Thu Stubbs of Creative Auto Imaging interviews Dave Mensh with his 1967 Marcos 1600 GT at the 39th Annual Sully Antique Car Show on June 17, 2012 in Chantilly, VA.
In 1964, Marcos introduced a very attractive two-seater coupe which is still being produced in modern times. Little changed from the initial design and it has proved to be a timeless and alluring creation.
These coupes were created in an unusual fashion, using laminated plywood for the chassis construction. GRP was used for the outer body panels. The front seats were mounted to the rear bulkhead which meant they could not be moved. To accommodate the different sizes of passengers, the foot pedals could be adjusted to the correct length. A small wheel located under the dash made the process a little less cumbersome, though highly unusual. The 1600 was powered by a Ford Cortina MK II GT engine which was capable of carrying the car to a top speed of around 115 mph. This was a vast improvement over the prior version of the car, the 1500. Zero-to-sixty for the 1600 was in the 11 second range.
Marcos was founded in Luton, in Bedfordshire, England, in 1959 by Jem Marsh and Frank Costin. Frank 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 and in 1971 to a £125,000 purpose built factory at nearby Westbury.
Problems with exporting cars to the USA and the move to the expensive new premises led to financial troubles in the 1970s and by 1971 they were out of business. In July 1971 it was reported that the Rob Walker Group of Companies, a principal dealer, had taken over the stocks and assets of the business and established a new company, Marcos Ltd. The new owners insisted that production would continue, albeit, at least in the short term, only for the UK market. Marcos dealers in the UK had been heavily discounting new cars since the end of 1970, however, while a report at the time of the collapse stated that the company's stock of 35 unsold cars in the USA had had to be "liquidated":[1] in reality there seems to have been a substantial stock of new cars still looking for buyers, and it is not clear whether, over the next few years, any more were built. Just a year later, one Saturday in June 1972, what was described as "a cash jumble sale of Marcos bits - prototype and shop soiled components, benches, tools..." took place at what was could now be characterized as the "old Marcos Cars factory" at Westbury.[2] The sale was occasioned by the company's reorganization and move to a smaller factory.
Jem Marsh however stayed in the auto business. In 1976 he bought back the rights to the Marcos name, and in 1981 the Marcos was re-launched with the Marcos V6 Coupe that was sold in kit form.
Marcos went bankrupt again in 2000, but thanks to a wealthy Canadian, Tony Stelliga buying the company, production was again revived in 2002. The race car production was relocated to the Netherlands while road car production moved to Kenilworth, Warwickshire, England. By 2005 most of the designers from the near to bankrupt TVR joined the company.
On 9 October 2007 it was announced that Marcos would cease car production and go into voluntary liquidation.
The first car, the 1960 Marcos GT was a rather strange looking device with gullwing doors and a windscreen in four panels. 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 cc to 1498 cc and had Standard 10 and Triumph Herald steering and suspension components. Thirty nine were made up to 1963.
In 1961 the brothers Dennis Adams and Peter Adams started working with Marcos and they introduced a number of changes to the original design, so the Marcos Luton Gullwing, and the Spyder were introduced in November 1961, immediately transformed to the Marcos Fastback GT , was displayed at the London Racing Car Show in 1963. The chassis were glued of mainly 3 mm thin sheets of marine plywood, giving the cars a very strong monocoque and unbeatable low total weight (internationally homologated with 475 kg), resulting in a great performance in sportscar competition. Totally 39 cars were produced of these early Marcos models and nearly all of them were used for national and international racing purpose.
CRUISING BATTLESBRIDGE ESSEX CLASSIC CAR SHOW 30/9/12 UK BRITISH AMERICAN RALLY
Filmed by Ruthie and also Geoff Stokes of www.brentwoodclassics.co.uk Geoff owns a classic vehicle restoration garage in Essex. Filmed from our own white 1961 Chrysler New Yorker. Held on 30th September 2012 at Battlesbridge 26th Grand Motorbilia Day in Essex England. Please look at their websites for information on the many events held here www.battlesbridge.com www.battlesbridge.com/events.php
SORRY OUR VIDEO IS SO NOISY, AS IT WAS A VERY WINDY DAY. WIND NOISE PLAYS HAVOC WITH A VIDEO MICROPHONE! Sorry also for our dirty windscreen which spoilt the view from inside our car a bit. At least we tried our best to show you lots of interesting vehicles.
Classic Saloons and Sports Cars pre 1975 Shelsley Walsh 18-9-11
Great Selection of cars as Peter Hubbard and David Bennett in the shared Marcos V6, Ted Elwes MGA, Paul Gething Rochdale Olympic, Mike Hawley in the Healey Silverstone D Type and Hugh Whitcomb Mini Cooper, as they compete at Shelsley Walsh Sunday September 18th 2011
Marcos TSO GT review - Top Gear - BBC
Richard Hammond gets behind the wheel of the £50,000 Marcos TSO GT and takes it for a spin on the Top Gear track. Watch more high quality videos on the Food YouTube channel from BBC Worldwide here: http://www.youtube.com/bbcfood
1963 Lotus Cortina MK1 by Classic Cortina Car Club New Zealand
The Classic Cortina Car Club http://www.classiccortina.co.nz started in the mid 1980's with a small group of Ford Cortina enthusiasts in Christchurch.
The Club wanted to promote, Lotus, 1600E, GT, GTE in the MK1 and MK2 only as they were seen as the more desirable car to collect.
As time went on and the Classic Cortina Car Club name became a regular feature at the car shows in Canterbury and other places around the country. The membership slowly grew in numbers and the Club eventually included MK3, MK4 and MK5 models.
Now it is 2012 and there has been a small band of Club members, who over the years have steered the Classic Cortina Club into the role of helping members and non-members with their restoration projects, the sale of their Cortina, or just a friendly chat about a particular model they may have owned in the past.
Club members meet on the first Tuesday of every month and non-members are welcome to visit. we endeavor to keep the Event Calendar up to date on all upcoming club events and shows, grass gymkhanas and barbeques that happen through out the year, any excuse to take your Cortina out for a drive seems to appeal to most members.
Please feel free to Contact Us directly or any of the Committee for further information.
mk2 cortina savage
a true bilt not bought car full bare shell rebuild. 95% compleated car built by my dad.
1969 Horizon Blue Mercedes 280SE Cabriolet in excellent restored condition wmv
This is a 1969 Mercedes 280SE Cabriolet in excellent restored condition. This car has been repainted in its original color, Horizon Blue ( #304) and the finish is superb. Car has a complete new interior in leather, all new seats, door panels, dashboard, carpets are new and correct Wilton Wool, wood is refinished and is stunning. Soft top is new German Canvass, headliner is new. Mechanically the car comes fully sorted by us. Car comes with the original owners manual, service booklet and metal data card. This is an excellent opportunity to own a classic Mercedes Cabriolet. For more details call 631-283-8819.
1964 Shelby Cobra | Chasing Classic Cars
Wayne bites his nails as his Cobra approaches $1 million in a no-reserve auction.
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