by VINCENZO BORGOMEO
After presenting the prototype of the battery-powered 4/4, Morgan is now attacking its myth, the three-wheeler, the machine from which it all began. For now presented in the form of a concept, the XP-1, however it is serious and will soon become a reality: it is the only way on the other hand to continue producing the 3 Wheeler which can no longer be approved in any country in the world, Except in the USA where, thanks to a small legal scam, it managed to pass the Caudine forks of the DMV, effectively becoming a motorbike.
But the future is sealed, so now Wheeler is trying the microcar route with an experimental battery-powered version of the Super 3. Presented as “the precursor to all future electric Morgan sports cars”, the XP-1 was built as a laboratory, but has the express purpose of being homologated. It’s the same shape as the Super 3, meaning it blurs the line between car and motorcycle with two front wheels and a single rear wheel, but features a powertrain-specific front end. The changes made reduce the drag coefficient by 33%. But this is not the point.
It is interesting to note that the XP-1 receives the first transmission developed in-house by Morgan. Its current and previous cars have in fact all used engines from other car manufacturers; the current Super 3, for example, is powered by a 1.5-liter three-cylinder from Ford. Although no official specifications have been released, the British magazine Autocar explains that the electric motor has the beauty of 134 horsepower and is placed in the transmission tunnel. The motor draws energy from a lithium-ion battery 33 kilowatt hours which stores enough electricity for a range of about 150 miles.
However, the switch to electric makes the XP-1 58 kg heavier, so for a total of 1,550 kilos, really a lot for a car like this. In any case, the interiors are horrible: these photos speak for themselves and it’s hard to understand why one would go around with such a retro car, without a top, and with Star Trek-style instruments in front of your eyes. Let’s just hope that the production version is very different from this one. We will see.
#mercy #car #myths #batterypowered #Morgan #FormulaPassion.it