The Speedy Marmots' Journeys

December, 2019

The last weekend of November is a very important date for us. Our freshly restored 1988 Range Rover Vogue is exposed at Retromovil – the classic motor show in Madrid – with a very interesting neighbor. A nice Morgan 4/4! Coincidence or premonition?

Morgan’s dealer in Madrid took a new +4 and the grey-orange 3-Wheeler to the show. The afternoon of the second day they have to surround the 3-Wheeler with ribbon-posts, to avoid all curious assistants to leave more fingerprints all over it!

The show is full of really beautiful cars. It’s true that Retromovil is not as important and interesting as other European classic cars’ show, but it’s still worthy to be here!

Sunday, December the 1^st, last day of the show, I take our beautiful Range Rover back home. It was highly admired and cheered, as the restoration is truly fantastic; but we were not lucky selling it.

3rd of December, 2019: in the morning we go to the Morgan’s dealer showroom, just to ask about our 3-Wheeler, as it should be on its way to Madrid. They tell us that it left the United Kingdom few days ago, but they really don’t know when it’s scheduled to arrive to Madrid. We keep eating our nails.

And suddenly, just half an hour after leaving the dealer’s showroom, they call us back: they’re unloading it from the truck!

We jump back in our car and get there as fast as possible.

Here it is…. Beautiful, elegant, classic British green and superb dark brown colour quilted leather. We’re drooling.

And now? We must wait for all the paperwork to be done! Import, MOT procedures to get the circulation permit, etc.

But we leave for holidays in a couple of weeks!

Unfortunately, the bureaucracy won’t be fast enough, and we’ll have to wait to our return in January to drive the beauty!

At least one more month gnawing our nails!

So, we’ve been in Malvern, visiting the Morgan Motor Company, and we’ve driven the fabulous 3-Wheeler through the Malvern Hills.

It was sensational. Both AM and I are in love with the car. And with all that means being a Morgan owner.

Before our trip there, we sent to Mr. Mark Ledington, plenty of technical questions about the 3-Wheeler. As good sales manager, he sent us all the replies. And we had the occasion to spend some time with him at Malvern’s showroom, clarifying some points and having a deep look at the colours, leather trims and options available. Really kind man. As we said before, the whole team of the Morgan Motor Company is so kind!

But a handcrafted car is for sure peculiar. Therefore, we believe that, before acquiring such a car, we should know it more thoroughly. And there is no better place that a specific forum of owners and enthusiasts. So, beyond the information they gave us at the dealership, we’ve being gathering more information about the 3-Wheeler, reading and chatting with many other Morganeers on the forum Talk Morgan (www.talkmorgan.com). I highly recommend that forum if you’re thinking about buying a Morgan, or already have one! The level of expertise there is astonishing!

The first thing that attires our attention is the fabulous ambience of the forum. Despite being on an internet forum, there is not a single disrespectful post. In most forums and social networks, hidden behind the anonymity of a keyboard, some people don’t know how to behave. The Talk Morgan forum is a very nice exception. All threads, conversations, opinions, ideas, etc., without missing notes of good humor, are done in the utmost respect for others. As we thought, belonging to the Morgan community is belonging to a group of true gentlemen.

And secondly, we learn that the new 5-speeders are quite robust and reliable machines. With few problems easily solved in your own garage if you’re a good handyman and have the right tools.

AM and I are delighted.

5th of September, 2019: we order it! After nice discussions and ideas up and down about the colours, we go to the dealer in Madrid and place the order!

• Morgan Sport Green
• Dark Brown leather, quilted
• New dashboard design with Tawny wooden panel
• Centre stripe decal in white
• Union Jack Bonnet badges
• Danger afterburn stickers in white
• RAF inspired MOG logo decal
• Heated seats
• EU3 appearance pack.
• Headlight mesh
• Luggage rack
• Rear mudguard

We can’t be more excited! The car is scheduled to enter production mid-October 2019!

17^th of April, 2019

After totally falling in love with the 3-Wheeler when we saw it at the dealer’s showroom in Madrid, we decided to do a trip to Malvern, visit the Morgan Motor Company, and hire a whole morning one of their demonstration 3-Wheelers to feel the drive.

So here we are. It’s Friday, and we’re about to jump in a red 3-Wheeler.

The parking is packed with different Morgan models! And we’re lucky to see four classic 3-Wheelers parked just in front of the entrance. It’s fantastic to see the resemblance of the new 5-speeder with the old models.

After a short briefing of the main characteristics of the car, we jump in and fasten the seat belts easier than expected. Then we push the bomb button and… what a sensational sound! We haven’t moved yet and we’re already giggling!

I’m the first one behind the steering wheel. Take the car out of the MMC facilities and head to the Malvern Hills… OMG what a torque! The car pushes really hard accompanied with a fantastic symphony from the exhausts.

The vibes that the V-twin produces are not just of mechanical type. We both receive incredible emotional vibes. And they seem to be contagious to all of those we drive by!  Smiles and thumbs up appear to be a direct effect on pedestrians and drivers.

After one-hour driving, we stop for a short break at a nice-looking pub, up in the hills. We exchange our first impressions. We’re so excited with the car! The drive is much smoother than we both expected. We’re comfortable in, and after this first hour we’re not tired at all.

Now it’s AM’s turn to drive the rocket. She’s normally a fast driver. But I think that the fact that the 3-Wheeler has a manual gearbox, and she’ll drive on the left side of the road, might not reassure her. On the top of that, this 3-Wheeler can fit in her huge 1988 V8 automatic Range Rover Classic!

I could not have been more wrong! She pushes the car furiously and with incredible precision. Her face is a poem. Smiling, laughing, giggling nervously… fantastic drive!

She can’t be happier with the car. The deal is done! We’re both convinced we must buy one!

After a couple of long hours enjoying the Malvern Hills, we’re back to the parking at the Morgan Motor Company. Now it’s time to sit again at the driver’s seat and take for a ride some members of the family, who came over with us for this trip to Malvern and the Cotswolds!

What a wonderful day! And all at MMC have been so incredibly kind to us. We are totally “Morganized”.

Now it’s time for the third phase! Let’s order one!

April 2019.

So, I’m in love with the 3-Wheeler. What a lovely machine! It looks so nice in the pictures! But how would it be like live? Is it too small for a 1,80 m tall driver? How do you adjust the driver’s position? How does it drive? I can’t stop looking at the pictures and videos on the Internet.

I decide to go to the Morgan dealer here in Madrid. A beautiful showroom filled with Maseratis and Aston Martins, but just a lonely +4.

The starry-eyed-surprise face of the seller when I ask about the 3-Wheeler makes me wonder if I’m a little bit insane. Is AM right about my idea of buying a 3-Wheeler? Am I crazy?

He has none to show but is expecting one for the showroom within next weeks. Good news! I’ll see one live soon, and then check my mental health!

I ask why he hasn’t more Morgans in the showroom. Is it because he sells them so fast? This face again… Then, I realize how rare Morgans are… And even more in Spain!

One week later he calls me back: the 3-Wheeler has just arrived.

This time we go together to the dealer showroom. I’m more concerned about AM’s reaction than about the car itself! I hope she likes it!

There it is: a grey colour one with orange trim. With the Euro3 appearance specification and vintage bonnet catches. Amazing… Definetely not the colour combination we would choose, but stunning from every angle. We both fall in love immediately with the little rocket.

And we both fit in, together! AM’s smile is truly fantastic. Confirmed:  she’s as much a petrolhead as me! She’s not thinking anymore this is a silly idea…

Now it’s time for the second phase! Let’s drive one!