Marcos Engineering
Marcos Engineering is a British sports car manufacturer. The name derives from the surnames of founders Jem Marsh and Frank Costin.
History
Marcos was founded in Dolgellau, North Wales, in 1959, by Speedex cars' Jem Marsh with aerodynamicist Frank Costin. Costin had earlier worked on the de Havilland Mosquito fighter-bombers and from there he got the idea to use plywood for the chassis. The company moved to a converted mill in Bradford on Avon, Wiltshire, in 1963; in 1971 they relocated to a £125,000 purpose-built factory at nearby Westbury.Problems with exporting cars to the US and the move to the expensive new premises led to financial troubles, and in 1971 Marcos went out of business. In July 1971 it was reported that the Rob Walker Group of Companies, a principal dealer, had acquired the stocks and assets and established a new company, Marcos Ltd. The new owners said production would continue, albeit, at least in the short term, only for the UK market, but it is not clear whether any additional cars were built. Although Marcos dealers in the UK had been heavily discounting new cars since the end of 1970, and Motor magazine reported at the time of the collapse that the company's stock of 35 unsold cars in the United States had to be "liquidated", there may have been a substantial stock of new cars without buyers.
In June 1972, what was described as "a cash jumble sale of Marcos bits – prototype and shop soiled components, benches, tools..." took place at the "old Marcos Cars factory" at Westbury. The sale was occasioned by the company's reorganisation and move to a smaller factory.
Marsh stayed in the car business, and bought back the rights to the Marcos name in 1976. In 1981 the brand was relaunched with the Marcos V6 coupé, which was sold in kit form. The design evolved to incorporate both Rover and Ford V8 engines, as well as moving from kit cars to entirely factory-built cars, before the company went bankrupt again in 2000.
Canadian entrepreneur Tony Stelliga formed Marcos Engineering with Marsh, and revived production in 2002. Race car production was relocated to the Netherlands while road car production moved to Kenilworth, Warwickshire, England. By 2005, most of the designers from near-to-bankrupt TVR had joined the company.
On 9 October 2007 it was again announced that Marcos would cease production and go into voluntary liquidation. The design property rights, drawings, jigs and car history files were bought by Marcos Heritage Spares Ltd, owned by Rory MacMath, who had worked closely with Marsh on all the Marcos cars.
Acquisition and Brand Revival
In the early 2010s, British engineer Tony Brown registered the intellectual property, brand rights and associated assets of the historic British sports car manufacturer Marcos Engineering Ltd.. The acquisition included registration of the Marcos brand, the design drawings, jigs, tooling, and trademarks that underpinned the marque. Brown effected this consolidation via the company Marcos Cars Ltd, incorporated in November 2010 and registered under UK Company No. 07446000.
Under Brown’s leadership, Marcos Cars Ltd assumed control of the brand identity, and all new manufacturing, engineering, design and marketing of vehicles bearing that name. The objective of the takeover was to relaunch Marcos as a British niche sports‑car manufacturer, faithful to its heritage while updating technology and production methods for the modern era. Brown was supported by co-founder Jem Marsh and also supported by legendary Marcos designer Dennis Adams who visited Brown to see his Marcos Spirit prototype run at Prescott Hill climb in 2013.
Following the acquisition, the company embarked on an intensive programme of engineering and design renewal. This included updating the corporate structure, relocating manufacturing operations, re‑registering IP and implementation of a new platform architecture. The revived Marcos brand positioned itself to build limited‑run, high‑performance sports cars made in the UK, with the intent of re‑capturing a place in the specialist automotive market where Marcos had once been well regarded.
New Model Launch — Early 2026
Marcos Cars Ltd has nearly completed development of a new model, planned to debut in early 2026. The new car is intended to represent a full‑fledged return of the Marcos name to the production line, incorporating modern materials, updated chassis engineering, and performance specifications to compete in the premium niche sports‑car segment. The development programme reportedly entered final prototype testing, with homologation and manufacturing readiness in its concluding phase.
Brown has stated that the new vehicle will honour the heritage of Marcos’s classic low‑slung coupés while delivering contemporary driving dynamics, enhanced build quality and modern safety and emissions compliance. The production launch in early 2026 is positioned as a re‑entry of the marque into the global sports‑car market, with limited‑volume manufacture, bespoke options and direct factory support for customers.
GT Xylon, Luton Gullwing; fastback GT
Their first car, the Xylon, which had gullwing doors and a windscreen in four panels, was nicknamed the "ugly duckling". A total of nine, aimed at 750 Motor Club events, were built in 1959 and 1960. For production the body was made less radical but initially retained the gullwing doors. It was powered by a choice of Ford engines varying from 997 to 1498 cc and had Standard 10 and Triumph Herald steering and suspension components. Thirty-nine were made up to 1963.Image:Marcos_Fastback.jpg|thumb|Fastback GT
In 1961, brothers Dennis Adams and Peter Adams started working with Marcos and introduced several changes to the original design. The Marcos Luton gullwing and the spyder were introduced in November 1961. This design was again reworked, becoming the Marcos fastback GT, which was displayed at the London Racing Car Show in 1963. The chassis was fabricated from laminated 3 mm thick sheets of marine plywood, giving the cars strong monocoques and low weights, so they performed well in sportscar competition. Most early Marcos models competed in national and international events.
Marcos 1800GT
In 1964 the Marcos 1800 GT was introduced, using the four-cylinder Volvo B18 engine with overdrive gearbox and De Dion rear axle. This was to be the design that would become familiar to sports car enthusiasts for more than 30 years, even though the original plywood chassis was later replaced by a steel chassis. A variety of other engines, mostly from Ford, but also from Triumph and Volvo, became available over the years. In 1966 the GT was changed to Ford engines of originally 1500 cc, later 1650 and 1600 cc, and a coil-sprung live rear axle. In 1968 the Ford Essex V6 engine from the Capri Mk1 was added. In 1969 the plywood chassis was replaced by steel, which shortened production time and saved on cost, and the Ford Essex V4 engine replaced the earlier inline-fours. In 1971 a few cars with Triumph 2.5-litre straight-sixes were built, to use up engines from the slow selling [|Mantis]. As the bonnet was a close fit over the engine, this variety of engine resulted in a corresponding variation in the bonnet design, particularly as regards changes designed to clear engine air intakes, often the only external sign of the type of engine fitted.The Ford V6 version achieved over on test and the Volvo-engined model was not far behind it, but the heavy cast-iron engines increased nose-weight in comparison to the four-cylinder variants. From 1970 cars for the North American markets received Volvo's inline-six cylinder, three-litre engines coupled to Borg-Warner automatic transmissions. These have tubular steel space frames, a higher ride height and no headlight covers, to achieve US road certification. Delays and problems with the federalised cars, together with the development costs of the Mantis, led the company to close its doors for the first time.
The Marcos intellectual rights, including jigs, build files and logos were bought by Marcos director Rory MacMath and are now working under the title "Marcos Heritage Spares" as a restoration and parts company for Marcos Cars.
Mini Marcos
The front-wheel drive Mini Marcos, designed by Malcolm Newell, was introduced in 1965. With a fibreglass monocoque body, Mini subframes and suspension, and a wheelbase of, it is powered by a transversely mounted Mini A-series engine driving the front wheels. A French-entered example came 15th overall in the 1966 Le Mans race, the only British car to finish.When Marcos stopped making the car in about 1975, another company produced updated versions as the "Midas". Cars were also made under licence in South Africa, Australia and Ireland.
Revived in 1991 for the Japanese market, production continued until 1995. A total of over 1300 Mini Marcos cars have been sold in kit form and as complete cars.
After the demise of Marcos Sales Limited, the Mini Marcos moulds were acquired by Marcos Heritage Spares, who relaunched the car in 2005 as the Marcos Heritage Mk. VI and Mk. VI GT.
Marcos Mantis
In 1968 came the first Mantis, the Mantis XP. A racing car designed for the Group 6 Prototype category, it was powered by a mid-mounted Repco V8 engine. Like earlier Marcos cars it used a plywood monocoque chassis, albeit different from that of the GT. Only one car was made, and its only race was the 1968 1,000 km event at Spa, where it retired with electrical problems in heavy rain. Originally Marcos intended to race it in the 1968 Le Mans, but that was postponed from June to September, and by then the car was in America, fitted with a Buick V8 engine.A full restoration of the XP was completed in 2008. Now based in America, it has visited the UK for the Marcos 50th anniversary celebrations and the Goodwood Festival of Speed.
The next Mantis, the four-seater M70, was launched in 1970 and had a fuel-injected 2.5-litre Triumph TR6 six-cylinder injected engine mated to a four-speed gearbox. The promotional brochure says the styling "gives high all round visibility", and "a low centre of gravity together with an extremely wide track ensures superb roadholding. The luxurious interior seats four in comfort, and the boot, with a capacity of 10 cubic feet, makes the Mantis ideal for the man who is going places and wants to travel in style".
Thirty-two were sold before the company went into liquidation in 1972. Autotune acquired the moulds and produced a few more cars in the mid-1980s as "Autotune Mirages".