RE: Morgan EV3 for Goodwood
Friday 19th June 2015
A very Morgan take on the EV revolution will be revealed at Goodwood next week. Called the EV3 it's the second time Morgan has explored electric power, the first being the typically quirky Plus E revealed a couple of years back and displayed at the 2012 Geneva show.
Salt flat racer style looks good!First reintroduced in 2011, the 3 Wheeler was something of a surprise hit and the EV3 hopes to carry that spirit into the world of zero emissions vehicles with production apparently commencing as soon as next year. Will the character of the 3 Wheeler survive the loss of its trademark 2.0-litre V-twin motor though? That engine's lazy 82hp has 525kg to haul while the EV3 has 102hp from rear-mounted electric motor and weighs just 450kg. Should be pretty sprightly then, not to mention rather smoother and more refined. Range is claimed to be "approximately" 150 miles. Which, given the lack of creature comforts, sounds about fine.
Morgan EV3 for Goodwood
Like a normal Morgan 3 Wheeler, just quieter!
Salt flat racer style looks good!
More when we see the car in the metal next weekend...
Discussion
How can it claim to have "zero emissions" when it has to be plugged into the mains for a battery recharge with electricty which is mostly from fossil fuel burning power stations?
The lack of noise from the electric motor would put me off, regardless. The vee-twin makes a great racket!
The lack of noise from the electric motor would put me off, regardless. The vee-twin makes a great racket!
rolando said:
How can it claim to have "zero emissions" when it has to be plugged into the mains for a battery recharge with electricty which is mostly from fossil fuel burning power stations?
The lack of noise from the electric motor would put me off, regardless. The vee-twin makes a great racket!
The clue is in the word " emissions" It might not be entirely "green" but it doesn't emit............ therefore..................The lack of noise from the electric motor would put me off, regardless. The vee-twin makes a great racket!
itiejim said:
Great, love it. Fantastic to see Morgan pushing the boundaries with this sort of thing. I should imagine that 150 miles is more than enough at one time in a 3 wheeler!
I had one on Tues/Wed, did about 140 miles in one sitting, I was knackered after! But as said above the noise is a huge part of the experience, I think I'd miss it too much.As it happens current range based on the fuel gauge from 100 to 0% is roughly 150 miles driven with intent, so for the EV to match that isn't bad at all, probably down to the low weight. I guess the weight save with the EV is from not requiring such a big gearbox, as well as losing the engine block, exhausts, ancillaries etc.
rolando said:
How can it claim to have "zero emissions" when it has to be plugged into the mains for a battery recharge with electricty which is mostly from fossil fuel burning power stations?
The lack of noise from the electric motor would put me off, regardless. The vee-twin makes a great racket!
Refining petrol takes quite a lot of energy (and diesel even more) - figures vary, but 6kWh seems plausible according to this article. That same energy would propel a Renault Twizy (that has a 6.1 kWh lithium-ion battery and a range of 62 miles according to Wikipedia) about 50 miles assuming an 80% charging efficiency (Tesla publish 88%). This would mean a gallon of petrol used by the V-Twin requires the same electricity as this e3w to go the same distance, but the e3w does it without the additional, local, pollution. Thus ZEV.The lack of noise from the electric motor would put me off, regardless. The vee-twin makes a great racket!
Bet it doesn't sound the same though.
A giant one of these 3d printed pulse motors might look ok on the front
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6m73MaNoSIM
this the MK2
The Mk1 ran from one capacitor for hours
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6m73MaNoSIM
this the MK2
The Mk1 ran from one capacitor for hours
It's quite an interesting one this. Firstly, I guess they will move the bonnet forward to partially fill what would be an odd gaping hole left by the removal of the engine.
Secondly, it will be a stark change in experience from a toy with a rough feeling bike engine to a silent electric motor.
It has an interesting toy appeal that it will clearly be mechanically far more simple and if you are just keeping it in a garage for random, fun outings then I can see a big upside to it.
It's a lot of torque to be sticking through a little bike tyre though. Might prove a bit of a bugger traversing gravel drives to quite a few venues. The days of instructing your wife to lie across the boot to increase traction without some form of embarrassing public questioning of your marital authority appear behind us.
Secondly, it will be a stark change in experience from a toy with a rough feeling bike engine to a silent electric motor.
It has an interesting toy appeal that it will clearly be mechanically far more simple and if you are just keeping it in a garage for random, fun outings then I can see a big upside to it.
It's a lot of torque to be sticking through a little bike tyre though. Might prove a bit of a bugger traversing gravel drives to quite a few venues. The days of instructing your wife to lie across the boot to increase traction without some form of embarrassing public questioning of your marital authority appear behind us.
danp said:
Amazed that it's 75kg *less* than the petrol one, and with a range of 150 miles, will be interested to see further details/road tests.
That is slightly amazing. Look at how the Elise morphed into the Tesla Roadster and other bang-water powered cars which have been turned into EV. This Morgan really bucks the trend!rolando said:
How can it claim to have "zero emissions" when it has to be plugged into the mains for a battery recharge with electricty which is mostly from fossil fuel burning power stations?
It doesn't have to be plugged into the mains. Charging from a local renewable source would be perfectly feasible, especially for weekend use. I love this, but I look at it as follows:
If I needed a cheap to run commuter car I may as well have one that's fun, rather than a Leaf / Zoe etc
If I needed a Morgan 3-wheeler I wouldn't buy an electric one because I'd want the full immersion package of lairy engine etc.
Horses for courses.
If I needed a cheap to run commuter car I may as well have one that's fun, rather than a Leaf / Zoe etc
If I needed a Morgan 3-wheeler I wouldn't buy an electric one because I'd want the full immersion package of lairy engine etc.
Horses for courses.
I wouldn't touch any new Morgan with a bargepole after how the management mistreated Charles Morgan, to whom they owe a great deal. Instead of daft ideas like this, let's see the Eva GT in production. That would have been a big seller for Morgan. More fool them for dropping it and the man who conceived it.
Gassing Station | General Gassing | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff