DRIVE DOWN
CONVOY
From London to Most via Eurotunnel and autobahn. Sometimes, taking the scenic route is the only way
WORDS TOM FORD
PHOTOGRAPHY MARK RICCIONI, JOHN WYCHERLEY & HUCKLEBERRY MOUNTAIN
N
ot safe. Not safe. Not saaaafe. Two words chanted through clenched teeth and with increasing intensity as snatched glances reveal the the speedometer in the centre console flickering itself above 125mph, as if nervous about what the next digit might bring. The front tyres are skinny but resolute, chattering away back down the steering column and into my locked forearms where tendons are trying to seek shelter somewhere behind my elbows. The single rear wheel is bouncing across expansion joints and
leaving the road,
and the lack of aerodynamics of any particular sort means that the wind rush has grabby little fingers under the chinstrap of my helmet yanking it backward. We manage an indicated 128mph until a car appears on the horizon and I back out, an excuse that happily allows my ego some room for manoeuvre.
Adrenaline flood, tingling nerves and four more words: Not. Doing. That. Again. Holy hell, what a rush. Now obviously, 128mph isn’t actually that fast in the big scheme of things – most modern hatchbacks will crack 130. But in a Morgan Super 3 with 118bhp and an aerodynamic profile that includes the shape of your own head, it might as well be escape velocity for this universe. New aluminium structure and 1.85m front width or not, trying to hit the car’s 130mph top speed is for the brave or foolhardy. And I’m not particularly brave.