Marcos GT
The first car, the 1960 Marcos GT was a rather strange looking device with gullwing doors and a windscreen in four panels. For production the body was made less radical but initially retained the gullwing doors. It was powered by a choice of Ford engines varying from 997 cc to 1498 cc and had Standard 10 and Triumph Herald steering and suspension components. Thirty nine were made up to 1963.
In 1961 the brothers Dennis Adams and Peter Adams started working with Marcos and they introduced a number of changes to the original design and in 1963 they displayed the two seater coupé Marcos GT at the London Racing Car Show. Originally this used the 4 cylinder Volvo 1800 cc unit with overdrive gearbox and De Dion rear axle but in 1966 this changed to a Ford engine in 1500 cc, 1600 cc or 1650 cc capacity and a coil sprung live rear axle. In 1969 this changed again to the Ford V4 engine as used in the Ford Corsair and Ford Capri. In 1969 the GT changed from plywood chassis to a more conventional steel one. This shortened the production time and also made it possible to use more powerful 6 cylinder engines with a choice of 140 bhp, 3 litre Ford Essex V6 engine (UK), 140 bhp, 3 litre Volvo straight 6 or more rarely the Triumph 2.5 litre straight 6. The cars were sold into the North American market and for them to pass the exhaust emissions regulations the Volvo engine was used there. The car had a wheelbase of 77 inches, a height of only 43 inches and weighed 18 cwt. The Ford V6 version achieved over 120 mph on test.
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