Marcos
Marcos is the combination of the names Mar of Jem Marsh and the Cos of Frank Costin. Set up in 1955 with the idea of supplying the cars in kit form to save the crippling UK Purchase Tax. The chassis construction initially used wood and was called the Marcos GT with Ford 100, 105 and 109E engines. Frank Costin parted from the Marcos company in 1961. In 1964 a larger car with the new look was offered initially with Volvo power but from 1966 with Ford tuned engines of 1500, 1600 and 1650 and from 1969 a 2 litre V4. The wider 4 seater Marcos Mantis with unusual styling sold some 30 units before the company was wound up in 1972. Some 1200 Mini Marcos had also been built since 1965, and after the company stopped, Rob Walker bought the rights to this little car and built a further 500.
