1967 Marcos 1600 GT

Description

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 £125000 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 <b>...</b>

Keywords

Car, auto, marcos, 1600, GT, 1800, VHC, historic, motor, sport, lotus, classic, 1967

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