A Brief History of the Marque

Marcos cars started producing sports cars way back in 1959 in Wiltshire. Jem Marsh and the late Frank Costin of Cosworth fame founded Marcos Cars and, by taking the first three letters of their surnames a distinctive company name was born. Frank Costin applied his skills gained in the field of aviation to create a lightweight wood laminate monocoque body and chassis unit. It was this remarkable chassis, combined with excellent streamlining, that delivered such incredible performances in its day. The Marcos marque secured its credibility in the racing world when driven to victory by renowned drivers such as Jackie Stewart, Derek Bell, Jackie Oliver, Jonathon Palmer and, of course, Jem Marsh.
 

In 1961 the Adams brothers, Dennis and Peter, undertook the task of furthering the brilliant design of Costin and came up with the Marcos 1800. This elegant wooden chassis car remains to this day the inspiration for the modern Marcos. In 1969 the Adams brothers were commissioned to design a steel alternative and Marcos stopped making cars with wooden chassis in 1970.

Both the Ford and Volvo powered Marcos's were resounding successes until, in 1972, disaster struck as a result of producing the 2+2 Mantis mainly for export to the USA but then changes to American regulations prevented this and Marcos ceased trading.

After a 10 year gap and with only a few shillings in his pocket, Jem Marsh was back in business producing sports cars. In 1986 the classic Rover V8 engine was used in what was to become known as the very successful Mantula and Mantula Spyder. Marcos utilised the Ford Cortina engine and running gear, up until the early 1990's, to produce the final kit car known as the Martina.

The Marcos Mantara, launched in 1993, retained some of the traditional lines of the earlier Marcos cars and obtained UK type approval which permitted low volume production and sales, through selected dealers.

The LM version of the Mantara returned Marcos to the racing circuit at the top, initially with the LM500 and the following year with the LM600. Triumphant in the British GT series in 1995, it was this success that provided the incentive for Marcos to return to Le Mans, after a break of over 30 years.

The Mantis, incorporating a new Cobra Quad-cam V8 engine, was first shown at the 1996 International Motor Show. This staggeringly quick car was immediately seen to be an excellent "One Make" Series racer and in 1998 the first ever Marcos Challenge Race was born. However, in 2000, Eurotec, a Dutch company, bought out Marcos Sales but then unfortunately went out of business.

But at the age of 72, Jem Marsh has pulled Marcos back from the ashes to form Marcos Engineering, again in the old Wiltshire factory, and in July 2002 launched the TS250. This was followed in 2003 by the TS500. In 2004, Marcos team up with Motorsport Engineering giant, Prodrive, to develop the Damian McTaggart designed TSO. At the same time, they announced that production of the TSO would be undertaken at a new 6,000ft²  facility at Prodrive’s Kenilworth site in Warwickshire.

In 2006 Marcos unveil TSO GTC and R/T production cars, to be sold through the newly announced dealer network.

On 9th October 2007, Marcos Engineering announced that it has entered Administration with a view to completion of existing work in progress. Marcos' plan of dissolution will see the Company wind up its ongoing business activities, sell its assets and distribute proceeds and beneficial interests to shareholders and creditors as soon as practicable. A copy of the full press announcement is included on the News page.

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