Marcos Mantis

Marcos is a small british car maker that has been around for some 30 years (i think, correct me if im wrong). They are outrageous cars, destined to rival TVR though the company has now gone bust i am sorry to hear. The Marcos Mantis has been around for 5 years or so and culminated with the 4.6 GT, which developed 506bhp@6000RPM, 452lbft@5500RPM, enabling it to crack 60 in 3.7s, and 100 in under 9, on the way to a max of 180mph. The styling is aggressive, to some extent weird, and the car's exhausts scream a wonderful V8 symphony. The sight of one driving by is a jaw-dropping experience.

They competed in GT series with the LM600 with some success.

Here are some links:
http://www.fast-autos.net/marcos/marcoslm600.html
http://www.fast-autos.net/marcos/marcosmantisgt.html
Official website (good info):
http://www.marcoscars.com/mantis.htm

enjoy!
jay

No more Marcos? Boo. You gotta love a light british sports car with a supercharged DOHC Ford smallblock

They went under before Christmas. Wonderful cars, they had tuned SVT Mustang 4.6L engines (don't laugh at these engines, its a DOHC, 4 valve, hand made engine), with an optional supercharger.
The body styling was outrageous, and it was one of the best cottage car industries in England (right behind TVR, IMO)
I had high hopes for them, they seemed to be doing so well.

Here are some pics if you don't want to go to the site:

http://www.pebblenet.com/conceptcarz/images/Marcos/mantis1.jpg
http://www.pebblenet.com/conceptcarz/images/Marcos/MarcosMantis2.jpg
http://www.pebblenet.com/conceptcarz/images/Marcos/mantis2.jpg
http://www.pebblenet.com/conceptcarz/images/Marcos/Mantis-GT-01.jpg

Originally posted by Chris
They went under before Christmas. Wonderful cars, they had tuned SVT Mustang 4.6L engines (don't laugh at these engines, its a DOHC, 4

Don't laugh? The Ford modular small block is the best engine being made in the US right now(not counting independent engine builders).

Ever seen the 13:1 compression 4V 5.4? 450 hp. 7500 rpm. Smooth power from idle to redline.

Right at home in the Mantis, a modern version of the Cobra!

When the Cobra came out in 1960, it used the brand new Ford 260 Windsor smallblock. This was a pretty advanced engine for 1960.

The 4.6 is a pretty advanced V8 even for nowadays. When the Viper was built, a lot of people said it was a new age Cobra, mainly because Shelby designed it. It was heavy, had a sluggish engine, and the suspension was poor even in comparison to the Cobra's 60s vintage E type design.

Sorry, got off on another Cobra rant.

I remember Marcos competing in the old GT2 races, I was always rooting for them. Right before they dropped out, they were almost getting competetive. I think they sold their franchise to Lister. Hey, there's no Lister base!

i dunno bout the Mantis.. but that yellow porsche kicks ass

Yeah, it's a 968 Turbo S. They only made 305 hp though... only 369 ftlbs of torque too. Not bad for a 4 cylinder though :D

huh????? where do you guys see a yellow porsche? :confused:

Originally posted by crayzayjay
huh????? where do you guys see a yellow porsche? :confused:

Cbass changed his signature... that's the reason you don't have a clue what the f are they talking about... :o

Originally posted by Cbass
Yeah, it's a 968 Turbo S. They only made 305 hp though... only 369 ftlbs of torque too. Not bad for a 4 cylinder though :D

Looks like a 968 doesn't it? I can see how you made that mistake. Porche models do carry a great family resemblance but you missed the subtle air intake behind the door .. which proves it's rear-engined. It's actually a 911 widebody convert, with the rarely seen klubelwagen trunk-expander option, for carrying golf bags :right:

thanks!
i thought i was losing it!

Nope, Tom's right. I had a big pic of a bright yellow 968 Turbo in my sig, but it was too big. Took up way too much space in threads and I didn't want to annoy everone with it.

Sorry Thunda, but the pic I've got up now is what my car looks like. It's not my actual car, mine doesn't have the Strosek fastback hatch. That's a '79 924, with a widebody kit and nice wheels. The spokes are a tad bit wider than on mine.

LOL! Where were you guys when I posted this (http://www.automotiveforums.com/vbulletin/t2801.html) last May?

Oops!

I deleted signatures, so my mistaken joke was going nowhere I guess .. except into that damn internet fog

Anyway, it is a great pity that Marcos has folded, yet wonderful that this model lasted as long as it did, retaining the same basic shape since the mid (?) 60's.

btw: Was it this car that famously utilized laquered plywood in its frame?
(forget the tinworm .. worry instead about the borers!)

No worries though, we still have Lotus, Caterham, Westfield, TVR... how many have I missed?

IMO TVR is the greates marque. God I love TVRs. Especially the Cerbera.

Jensen, AC, Morgan.. thats about all i can think of for now..


Jay>
supra? teeheee... :D

.. Bristol, Ultima, Ariel, Stealth.. just remembered those... and how could i have forgotten Noble, with the M12 GTO.. has anyone posted or heard of this car?

I forgot all about Ultima! The others I have never heard of, post some of them under other cars please, I'm interested to know more about cottage industry car makers.

The car with the wooden frame is the Morgan (the new Aero 8 is the exception)

And great cars they are! Except for the 3 wheelers. Jensen still makes cars?

Please elaborate on others, though. I need educatezin'

Those 3-wheeler Morgan trikes could, depending on which (motorcycle) engine was selected, be anything from 'a sporting carriage' to downright devilish. 90-100mph was not unknown but nor was the dreadful prospect of a motor seizure .. followed immediately by a forward roll into oblivion & death.

As for the 4-wheelers, apart from the incredibly harsh ride I've read many fawning articles, some verging on adulatory. Depending on your point of view it's either the (up to the 50's) 'flat nose' model, the rorty Vanguard-engined one, or Plus 4 etc which gain your preference. Personally the Plus 8 is hard not to covet. But there are also bitter admonishments of long-term Morgan ownership, specifically the wooden body frame which is made from Ash & secured by staples. Over time these work loose requiring incredibly expensive restoration. I spoke to a one-time besmitten owner of 23 years who, after his 3rd rebuild in under 70k miles of careful use, wearily pronounced them as an emotional yet flawed dalliance and vowed '"never again!'

Chris thanks for your correction but I am positive there's another 'major' British cottage car which was often mentioned as employing laquered plywood a-la boat-building techniques in its foundation, and thought it was the ancestor of this-shape Marcos? .. Any British enthusiasts help out here with this useless bit of trivia?
btw: notable to MarCos was Mike(?) COStin, whom I believe held influence over the British industry for many years.

Out of the plethora of small U.K. makers (eg Fairthorpe, Opus etc) one of my favorites would be Ginetta (spl?). One of their long-standing & very pretty road/race models (G-12?) resembles a nascent Porche 904/Ferrari Dino and was often powered by one of the world's best ever engines, the 4cyl. alloy Coventry Climax. This great motor originated from a design brief for a portable ultra-lightweight fire pump powerplant would you believe and found its way into everything from the Hillman Imp (I had an Imp 'GT', fantastic car) to being dominant in formula-class racing cars .. eg: fairytale of the little engine that could. btw: the still-in-production Moto Guzzi V-twin motorcycle engine originated from a WW2 amphibious landing craft engine!

To my mind one of the most quintessential British marques is Bristol. Evolving after WW2 from the highly regarded aircraft & aviation powerplant company (eg: Concorde uses a Bristol engine derivative) as a way to retain its aviation-quality workforce Bristol Cars (http://www.bristolcars.co.uk) still make some of the best engineered, finely crafted and most interesting of vehicles. Check out their amazing 'Fighter' V10 model at the above website, so aerodynamically pure no spoilers are required despite its 200mph+ top speed - compare this with the design compromises owners must endure on Ferrari F60 etc. A schoolfriend many years ago used to commute in his father's BRG-coloured 403 and despite being an early-50's model these still look like a spaceship to me. Check out the incredible lightness of line and aerodynamics for its era below, its Cd still competitive into the 80's! They were powered by the fabulous ex-BMW 328 (1930's model) hemi-head 6, interestingly obtained by Bristol through war reparations after 1945 and note the BMW-style grille. Later models have lost their way in regards to styling, but never their quality.
http://www.arnolt.com/Bitmaps/403green.jpg

I tjink you will fill the multi coloured Marcos is infact an LM600, and not a Mantis, and it was raced by Calum Lockie.
Although Marcos do racin the Mantis GT in the it is basically a stripped down road going Mantis with an uprated engine.
To say that Marcos race is the GT series with some success is a slight understatement.
THEY WON THE SERIES IN 1996 AND 2000!!!!

In FIA or British GT? I didn't watch the 2000 season, that summer was sort of a haze of partying a little too hard. :D

I live in Canada, and we get screwed out of most of the good races by the American media, who will actually cancel an important points race for some infernally hell damned stock car race! "lets saahhy whoo'all caahn hoohk up tha beest lahn at tha south'rn 5 hunn'rd"

I just make sure to catch Motorsport Mundial every week. EVERY week. We do have some good racing with the SCCA/Speed channel world challenge. Good racing there, really competive.

I was under the impression the LM600 was a derivitave of the Mantis, and they used the Mantis to clear homolgamation rules, but ran with a LT-5 based V8. I could be horribly wrong however, the announcers were always yakking about the newest restrictions to the vipers.

I know about Morgans, great cars. Tell me more about the new Jensens, and other fabulous sports cars they won't let us have over here

little busy to be introducing those cars now... i think maybe the new jensen is in the other cars forum.... Farboud is also a very interesting car.. pretty much a copy of the 911 GT1 but not quite the same price :D

Farboud eh? I'll look into that. Continue my CCI education at your whim please.

Well, actually the LM600 was a derivative of the LM500. The LM500 was initially built in 1994 to race in Le Mans hence LM. A few LM's were built for the road ( I am lucky enough to own one). Th racing LM's were not competitive with the 5 litre engines and were the re-developed with a 6 litre V8 ( LM600's). They one the British GT series. When the Mantis was built, mainly as a road car, it raced in the GT2 series, but was more of a uprated road car.
The LM derivative multi coloured GT car, then actually became a derivatice of the Mantara as LM were not being manufacture anymore.......confused yet.

Finally one of the posting refers to MARCOS and Mike COStin. Well not quite right sorry, The name MARCOS came from Jem MARsh and Frank COStin, who between them developed the first Marcos racers in 1958, raced by the likes of Jackie Stuart and Graham Hill. They were also the on British entry to finish Le Mans in 1966. ( Probably last but hey....)

Hope this is isn't to boriing and someone finds this of interest

Not at all, continue. Nice cars... my project 968 will still cook any of them... except the race versions :D

more comps.... lets see.. Strathcarron, they made motorbike engined (i think) small track cars that were a blast to drive but theyre broke now, the car was too expensive and no one bought it.... im sure theres more i just cant think of all of em!

What about Noble? I don't know a thing about them.

NOBLE M12 GTO

Turbocharged V6 (Ford unit)
2554 cc
310 bhp@6000 rpm
320 lbft@3500 rpm
0-100 mph 10.2 sec
1/4mile 12.8 sec

Britain's best sports car?
0-60 mph in 3.9 seconds, 160 mph - so said Autocar in pre-viewing their full road test of the M12 GTO.

Autocar continued, "The M12's standing start acceleration is only just on the comfortable side of sane. If you pay the right money there are faster cars out there. But only a few. But none matches the drama of the M12. At the price the M12 would be considered a fantastic bargain on its sprinting ability alone. And perhaps if that were all there was to it, every other specialist sports car manufacturer with a product hovering around the mid - 40 grand mark could settle down for a solid night's slumber. But the M12 is more than merely quick. Isolate this machines two most crucial tasks, delivering straight - line performance and cornering ability and its difficult to say which it does better.

In short the Noble M12 is blessed with a peach of a chassis. Perhaps this cars most astonishing feature is outright grip. Mechanical grip in the dry is staggering and I have never driven a road car with stronger wet weather adhesion. It truly is astonishing."

Autocar


http://man.yesite.com/auto/wallpaper/noble/8s.jpg

http://www.fast-autos.net/noble/m12gto.jpg

http://www.rapidcars.com/images/nm12rear2.jpg

http://www.rapidcars.com/images/nm12rear3.jpg

note mondeo rear lights

Nice indeed. I prefer the Cerbera, I need a 2+2 for a daily driver. How much does it cost? I saw "mid 40 grand", and I assume that is pounds.

in the £40k's indeed.
very very fast car

Well, up to 150 mph. I think the Cerbera would be knocking it around after 60 mph or so... I think for my money, I'd rather have the Cerbera. Have you seen the interiors on them? Very nice.

Tell me more about fantastic cars my government won't let me have :D

The Cerbera would kick its ass on a straight line, pulling away after 60 or so, just as you said... get them on a track and the Noble handles much better.... which would win i dont really know... i suppose if its average drivers, the noble would win as the cerbera is tricky to handle.... get a pro in there and the 4.5 Cerbera will fly around any track

Stealth B6
8 cylinder
6.3l
510bhp@6500RPM
479lbft@5000RPM

it weighs less than a ton so power per weight ratio is a stunning 564bhp/ton, thats MORE than a McLaren F1... 0-60 is in 3.9, 0-100 in a smidge over 6s, and top speed somewhere over 180. i remember a few years ago someone tried to break the 0-100-0 record with this car (which is incidentally held by a Macca) and they came very close on the first run, if i recall the car wasnt actually finished, it was still under development... it's finished now, yours to buy at £90k :D

you're not gonna go for a cruise in this car, this is a fully fledged race car for the road... no luxuries, just pure brutish horsepower

http://www.racecar.co.uk/stealth/images/3.jpg

http://www.racecar.co.uk/stealth/images/5.jpg

cheers,
jay

Is it just me, or have most modern supercars started to look like the batmobile? :D

I've never driven a Cerbera, explain how they are tricky handling? I assume the combination of 2450 lbs and 450 hp free revving V8 would make driving... interesting to say the least. My current car is a 924, with big tires, good suspension, and 150 hp, so I am learning very quickly about the proper line to take :D

Precisely. Add 0 electronics and no ABS and you have an even wilder car to drive. No offence, but 388bhp/ton is a massive step from a 150bhp car so i would take it very easy at first ;)

and yeah, the interiors are very nice indeed :D

Yeah, 150 to 450 hp... By the time I am close to finished with this 924, it'll make 300hp, 330 ftlbs... It's getting a 5 cylinder from a S4, and then getting tweaked with a new turbo, a good chip. It's also going on a diet, I am getting a nice set of sport seats, ripping out the back seats, and replacing all the panels with fiberglass, the windshield and hatch get replaced with Lexan... It should be about 2100 lbs, with 230 hp and 260 hp for daily driving.

They sell LHD Cerberas in the rest of Europe, don't they? I was looking at an Italian dealership, and they said they could get TVRs...

Alas, I won' t have my Cerbera until I move to Italy... Then I will get to terrorize a few Ferraris on their home turf :D

The stealth is pretty wild, but it would be awesome to drive around in real life. And a lighter Porsche is a happy Porsche:)

I'd like to give the TVR Speed 12 a spin.. probably quite a few spins :)
Hmm, 2000 lbs... 800+ hp.. Doesn't that work out to about 800hp/ton? :devil: :devil: :devil: :devil: :devil: :devil: :devil: :devil:

I was looking through a Gran Turismo 2 guide, and noticed you could win a Speed 12... I went and got a playstation and GT2, and played until I won it. It wasn't easy, I was in one of the toughest races in an old skyline...

The thing is brutal! I managed to boost it up to around 900hp, and managed 1890 lbs.. Does the standing 1/4 in about 8 seconds..

Im close to winning it in GT3...