Millennium Trike Announced by Factory
April 1. Dateline Malvern Link, England
Morgan Motorcar Company has unveiled a special limited-edition Millennium
Trike to be available to selected customers in early 2000.
"Retro design is in" said a company spokesperson, "and as our current product
is really a retro design, we had to reach way back in time to come up with a
more retro design that is distinguishable from our current line of motorcars.
In conjunction with our California design studio, we have come up with a
unique design, reminiscent of our '30's cars, yet utilizing today's
technology."
The chassis uses the current Morgan "Z" bend but is aluminum T1622 alloy
which lends itself well to the traditional flexible stressed-frame design.
The trike is powered by a twin-cam four cylinder with four valves per
pent-roof cylinder. While it appears to be identical to the American
Offerhauser design, we have modified it for a Lucas distributor. Following
the Indy Car design theme, the engine is laid on its side to provide
clearance for the Roots supercharger and EFI system. The well known float of
the Lucas points at the higher RPM's works in conjunction with the EFI system
to retard ignition on boost. Running 14 pounds boost, 325 horsepower is
claimed at a modest 8200 RPM. Lubrication for the engine is provided by a dry
sump system in conjunction with an eight quart oil tank. The system works
with as few as four quarts in the tank, giving the trike a comfortable four
quart leak capacity.
Stopping power is taken care of by selective three wheel braking via vented
disks with ABS. The inbuilt ABS has a unique direction/motion detector that
will bias the front brakes in hard cornering. The wide 60 series front tyres
ride on retro design wire wheels with aluminum hubs, aerodynamic titanium
spokes and magnesium rims.
A hefty 15 inch rear tyre sets the power to the pavement. The transmission
is a five-speed ZF design, which has been modified to operate as a
finger-operated pre-selector, cleverly utilizing the factory's remaining
stock of 1933 compression-release levers.
To compensate for chassis flex, the drive train uses the unique flexible
driveshaft pioneered by the American Pontiac Tempest in 1960. In lieu of
traditional chain final drive, the Millennium Trike uses a BMW motorcycle
bevel gear system, modified for quick-change ratios. The factory opted for a
state-of-the-art MonoShock rear suspension with variable valving, again
designed in conjunction with BMW. Front suspension remains the well-proven
Morgan sliding pillar.
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