Tuesday 27th November 2012

3-Wheeler Gulf revealed

Le Mans inspired special edition from Morgan banishes November gloom

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What do the Ford GT40, McLaren F1, Porsche 917, Aston Martin DBR9 and Morgan 3-Wheeler have in common? Well, thanks to a new limited range from Morgan, the latter joins the rest as another vehicle that looks fabulous painted in the Gulf Oil colours.

Limited to just 100 units, the 3-Wheeler Gulf Edition is inspired by Morgan's Le Mans Prototype, which races in the iconic colours.

Price of nostalgia is £29,000

In addition to the sky blue and orange paintwork, the 3-Wheeler Gulf Edition features orange-walled tyres and some new badging inside and out. The interior is largely identical to the regular car, albeit with some orange stitching on the steering wheel.

Mechanically, the Gulf Edition is unchanged any other 3-Wheeler. This means its 1990cc V-twin produces 115hp and 100lb ft, all of course sent to that solitary rear wheel.

The Morgan 3-Wheeler Gulf Edition will be sold at £29,162.50 plus VAT; call it £35,000. With the standard car available from £25,000 plus VAT, a large premium is certainly being attached by Morgan to a colour scheme. However, its limited edition status may also be used to justify some of the additional cost. And let's face it, if the 3-Wheeler appeals as a concept, why wouldn't you want a Gulf Edition?

[marshall100]

My mid-life crisis car has arrived. I want one of these bad.

[fentuz]

Really?!?

The MOG's color scheme, yes,
The SuperDry's color scheme, why not,
The Gulf's color scheme, where is the motorsport historical link between morgan and gulf???

Instead of playing with paintbushes, they should develop a MOG motorsport 3 wheelers why upgrade power, suspensions, FIA rollbar/cage so that three wheeler fanatics can push the car limits on track and eventually race the thing...
A Shelsley Walsh (or Prescott) hillclimb limited edition would be just perfect.

[suffolk009]

Driving down to Classic LeMans this year we were passed by one of these. The driver had a huge smile on his face as he went by. Only time I've ever seen one on the road.

It looks especially good in these colours. (never a fan of the spitfire-alike look)

[stephen300o]

fentuz said:

Really?!?

The MOG's color scheme, yes,
The SuperDry's color scheme, why not,
The Gulf's color scheme, where is the motorsport historical link between morgan and gulf???

Instead of playing with paintbushes, they should develop a MOG motorsport 3 wheelers why upgrade power, suspensions, FIA rollbar/cage so that three wheeler fanatics can push the car limits on track and eventually race the thing...
A Shelsley Walsh (or Prescott) hillclimb limited edition would be just perfect.

Gulf is just an iconic livery with really no need for previous link, it's an ideal car for the LeMans hoon brigade.

[sad61t]

Scanning the options list, it looks to be about £1000 of options (quilted leather, black exhausts) plus the orange sidewalls. I would imagine that Gulf would require some royalty payment for using their colour scheme.

There are a few other treats in there too, the orange front cowling and colour-coded screws for the fuel filler (in orange to match the stripes). It's little details that make all the difference.

[CBR JGWRR]

fentuz said:

Really?!?

The MOG's color scheme, yes,
The SuperDry's color scheme, why not,
The Gulf's color scheme, where is the motorsport historical link between morgan and gulf???

Instead of playing with paintbushes, they should develop a MOG motorsport 3 wheelers why upgrade power, suspensions, FIA rollbar/cage so that three wheeler fanatics can push the car limits on track and eventually race the thing...
A Shelsley Walsh (or Prescott) hillclimb limited edition would be just perfect.

They race a LMP in gulf colours... (not historic, but...)

[sad61t]

fentuz said:

Really?!?
...

The Gulf's color scheme, where is the motorsport historical link between morgan and gulf???

...

Morgan Nissan LMP2

[domV8]

Quote:

"1990cc V-twin produces 81hp and 100lb ft"

I don't know much about V-twins, and assume that its a very light engine for an extremely lightweight vehicle - but that's a large displacement for such a small power output...

Is there really no other more economical solution to product a similar output, or am I missing something about the V-Twin configuration...?

[P4ROT]

sad61t said:

Morgan Nissan LMP2

+10 PH points

[Hellbound]

Prefer the Superdry version. But then again I am a young Jack and lad about town.

[kambites]

I love the Morgan 3-wheeler, but that colour scheme just looks rubbish to me.

[BlueMR2]

domV8 said:

Is there really no other more economical solution to product a similar output, or am I missing something about the V-Twin configuration...?

You could put a rotary on the front, oh, wait...

[MogulBoy]

It works for me.

This on the other hand, doesn't.

http://goo.gl/HA5xP

[john2443]

domV8 said:

Quote:

"1990cc V-twin produces 81hp and 100lb ft"

I don't know much about V-twins, and assume that its a very light engine for an extremely lightweight vehicle - but that's a large displacement for such a small power output...

Is there really no other more economical solution to product a similar output, or am I missing something about the V-Twin configuration...?

Wiki says Moto Guzzi 750 V twin was 65bhp in the 80s so as you say 81bhp from 1990cc sounds a bit weak.

Would I pay an extra 4 grand for that paint job? No. I'd pay extra to have it in a normal colour!

[stephen300o]

MogulBoy said:

It works for me.

This on the other hand, doesn't.

http://goo.gl/HA5xP

I think duck egg blue only ever worked in the LeMans movie. It's such a washy washy scheme. But very very popular.

[mat777]

BlueMR2 said:

domV8 said:

Is there really no other more economical solution to product a similar output, or am I missing something about the V-Twin configuration...?

You could put a rotary on the front, oh, wait...

Yes, you are missing something - its an iconic design, started by the original JAP v-twin Super Aero back in the 30s

[PhantomPH]

Those prices are all subject to VAT, too - so closer to £30k for the standard car and £34,800 for the Gulf one.

Not as cheap as you'd think....

[Hugo a Gogo]

john2443 said:

domV8 said:

Quote:

"1990cc V-twin produces 81hp and 100lb ft"

I don't know much about V-twins, and assume that its a very light engine for an extremely lightweight vehicle - but that's a large displacement for such a small power output...

Is there really no other more economical solution to product a similar output, or am I missing something about the V-Twin configuration...?

Wiki says Moto Guzzi 750 V twin was 65bhp in the 80s so as you say 81bhp from 1990cc sounds a bit weak.

I'd much prefer something like a modern Moto Guzzi 1200 with about 100hp and 80 odd ft/lbs

[AyBee]

Love this and the noise is superb. Compared to the options available in the classifieds, £29k doesn't seem too bad - or are they all spec'd up? Which begs the question, how do you spec up something as basic as this?

[PhantomPH]

Isn't it all about balancing engine stress with power output to ensure a longer life? So the engine is not running at mega-power and high tolerances, instead being tuned to haul around that bit of extra weight for thousands of miles without requiring a lot of maintenance?

Drag cars run huge power, but as a result they have to be rebuilt every mile they cover...this is just the opposite of that.

Just a thought.