Marcos Motor Company Ltd has owned the original assets of the Marcos brand since 2022, and now, it has announced its return to car building with the first three Marcos projects in almost 20 years.
The three projects cover a mix of reimagined classics and all-new models, aimed at both road and track use. All are currently in active development, with physical prototypes already underway.
Project #1 is a reimagining of a much-loved Marcos model with a recognisable silhouette but with a modern platform and drivetrain. It’s being used to test new in-house capabilities, but is being developed for possible track use. The first prototype has already run.
Project #2 is an all-new car built from the ground up and made around a crash-tested, homologated rolling chassis. This model will not reference past Marcos designs but will reflect the brand’s core values of low weight, simplicity, and sharp, driver-focused handling.
Project #3 focuses on continuation models. With access to original body moulds, tooling, and jigs for nearly every Marcos model ever made, the company is in a position to produce factory-authorised versions of its historic cars, complete with the original branding.
Alongside new vehicle development, Marcos Motor Company will continue supporting current owners through Marcos Heritage Spares. This includes genuine parts, servicing, maintenance, and performance upgrades, now improved by broader group resources, including in-house engine tuning.
“Marcos is a much-loved British sports car brand. It has a wonderful history but also an ethos of simplicity for raw, driver-focused handling. It’s an analogue experience you can’t get from large car manufacturers and supercar brands, and one which I think enthusiasts hanker after today. We want to honour that original ethos while being forward-looking too, giving Marcos a new, younger audience, as well as bringing the brand back for those who grew up with it.”
Howard Nash, owner and chairman
Nash has been involved with Marcos since 2021 and took ownership the following year. The company now sits within the Automotive Vision group, which also includes the historic Marcos Engineering Ltd, Marcos Sales Ltd, and Marcos Heritage Spares Ltd. The wider group also incorporates a long-running body and paint operation and a specialist engine restoration business.
Marcos is back!
Marcos Highlights
Like its cars, the history of the Marcos brand is of punching well above its weight. It is full of firsts, huge achievements, and famous names.
- Early cars were raced by future F1 world champion Jackie Stewart, F1 driver and team owner Jackie Oliver, and F1 driver and multiple Le Mans winner Derek Bell
- The cars were developed with know-how from the DeHavilland Mosquito fighter-bomber
- They were the world’s first monocoque chassis cars, setting the standard for modern race-car design
- The Mini Marcos lapped the entire field on its debut and was the highest-place British finisher in the 1966 Le Mans race
- It set four land speed records for 1600cc cars, which it still holds
- The Marcos GT was bought by 1960s and 1970s pop stars including Rod Stewart, the Walker Brothers, Marmalade and Paul Jones of Manfred Mann, and was chosen as an alternative to the Volvo P1800 for Roger Moore in The Saint
- In the late 1970s, a GT launched the career of F1 driver Dr Jonathan Palmer
- Evolutions of the GT won British and European GT series titles in the 1990s and 2000s
- The 1998 Mantis GT was Britain’s first 500bhp road car, ensuring that Marcos continued to attract celebrity owners, including Maxi Jazz of Faithless
- Celebrity car collector Jay Leno recently drove the GT in his Jay Leno’s Garage series, calling it “one of the prettiest and most unusual sports cars of all time.”
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