from Dunsfold Park. Mind you, owing the test track would be quite fun...
Gargantuan?!
"Gargantuan"? The 3 Wheeler is all of 3.2 metres long - that's less than a Toyota Aygo, for goodness' sake. I'm hoping this is just a case of sarcasm not translating over the Internet...