The coupe shape has changed, superficially, very little since 1964, but along the way there have been many detail and major alterations. The idea of this page is to document, so that you'll have some idea of what you are looking at if you should go out to buy a Marcos.
It seems, however, that at times, some cars were hybrids, with some of the later and earlier details present on a single car. If you are looking to buy a car, condition is the number 1 attribute to consider.
| Chassis Numbers | Dates | Number Built (figures from 50th Rally programme where different) | Details |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1001-1006 | 1960 | 6 (9) | GT/Xylon/Ugly Duckling |
| 2001-2013 | 1961-1962 | 13 | Luton Gullwing |
| 3001-3018 | 1963-1965 | 21 (18) | Fastback (including Spyders) |
| 4001-4099 | 1964-1966 | 99 | 1800GT (IRS + Live Axled) |
| 5001-5302 | 1966-1967 1967 1968-1969 . | 82 32 (20) 192 (including cars below) | 1500GT 1650GT 1600GT (wood chassis) . |
| 5303-5521 | 100, 192 (119 Wood V6s) (including above cars) | 3 litre V6 and 1600GT with wood chassis, long bonnet and electric windows | |
| 5522-5955 | 1969-1971 | 250 (196) | 3 litre V6, Steel Chassis (5366 also reported on a steel chassis car and a wood one!) |
| 5472-5954 | 1969-1971 | 66 (78) | 2 litre V4, Steel Chassis |
| 5506-5967 | 1970-1971 | 80 (172) | 3 litre Volvo (5967 last of pre 80 cars) |
| 5883-5927 | 1971 | 11 (12) | 2.5 litre Triumph GT - engines from Mantis |
| 5783-5911 | 1971 | 32 | Mantis 2+2 |
| 5961-5966 | 1971 | 6 | 1600GT, steel chassis |
| 6001-6140 | 1965-1966 | 143 including Mk2s | Mini Marcos Mk1 |
| 7001-7109 | 1966 | See Above | Mini Marcos Mk2 |
| 7110-7535 | 1967-1970 | 627 plus 40 Marcos Ireland and 40 Brian Raubenheimer, SA | Mini Marcos Mk3 |
| 8001-8086 | 1974-1981 | 93 | Mini Marcos Mk4 - Marcos Built |
| 8101-8424 | 1974-1981 | 329 | Mini Marcos Mk4 - D&H Built |
| 9000-9064 | 1991-1996 | 65 | Mini Marcos Mk5 |
| ???? | 1982-1990 | (130) | Post-80 Coupe - Mainly kits |
| 8087-???? | 1984-1992 | (170) | Mantula V8 - Mainly kits |
| 8240-???? | 1986-1992 | (119) | Mantula Spyder - Mainly kits |
| ???? | 1991-1994 | (80) | Martina - All kits |
| 50001-50059 Others number up to 50174 | 1992-1998 | 105 (137 Mantaras in all) | Mantara 3.9 litre - 4 kits, rest fully type approved and built as are all cars after this. |
| 50032,50035,50038,50127, 50136,50152,50154,50171 | 1992-1998 | 8 | Mantara 4.0 |
| 50158,50238 | 1992-1998 | 2 (137 Mantaras in all) | Mantara 2.0 |
| 50141,50143,50145,50151,50156,50159, 50160,50166,50167,50168,50169,50176,50179, 50181,50182,50187,50224,50226,50237 | 1992-1998 | 19 (137 Mantaras in all) | Mantara 2.0 Turbo GTS |
| 50064,50065,50068,50095,50098,50102, 50106,50109,50122,50133,50135,50150,50157,50165,50172 | 1994-1997 | 15 (36 LMs in all) | LM400 |
| 50070,50071,50072,50077,50078,50086,50092, 50110,50114,50121,50125,50132,50184,50186,50191, LM9401,LM9402S,LM9405S,LM9406S,LM9410S | 1994-1997 | 20 (36 LMs in all) | LM500 |
| 50060 | 1994-1997 | 1 | LM600 |
| 50105,50126,50131,50134,50137-50139,50142, 50144,50146-50149,50153,50161-50164,50170,50173,50175, 50178,50180,50183,50185,50189,50190, 50192,50193,-50195,50197,50198,50231 | 1997-2002 | 34 (51 Mantis in all) | Mantis |
| 50128,50177,50188,50196,50199,50220,50235,50244,50245,50251 | 1997-2001 | 10 (51 Mantis in all) | Mantis Supercharged |
| 50247,50249,50250,50254,50257,50259,50260,50261 | 1997-2001 | 8 (51 Mantis in all) | Mantis GT |
| 50222,50223,50225,50227-50229, 50232,50236,50241-50243 | 1997-2002 | 11 (26 Mantarays in all) | Mantaray 3.9 |
| 50221,50230,50233,50234,50239,50240,50248 | 1997-2002 | 7 (26 Mantarays in all) | Mantaray 4.6 |
| ???? | 2002 | (7) | TS250 |
| ???? | 2003 | (4?) | TS500 |
| ???? | 2003-2007 | (10?) | TSO |
The following relate to the chassis numbers issued to factory built race cars. Some of the Mantis, and maybe some other models, have been converted to road use.
| Chassis Numbers | Number Built | Details |
|---|---|---|
| LM9406C,LM9413,LM9415,LM9416,LM9417,LM9418 | 6 (7) | LM500 racer |
| 50061,50062,LM9502,LM9503 | 4 | LM600 racer |
| 50200-50219,50300-50315,50329,50330 | 38 | Mantis racer |
From chassis no 5001, the chassis numbers were mixed between the various models. To indentify the specific model a prefix was added, thus :-
| Prefix Format | Model |
|---|---|
| 3/XXXX | Wood chassis V6 |
| 3M/XXXX | Steel chassis V6 |
| 2M/XXXX | Steel chassis V4 - Many now converted to V6 |
| 3V/XXXX | Volvo 3 litre |
| 2T/XXXX | 2.5 Litre Triumph engined GT |
| P8/XXXX | Mantis 2+2 |
| Other Prefixes Used | |
| DHXXXX | D&H manufactured Mini Marcos |
| XXXX L | Live axled 1800GT |
| XXXX S | Mantula Spyder |
Many V4s now have V6 engines and many 1500GTs or 1650GTs have 1600 or 2000cc Ford engines.
Some Mantis 2+2s have Rover V8s, but watch out for the later, Autotune, kit version of the car, often with 2 litre Ford engines.
You will find a few 'convertible' coupes - The factory never made these, so quality will depend on the individual conversion - Look for extra cross members in the suspension and alluminum panels in the transmission tunnel for signs of a 'good' job.
Where cars are described as kits, the registration year may be later than the last year of manufacture (due to delays) or earlier (due to the owner using a loophole which allowed use of an old car's plate - Some Marcos Mantulas are registered as Ford-Marcos Mantulas!). Often the kits will be registered on a Q plate.
If you can add anything to this, please E-mail me or sign the guestbook.
