A long-forgotten British marque is being revived to rekindle its near-100-year-old rivalry with Morgan.
The Castle Motor Company of Kidderminster built 350 three-wheeled cars between 1919 and 1922. Now, as then, it’s looking to take on the successful Morgan 3 Wheeler, a car that is expected to sell over 600 units this year.
The reborn Castle Three Motor Company, now based in Northumberland, is planning “a modern take on a historic marque” by applying a “contemporary-classic” design based on one of two concept sketches.
While the original had 2+1 seating and a four-cylinder engine, the new three-wheeler will have two seats and use an externally sourced twin-pot — either in V or boxer form — to power the rear wheel via a largely proprietary drivetrain. Pricing is expected to undercut the £30,000 Morgan, and the car is designed for hillclimbs and sprints as well as road use.
Unusually, the car’s development will be crowd-funded, with investors able to buy shares from just £10 via crowdcube.com during a 60-day, £200,000 funding drive due to start later this month. The company needs to sell 60 cars per year to break even, but expects to shift up to 500 units annually.
The concepts have been sketched by motorcycle designer Xenophya in Cramlington, whose clients include Triumph and Royal Enfield, and engineering will be done by GTME in Daventry.
