Marcos was founded in Dolgellau, North Wales, in 1959, by Speedex cars' Jem Marsh with aerodynamicist Frank Costin.

The company moved to a converted mill in Bradford on Avon, Wiltshire, in 1963; in 1971 they relocated to a £125,000 purpose-built factory at nearby Westbury.

Problems with exporting cars to the US and the move to the expensive new premises led to financial troubles, and in 1971 Marcos went out of business.

It was powered by a choice of Ford engines varying from 997 to 1498 cc and had Standard 10 and Triumph Herald steering and suspension components.

The chassis was fabricated from laminated 3 mm thick sheets of marine plywood, giving the cars strong monocoques and low weights (the GT was internationally homologated with 475 kg), so they performed well in sportscar competition.

In 1964 the Marcos 1800 GT was introduced, using the four-cylinder Volvo B18 engine with overdrive gearbox and De Dion rear axle.

The Ford V6 version achieved over 120 mph (190 km/h) on test and the Volvo-engined model was not far behind it, but the heavy cast-iron engines increased nose-weight in comparison to the four-cylinder variants.

From 1970 cars for the North American markets received Volvo's inline-six cylinder, three-litre engines coupled to Borg-Warner automatic transmissions.

These have tubular steel space frames, a higher ride height and no headlight covers, to achieve US road certification.

Delays and problems with the federalised cars, together with the development costs of the Mantis, led the company to close its doors for the first time.

Only one car was made, and its only race was the 1968 1,000 km event at Spa, where it retired with electrical problems in heavy rain.

The promotional brochure says the styling "gives high all round visibility", and "a low centre of gravity together with an extremely wide track ensures superb roadholding.

The luxurious interior seats four in comfort, and the boot, with a capacity of 10 cubic feet, makes the Mantis ideal for the man who is going places and wants to travel in style".

The Marcos GTS was a version of the Mantara powered by the 2-litre Rover Tomcat engine, on request of the Italian distributor Martes Spider Cars.

The GTS version of the Mantara had a slightly different bonnet incorporating much smoother lines, flared-in headlamps, and a deeper spoiler, which was used on the later Mantaray model.

[7] For a return to GT racing, a range of modified Mantaras was also produced in the LM (Le Mans) versions.

In 1997 the Mantis name was re-used on a 2-seater coupé or convertible road car based on the LM series powered by the 4.6-litre all-aluminium quad-cam Ford 'Modular' engine producing 327 bhp (244 kW; 332 PS) and capable of 170 mph (270 km/h).

In 1998 it was decided to supercharge the engine to produce one of the few British production sports car with over 500 bhp (373 kW; 507 PS), this being named the Mantis GT.

Using a Vortech supercharger and intercooler the Mantis GT engine produced 506 bhp (377 kW; 513 PS), which could accelerate the car from 0–60 mph in 3.7 seconds.

In 2002, after a break in production caused by bankruptcy, a new company (Marcos Engineering Ltd) was launched with Jem Marsh as vice-chairman, and with the financial backing of Canadian Tony Stelliga, to manufacture the Marcasite TS250 with a 2.5-litre 175 bhp (130 kW; 177 PS) Ford V6 followed in 2003 by the 5-litre Rover V8-powered TS500.

The sales brochure for the Fastback included options for 5 speed gearbox (Hewland), dry sump, 997cc (84 to 88 bhp) and 1148cc (102 to 104 bhp) full race engines, light alloy bellhousing, 72-litre fuel tank (for endurance racing), lightweight alloy oil cooler, and perspex windscreen (saving 15 lbs).

Driven by Geoff Mabbs, it lapped all but one car to win the BRSCC race by 81 seconds at an average of 76 mph.

The car was clocked at 141 mph on the Mulsanne Straight in the April test, but failed to finish the race because of an oil pump failure.

It was assembled with a stressed plywood monocoque chassis and Cooper suspension, and powered by a Brabham Formula 1 engine, later replaced by a Buick 215 V8.

Competition options include FIA-approved roll-over bar, limited-slip differential, rose-jointed suspension and full harnesses.

In October 1993 Marcos unveiled its new competition car and announced a return to GT racing, including Le Mans.

Both suffered electrical faults, one retiring and the other (driven by David Leslie, François Migault, and Jem Marsh's son Chris) finishing second to last, having completed 114 laps fewer than the winning McLaren F1 GTR as its electrical problem stranded it on the Mulsanne Straight for two hours soon after the start.

[13] A total of 38 Mantis Challenge cars were built, but the series did not continue beyond 1999, after the GT Championship introduced the GT3 class.

In 2000, the Marcos racing business was sold to longtime GT sponsor Eurotech, a Dutch engineering firm.

An LM600 driven by Cor Euser competed in the Dutch Supercar Challenge and won the GT Championship in 2002 and 2004, and again in 2009, the 50th anniversary of the founding of Marcos.