MARCOS GT AT 60
From its aircraft-inspired chassis to its long-nosed bodywork, the Marcos GT did things differently 60 years ago. We speak to one of the company ’s longest-serving employees to find out why – and how
It's six decades since a small firm in Wiltshire – led by a team with experience of working on World War II fighters – unveiled its vision of the perfect road car.
Founded in 1959 in Dolgellau, Gwynedd, before moving to Bradford-on-Avon four years later, Marcos was the brainchild of a British engineer and racer Jem Marsh and aerodynamicist Frank Costin. The first three letters of their last names were put together to create the name Marcos.
Having worked on De Havilland Mosquito fighter-bombers, which were famously constructed mostly of wood, Costin drew inspiration and applied it to Marcos’s first car, the Xylon – a circuit racer that would feature a strong, lightweight wood laminate chassis, with streamlined bodywork and modest powerplants. Nine Xylons were built between 1959 and 1960 to compete in the 750 Motor Club.
Rory MacMath, the company’s longest-serving employee and now-retired owner of Marcos Heritage, which has helped keep Marcos cars on our roads since 1997, says: ‘As with so many of the smaller British manufacturers spawned during this period, Marcos earned its market pedigree on the racetrack. Notable early customers included Jackie Stewart, who gained his first racing experience in a Marcos, Derek Bell and Jackie Oliver,’ explains
In 1961, Costin left Marcos and his creation was placed into the hands of brothers Dennis and Peter Adams, who designed the Luton Gullwing – a roadgoing Xylon, of which just 13 were made. It cost £830, which included all the parts needed to build it. ‘It was made six inches wider, and a full-width one-piece windscreen was introduced.
The redesigned, notably sleeker bodywork was fitted to the existing wooden chassis unit,’ explains MacMath. Next came the 1963 Fastback Spyder, a car slated due to its tacked-on hard-top design, quickly gaining a ‘bread van’ nickname. A total of 18 Fastbacks were built, each costing £775, and modestly marketed as ‘the most exciting Grand Touring car in the world’.
The brothers were creeping closer to their idea of what would be ‘the perfect road car’, hitting the nail on the head with the Marcos GT. It would still feature the innovative wooden chassis, but dressed in appealing rakish glassfibre bodywork and with a meatier Volvo B18 engine.
The GT’s futuristic design was a massive success when unveiled at the Earls Court Motor Show in October ’63. Sitting at just 43 inches high, it was one of the lowest production cars ever made. Inside, the low-slung seats helped accommodate tall drivers, such as the 6ft 4in Jem Marsh. Shorter buyers could spec optional booster pillow
