Feature | Embracing Community, Raising money, and getting wet in a Morgan Super 3

John Marcar was recently invited to drive a pre-production prototype version of one of the most anticipated and exciting new cars on the market - The Morgan Super 3. The drive would involve a charity car rally, a strong dose of 'liquid summer' and a fantastic reminder of the significance of the automotive community. 

I've said it before, and I'll say it again; the automotive industry is primarily fantastic thanks to the people that work and socialise within it. Sure, setting your sights on a particular career path is sensible and working for qualifications and grades will help with your aspirations, but in my opinion, above all else, it's the people you meet along the way that will likely open the most doors of opportunity. This can be taken as advice - after all, pretty much every job I've been offered in the automotive industry, including media, events, hospitality and journalism, has all come from meeting the right people at the right time. I get just as much of a buzz now (12 years into my varied career in automotive!) when an industry friend and colleague invites me to do something fun with cars and bikes or attend a special event as I did when I started in the field. 

The most recent message came from a friend called James. James Griffin, an ex-army helicopter pilot, is a friend I met through the world of cars. Following a long stint flying in and out of war zones, James crossed paths with me through an automotive charity organisation we were both involved in called Mission Motorsport, and the rest (as they say) is history. 

James now works for Morgan Works Bicester, an experiential events hub and satellite sales office for the Morgan factory and HQ in Malvern. Morgan Works Bicester is located on the scenic and atmospheric site known as Bicester Heritage (formally Bicester Airfield) in Oxfordshire. For anyone that's not been to or seen Bicester Heritage, imagine a meticulously clean airbase film set for a WW2 movie with beautiful red brick buildings and aircraft hangers set amongst pretty tree-lined roads, and you're pretty much on the money with the setting. In actual fact, the very building now occupied by Morgan Works Bicester was used as the setting for the 2014 historical Drama Film The Imitation Game starring Benedict Cumberbatch.

Also located on the site at Bicester is an organisation known as The Endurance Rally Association (aka HERO ERA), a company that organises car rallies such as the iconic Peaking to Paris Motor Challenge. As someone who has spent many years of my working life organising driving tours, road rallies and motorsport events, I'm always in awe of an operation that can orchestrate driving feats well, and HERO-ERA is pretty much the best when it comes to classic historic organised rallies. Now, back to our underlying theme of connections and community, on this particular day, HERO-ERA joined forces with the charity organisation ACE SMA. ACE SMA raises funds and awareness for Spinal Muscular Atrophy and works to fund treatment and physiotherapy for the often life-limiting disease for babies and young children. The rally aptly titled ‘Ace In Motion’ was organised to raise money for the charity.

So, James gets in touch and asks, 'fancy driving a new Morgan Super 3 prototype on a charity rally with me in July?'. Always being up for an adventure; naturally, it didn't take much to convince me, and since the launch of the Super 3 toward the end of last year, I've been eager to have a proper drive. 

The rally date had been in the diary for a good few weeks, and my only apprehension involved the one thing nobody could control: the weather. On the morning of the event, I decided to be incredibly bold by commuting to Bicester on my Royal Enfield Continental GT long-termer. After all, if I was going to get wet driving a car with no roof, I was definitely going to get wet riding a motorbike. I arrived at Bicester amongst a buzz of atmosphere. The ex-airfield heritage site seems to possess an atmosphere of its own, even when quiet. Throw in a collection of classic and vintage cars preparing for a rally, and it becomes frankly magical.

The timing of my arrival at Morgan Works was perfect as James was driving 'our' Super 3 out of the Morgan building. With the bike parked up, a quick discussion about the necessity of crash helmets and more than a few glances up at the dark looming clouds, we were ready to assemble with our rallying counterparts. James kindly threw down the gauntlet offering me the entire day of driving with him as navigator. I was happy about this for two reasons, firstly, this was going to be a proper drive in the Super 3, but secondly, James - an ex-Army helicopter pilot, was undoubtedly going to be fantastic at his role as co-pilot /navigator. 

At the rally assembly area, we collected our rally packs, including a metal pressed rally plate for the front of the car, our road books depicting the route via tulip diagrams and crucially, coffee and croissants. The assembly would also be an excellent opportunity to mingle with the other drivers and discover what else people were driving. Before long, I found myself in conversation with two gents driving a 1930s Frazer Nash BMW. One of the gents was considerably more excited than the other about the choice of leather hat they'd be wearing for the duration of the day. Another group, a family, were divided between a gorgeous 1970s Lancia Fulvia and a bold red Jaguar E-Type. The variance of cars was staggering, and the fantastic community of people around them became evident very quickly. 

In the Ace in Motion driver's briefing, we were given an overview of the day ahead and a reminder of why we were all there. The associated charity, ACE SMA, gave a touching and, at times, a heart-wrenching reminder of the importance of their work with videos and images of children undergoing treatment for Spinal Muscular Atrophy. Again, I found myself overwhelmed by the spirit of community in the room; after all, we were all present as people who love cars and adventure, but the fact that we were all assembled to raise money and awareness for such a vital cause made it all feel extra special. Each participant had paid to be present, giving up their Saturday for the cause. 

 Briefing over, it was time to jump in the cars and start the rally. Clambering into the Super 3 is quite the event in itself. No doors, so it's a case of stepping onto the seat and sliding yourself in as you would in an early iteration of a small fighter plane (quite fitting for the setting). It's a snug seating position but surprisingly adaptive. The driver's seat is fixed; however, the peddle box is adjustable on sliding rails allowing for comfortable adjustment. The steering wheel feels large and close but not intrusive. It adds to the car's novelty, a theme that would stick with me throughout the day as it would also be my first time driving a vehicle with three wheels. James kindly offered some advice and expectation management regarding what the car might feel like when cornering, the requirement to think about how the throttle is used when cornering, and how easy it is to light up the single-driven rear wheel (should I so wish). 

"You'll soon get a feel for it," James said as we made our way to the start line gantry. Our slow drive to the start line involved excited conversation from spectators who had come out to watch. There were more than a few comments about the possibility of rain, and both James and I found ourselves looking upward at the sky with dangerously fate-tempting remarks such as "d'you know what, I think we might just get away with it". 

Our drive had begun, and our rally was underway. For anyone unfamiliar with tulip navigation, it's very different to any other form of map reading. As opposed to following a route on a map, tulips are made up of a series of diagrams depicting the layout of junctions, turnings and roundabouts, showing the route of entry to a junction and the direction out of it. Occasionally, the directions are bolstered with some additional helpful wording such as 'SP Burford' - which translates to; 'at the junction, follow signposts towards the village of Burford'. As suspected, James was utterly brilliant as nav, and we were soon in a flow of commands and actions with our route. These rallies are always planned to avoid main roads, meaning you're often led through tiny villages and lanes, adding to the day's overall novelty. One thing I had not accounted for was the popularity of the rally from roadside spectators. Entire communities had left their houses to stand by the side of the road to wave and take photos of the cars driving through their villages. It felt pretty special to be a part of it. 

We were perhaps 6 miles into our journey when the first drops of the inevitable started to fall. Fortunately, it wasn't anything torrential, but as much as James and I were initially begrudged to admit it, it was undeniably raining. For anyone that's not experienced rain on your face whilst travelling at speed, it's quite an odd sensation. Raindrops become strangely sharp, and at the point of travelling any faster than 30mph, you would be forgiven for thinking you were suffering from a strange form of pins-and-needles across your entire face. James, who up to this point had been leaning into my ear solely for directions, said something else along the lines of, "It's quite nice to be uncomfortable, isn't it? - It's a reminder of how comfortable we are on a day-to-day basis." As I was driving along, I realised that he was absolutely right. We then chatted for a while about his time in the Army, how being uncomfortable was often a frequent part of his job, and how since leaving the forces and working in the civilian world, it's become all too easy to just opt for comfort. The sentiment really stuck with me at the moment because it's so true. Even for someone that has rarely had to endure uncomfortable settings in the workplace, I do find myself being complacent about often the most trivial things. There we were, driving along with the raindrops hitting our faces like pin pricks, yet everything about that moment was joyous. We were getting blasted by the rain but opted to be there. We could do nothing to stop it, yet it was somehow brilliant.

Thanks to the design of the Super 3, our legs, bums, and backs were dry and very warm. The Super 3 has scorching heated seats and a glorious heater blower to keep everything south of the windscreen toasty when needed. You certainly feel exposed to the elements, but it's always exciting. For a long stint of our drive, we found ourselves behind the beautiful aforementioned E-Type, which was doing what classic sports cars do best by blasting out a rich dose of 1960s fumes. James and I acknowledged the risks but agreed that given the lack of a roof on the Morgan, any fumes we were inhaling from the Jag up front were surely heavily diluted by the fields of Oxfordshire - and that was okay. Probably.

The initial bout of rain subsided, and I could finally focus on what I'd been most excited about, the driving. Driving a Super 3 is a unique experience. Despite a varied career driving all sorts of cars and riding all kinds of motorbikes, the Super 3 opened up an entirely new category of driving. James was right with his "you'll figure it out" approach. Despite its unique design, the Morgan Super 3 is surprisingly intuitive to drive. It turns in a way that is incomparable to anything else. The front end with the large skinny front tyres grips as you would expect two motorbike tyres to grip. The car naturally wants to lean mid-corner, but the lack of supporting rear wheels gives an unfamiliar sensation. Once familiar with it, I found the sweet spot for turn-in speeds and, subsequently, when to feed in power with the throttle. The Super 3 is a very rewarding drive, much like driving a classic car. In a classic, what feels quirky and odd at first, often feels exciting and rewarding to the point it becomes natural with practice. Of course, the Super 3 is not a classic by any means; it's a brand new car with brand new suspension and brand new Avon tyres developed specifically for the model. As a driver, you can tell that thought, planning, and even suspension and geometry settings have all been thought about in the chassis design resulting in the perfect mix of excitement and fun. 

The new power plant is the main difference that divides the previous Morgan three-wheeler and the modern-day Super 3. Previously, the power was delivered by an outboard front-mounted SS V-Twin motorcycle engine, the type of lump you would expect to see on a Harley Davidson Motorbike. The latest iteration of the Morgan uses a naturally aspirated inline 3-cylinder engine from Ford, which produces 118bhp. The new engine is great for many reasons, including superb and consistent linear power delivery (something often tricky to achieve from a V-twin), but also because the engine is no longer mounted on the outside of the car - It's under the bonnet. Ford's 1.5-litre 3-cylinder is compact enough to be hidden up front within the car's shell. I always thought of the old exterior-mounted V-twin on the 3-wheeler as a quirky and cool-looking thing, but I look at the new Super 3 with its smooth and uninterrupted capsule-like shell as a thing of absolute beauty. What the design team have achieved in the styling of the Super 3 is nothing short of staggering. It immediately looks like a design classic, and that's worth rewarding. The Super 3 weighs just 635kilos, giving a power-to-weight ratio many other sports car makers can only dream of achieving.

The look, the power delivery and the handling give three giant ticks for me, but then there is also a fourth tick; the sound. On this particular prototype, Morgan has fitted an experimental performance exhaust system. If the engineers happen to be reading this - for goodness sake, please make it an option! The sound from the 3-cylinder out of the single pipe is hilariously brilliant. It's not intrusive or insulting; it's just right with the occasional fitting 'rumble' and 'pop' on over run. As a driver, the exhaust is just a few feet out and behind you to your right side, meaning you're engulfed in the atmosphere that driving the Super 3 creates. 

Following a lunchtime checkpoint at the Williams F1 centre, our drive back to Bicester would prove to be as exciting and engaging as the morning stint. While parked at the checkpoint, James and I were greeted by excitement from other drivers, all remarking on how incredible the Super 3 looks on the road or in their rear-view mirrors. The one thing you will absolutely be met with whilst driving a Super 3 is conversation. Everybody you meet wants to know what it is, what it's like to drive and (as we were to find out later in the day) what happens when it rains.

Our drive back to Bicester re-confirmed my admiration for the Super 3 darting down bumpy country back lanes, the Super 3 seemed against all odds to soak up the bumps and make the drive feel so brilliantly engaging. Back at Bicester and following a late lunch, the final item on the day's agenda was a drive on the motor circuit which utilises part of the old airfield and runway. At the point that James and I were ready to join the course, the looming dark clouds that had graced us with their presence all day finally rewarded us with the wet stuff. This time, it was proper rain. James and I decided it was only fitting and fair whilst driving around the site at Bicester to utilise a golf umbrella (Morgan branded, of course). We agreed that we'd come this far and had to complete the day, which involved a gymkhana-style cone-course layout on the circuit. As we joined the motor circuit, we had to surrender our umbrella and embrace the rain. James once again offered superb co-driver navigation tips instructing which side to pass which cones as we both squinted our way through the lashing rain. Just as I thought I'd been completely sold on the Super 3, it was on the wet circuit that I realised just how much fun Morgan's latest creation was. The single rear wheel allows you to slide the rear out should you wish, and the sharpness and precision of the steering grants optimal control. The Super 3, even in the pouring rain, is fun: encapsulated, and the circuit drive was the perfect end to a fantastic day. 

We had a fantastic day for many reasons, mainly thanks to the community of people that made it what it was. There we were, a group of strangers with a shared passion and the desire to make a difference and raise some cash for a charity doing incredible work. I've since learned the HERO-ERA Ace In Motion Rally raised almost £30,000 on the day. It's the community of people that make the world of cars, bikes and adventuring so unique and its new cars like the Morgan Super 3, which keep that passion and spirit alive - whatever the weather. 

The Morgan Super 3 is joyous and would make the ideal addition to anyone's garage that has that spirit of fun and enjoys an adventure. Each Morgan Super 3 is also fully customisable, allowing for a bespoke specification by each individual buyer. If you have some additional time to burn or perhaps need a further distraction to your day, might I direct you to the Morgan Super 3 Configurator on the Morgan Website? There you can spec your own car with almost no limitation per your wildest dreams. If you would like to learn more about The Ace in Motion Rally, The Endurance Rally Association and how to join future rallies, visit; https://www.endurorally.com/

words John Marcar
pictures HERO ERA, John Marcar 
special thanks to James Griffin, Morgan Motor Company & everyone at HERO ERA