'Ultimate holiday Super 3' made by Orlebar Brown
Morgan's had enough of the winter blues already - time to think about next summer!
If a football World Cup in November seemed odd, you ain’t seen nothing yet. That’s because Morgan has teamed up with Orlebar Brown - makers of 007’s preferred swim shorts, remember - to create the ‘ultimate holiday ready Super 3’. That being the Morgan with no roof and doors. Yes, it is a month until Christmas, the date is correct. But, hey, what better for the winter doom and gloom than a Super 3 this stylish?
Though the OB car is unique, it's been designed to show off just how customisable the Super 3 is. It means the designer swimwear brand has had a say in pretty much every panel of the car, as owners can, from the pastel beige paint to Khaki Sand technical fabric interior. The red accents inside and out, from exhaust pipe to spotlight cover, means the Morgan matches Orlebar Brown’s best-known colourway. And that’s just the start; check out the sideblades with luggage racks (and a luggage rack pattern for when travelling light), an OB-liveried gearshift surround, and Khaki Sand reaching as far as the roll hoops and dash. Really does get everywhere from the beach.
Then we’re into the Orlebar Brown Super 3’s best bit - the canopy. An enormous removable sunshade is there for protection against the rays (remember those?) for driver and passenger. It’s not clear quite how fast you can travel with the canopy fixed into place, or where it’s stored, but it looks cool. And a one-off Super 3 that didn’t look cool would rather miss the point.
Orlebar Brown’s found Adam Brown said of the collaboration: “Beautifully designed cars appear on every mood board as design inspiration for OB collections. I am very excited to be working with Morgan, bringing their history of classic design, iconic cars and dedication to craftsmanship. Values that we share. And I cannot wait to drive this extraordinary OB car.”
The OB x Morgan Super 3 will now commence a 12-month European tour, taking in ‘the most exotic beach locations’ for the next year. Surely a good place to introduce the perfect summer plaything to new customers. Rather them than us for the next few months, but if Morgan need any help with a day at the seaside come July…
They could have done custom shell cases on the side that fit the theme and colours of the 12-month tour, and maybe instead of the usual exo-rack on the rear, there could have been a wicker basket or something like that for beach picnics. Instead, it's a pretty normal-looking Super 3 in summer colours with a tea towel over the top.
But, it is all for a bit of marketing so who really cares...
I actually test-drove a Super 3 a few weeks ago and found it very underwhelming.
In an effort to fix a lot of the problems with the 3 Wheeler, they've essentially removed all of the car's character.
Ironically, the few issues that weren't fixed such as the bevel box noise remained and if anything was amplified due to there being virtually no exhaust noise to drown the sound out.
The 3-cylinder engine just doesn't compare to the old V-Twin, although I will admit the handling was leagues ahead of the old 3 and I was much more confident pushing it - also aided by the higher driving position.
I won't be 'upgrading' to the new model just yet, even if they did offer to throw me that piece of cloth in for free...
These noises themselves shouldn't be good and I always saw them as 'problems' but when driving the Super 3 and having all those noises (except the bevel box whine) gone, it felt so lifeless. My girlfriend actually asked me if it was the "electric version" of my car because at the regular road-going speeds there were no noises really at all, it was only when you really started to wring its neck you got some engine noise.
These noises really add to that 'Biggles' feel of the car. The 3 Wheeler genuinely feels like you're flying a Spitfire. It's hard to explain to someone or hard to believe unless you've driven one, but that's the best way to describe it. Those noises are a key part of that.
Additionally, the much-improved suspension and brakes make the car objectively better but it removes all the elements that make the 3 Wheeler feel like a classic car. The Super 3 very much feels like a normal can when driving normally, except with no roof. The improved visibility was helpful but equally the higher driving position ruined the low-down fighter pilot feel of the original car.
The cabin is bigger and more spacious, better finished etc but again, ruins that "tin can with an engine" experience in the older car.
And lastly, in the 3 Wheeler, you constantly get the sense that the car is trying to vibrate itself to death, the whole thing shakes from the V-Twin. It should be a bad thing but it really is part of that experience. The new car sat there motionless with the engine wrong.
So all these things that they have objectively improved have taken away all of the characterful things I enjoy about the older car.
And I can promise you it's not a case of "I have the old crap one and am salty about it so will just s
t on the new one that I can't afford", it's not a case of that at all. By making a better car, they've lost what made the 3 Wheeler so special to a lot of owners. You drive them differently too and they do require different driving styles to get the most out. I'd genuinely argue that they're going for a different type of owner.
I love what they've done to make the car more friendly for touring, the luggage options are great etc and I love some of the interior features added - better-heated seats (set your bum on fire) and a general heater, as well as a cupholder that's easily hideable - but those things are ultimately quite nominal in a car like this.
i suspect my enthusiasm for joining the owners club would be limited to the photo shoot location and not a cold wet November day.
A vehicle where "they all loved it but none actually lived with it."
These noises themselves shouldn't be good and I always saw them as 'problems' but when driving the Super 3 and having all those noises (except the bevel box whine) gone, it felt so lifeless. My girlfriend actually asked me if it was the "electric version" of my car because at the regular road-going speeds there were no noises really at all, it was only when you really started to wring its neck you got some engine noise.
These noises really add to that 'Biggles' feel of the car. The 3 Wheeler genuinely feels like you're flying a Spitfire. It's hard to explain to someone or hard to believe unless you've driven one, but that's the best way to describe it. Those noises are a key part of that.
Additionally, the much-improved suspension and brakes make the car objectively better but it removes all the elements that make the 3 Wheeler feel like a classic car. The Super 3 very much feels like a normal can when driving normally, except with no roof. The improved visibility was helpful but equally the higher driving position ruined the low-down fighter pilot feel of the original car.
The cabin is bigger and more spacious, better finished etc but again, ruins that "tin can with an engine" experience in the older car.
And lastly, in the 3 Wheeler, you constantly get the sense that the car is trying to vibrate itself to death, the whole thing shakes from the V-Twin. It should be a bad thing but it really is part of that experience. The new car sat there motionless with the engine wrong.
So all these things that they have objectively improved have taken away all of the characterful things I enjoy about the older car.
And I can promise you it's not a case of "I have the old crap one and am salty about it so will just s
t on the new one that I can't afford", it's not a case of that at all. By making a better car, they've lost what made the 3 Wheeler so special to a lot of owners. You drive them differently too and they do require different driving styles to get the most out. I'd genuinely argue that they're going for a different type of owner.
I love what they've done to make the car more friendly for touring, the luggage options are great etc and I love some of the interior features added - better-heated seats (set your bum on fire) and a general heater, as well as a cupholder that's easily hideable - but those things are ultimately quite nominal in a car like this.
I wonder if someone owned and drove a Super 3 as their first experience then drove the 3 wheeler whether they would consider its characterful nature a better experience or just consider it irritatingly unrefined.
Think I'd rather the "Sopwith Camel" style of experience.
I reckon they are mega little things. Can't wait to get mine.
A bit impractical but the design is leagues ahead of the current bland generic crap peddled by a lot of manufactureres at the moment and at least its not electric. I'd rather the noisy lumpy old pushrod V twin though..
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