MALVERN – What still makes the difference in Morgan is the human factor. It is the first thing that catches the eye when visiting the factory of the historic British brand of Malvern. A town of less than 30,000 inhabitants, where the factory of the House is located on the slopes of the hills, which in 2019 turned 100 years old. Brand that has just launched the new Super 3 on the market, the two-seater made in UK heir to the legendary 3 Wheeler, but completely revised in terms of style, engine and on-board technology.
After passing the pavilion where visitors are welcomed, 30 thousand a year, it seems to be catapulted to the beginning of the 20th century. There is no assembly line. It is the man who turns around the car that takes shape in the departments set up among the low brick buildings, the first built in 1914. In Malvern, thanks also to the arrival of the new model, forecasts are to churn out 1,200 cars at the year. 30% is destined for Great Britain, the rest goes out between Europe, where it is in great demand, and the rest of the world, starting with the United States. The Morgan Motor Company is also dealing with the crisis of microchips and supply chains, like everyone in the sector: and there is also a small group of cars, parked on the lawn of the factory, waiting to be passed over to assemble the last components. .
However, these are atelier numbers. On the other hand, the cars are packaged as if they were clothes. And walking between the platforms and the lathes, you can hear noises that have been lost in a car factory. For example, that of sewing machines, moved strictly by the hands and not by chips that know the movements by heart. This is how the leathers that will make up the seats and interiors of the Super 3 and Plus are processed. At Malvern, every step is handcrafted. All the automatic machining on the pieces is done outside by the companies that are part of the supply chain, just as the engines come from other manufacturers, from Ford to BMW and beyond.
The Morgan workers take care of assembling everything by hand and working the sheets to obtain the curves and lines of the Morgan models. The steel tube frame has given way to lighter (and efficient) aluminum frames which, after the marriage with the shells, are completed and covered with wood. Another fundamental element of the work in Morgan. It is one of the essential components of the iconic retro British cars of the company founded by Henry Frederick Stanley Morgan. Essences that are folded and kept in shape as it was in the past, which are sanded by hand to find the right curvature, which are polished to find the correct tone in the interior elements of the passenger compartment, in search of a retro style.
The company has been in the hands of Andrea Bonomi’s Investindustrial fund since 2019 and has been CEO Massimo Fumarola, formerly of Lamborghini, as CEO since April 2022. “Morgan has a unique reputation, thanks to its heritage, unmistakable style and quality craftsmanship. As a sports car enthusiast it is an honor to join such an iconic brand,” Fumarola said when he took over. Now yes. opens a new phase. And the Super 3 is the first step. In Malvern, where work has begun to build the new paint shop, they are already thinking about the electric motor and the posts placed both in the UK and in Europe for the end of the endothermic , despite the exceptions for small productions.
At the end of the tour you can admire the iconic cars, gathered in a mini collection. The carousel is closed by the first Super 3 concept of 2016 with an electric motor, a concept on which the British engineers and technicians have meanwhile worked. And in a few years the fruits will be seen with a zero-emission variant of the three-wheeled car that has gone down in history.