The Morgan XP-1 Is A Future-Thinking, 600kg Electric Oddity

Ah, Morgan. You could accuse the company of being a bit stuck behind the times - after all, even its newer sports cars - the Plus Four and Plus Six - actually use even more wood than their predecessors. However, it’s taking quite a forward-thinking approach with its latest creation - meet the XP-1.

You’d normally associate that moniker with that prototype of the McLaren F1, and in the vaguest sense, this isn’t all that different. Well, if you completely disregard the fact it’s an electric three-wheeler rather than a V12 supercar.

However, it serves a similar purpose as the test bed for Morgan’s in-development EV technology. Based on the Super 3, which normally uses a Ford-derived 1.5-litre three-cylinder, it instead uses a single electric motor that’s good for 134bhp. Interestingly, it’s also said to have a kerb weight comparable to its petrol counterpart - itself weighing 635kg.

Other technical details are being kept hushed by Morgan for the time being, with this being a prototype. Having taken 12 months to design and put together, it’ll now spend the next 18-24 as a testbed for new features and ideas that’ll eventually find a way into Morgan’s production stuff.

For now, those include the likes of CCS charging - pretty much the standard all mainstream electric vehicles use these days - along with an all-digital dashboard. Seemingly normal stuff in the grand scheme of it, but quite revolutionary for a Morgan.

Of course, it’s not the first time we’ve heard of an electric Morgan. The company had previously announced the EV3, itself an electric three-wheeler, but that was killed off in 2020. No direct confirmation yet from Morgan that the XP-1 will spawn a direct production car, but you wouldn’t be mad for suggesting the possibility.