Some quotes from the motoring press on the Marcos GT.

PublicationComments
Modern Motor July1960Xylon : "...despite the prototypes modest power unit, its performance was an eye opener...We approached a roundabout at impossible speed and while I tried to still my chattering teeth he threw it into a slide -a completely controllable one, I'm glad to say!...One could sense the great stiffness of structure and certainly the excellence of steering geometry and weight distribution. Most impressive!"
Motor June 19651800 Road Test : "As an eye-catching design there is little doubt about the success of the styling; no test car has ever attracted more attention from bystanders...."
"This is a very fast car with a top speed approaching 120mph and vivid acceleration that only 6 test cars in the past 2 years have bettered to 50mph - only 1 of them by more than a second...."
"The cornering power of the Marcos 1800 is enormously high and it is a beautifully balanced car...two of our drivers claimed that no other test car had given them more enjoyment...on deserted roads."
Autocar August 19681600 GT : "...it is a great fun car, guaranteed to turn the heads of passers by and give drivers lots of satisfaction."
"We would rather it had more of a lion in its heart (why not a Zodiac V6) so that it could live up to its looks a bit more vividly. As it stands, it is well-tamed and safe."
Motor 1969Ford 3 litre road test : "It looks different, it feels different and it really is different from just about any other car on the road, in all sorts of ways."
"Where the Marcos excels even more is in its fantastic roadholding, probably the best of any production car we have ever driven.Its superb, lurch-free cornering makes it extremely fast across country, and its progress viewed from above would look like a squat arrow darting, swooping, squirting its way round mobile and static chicanes...its top gear acceleration from 30 to 100 mph actually betters that of an E-type....the E-type has a rival on performance/cost ratio."
"If you've ever driven a well set-up production car on racing tyres, say a modified MGB, you will have some idea of the cornering power of the Marcos on normal 175-13 Avon radials."
"Fast and striking, this car is an extrovert among sports machinery and we all found it tremendous fun to drive and we readily tolerated its failings."
Autocar 1971Volvo 3 litre road test : "With its wide tyres, low centre of gravity and good suspension geometry, there is every reason why the Marcos should handle well, and it does..."
"Expensive, but fun" - In 1971 a Marcos cost more than E-Type!
Thoroughbred & Classic cars 1990TVR vs Marcos test : "The Marcos, though, feels every bit as different as it is. At first you find yourself craning forward awkwardly; you have to keep telling yourself to lean back. When you do, you get the curious feeling of driving while lying in an armchair with your feet up; it's terrific!"
"I like cars to be as odd as possible. Given the chance, I'd take the Marcos"
Practical Classics 1990Volvo 3 litre report : "Driving the Marcos was a real pleasure...exciting and comfortable."
"The driving position is low, straight legged and very much akin to that of the Lotus Europa..."
Kit Car 1990Ford V6 report : "...I was in control of a pure driving machine..."
"...the handling and responses making each back lane blast a truly pleasurable experience."
Performance Car 1995Mantara Test : "...the 4.6 Mantara just goes faster and faster, keeping a steady head, not wallowing or bottoming out, steering with commendable accuracy..."
Autocar & Motor, 1997 Mantis Test : "...with a thumping new quad-cam Ford V8 engine up front and aggressive new bodywork draped over the top it rockets Marcos right into the sub £50,000 supercar league"
"..this is the smoothest, best mannered V8 we have yet experienced in a low volume British Sportscar."
Autocar March 1998Supercharged Mantis Test : "...I can't recall a car that brought such unbridled joy to those who ogled it."
"Supercharger wings Mantis to 100mph in 10sec dead - quicker than any Ferrari, Porsche's Carrera or a Viper."
"Very quick and very hairy. A genuine sportscar, warts and all."
PistonHeads website, 2003 TSO Road Test : "When it came to the TSO’s chassis and suspension, Prodrive started by taking a close look (including computer analysis) at what Marcos were already using and concluded that it was pretty damn good."
"As you’d expect with 400bhp in a one ton car, the TSO R/T offers straight-line performance few cars can match. Marcos estimate 0 – 60 in around four seconds and 0- 100 in under 10, though with no speedo to go on, all I can tell you for sure is that it’s very quick, especially at over 4,000rpm."
Autocar, 2005 TSO GT2 Road Test : "Even above the all-consuming roar of the V8 and the scream of tyres being wantonly melted richoteting around this tiny furnace of a cockpit, I can hear myself laughing."
"Stelliga claims he wanted a car that traded outright grip for a friendly attitude on the limit and the Prodrive guys have definitely delivered his wishes. The steering is light – not especially communicative but wonderfully accurate and devoid of kickback, and the chassis itself is very friendly, both when it comes to flicking sideways, and in gathering itself back in."
AutoExpress, 2005 TSO GT2 Review : "...as a different take on a well-tried formula it represents a welcome breath of fresh air in a very small market place."
"...The Marcos engineers have managed to keep weight down to just 1070kg so a tyre section that might seem narrow for the average hatch is big enough."
Autocar, 2007 TSO GTC Review : "The Marcos is even better in corners. Read a lot into the fact that Prodrive set up this car"
"The Marcos, for all its faults, was a sensation to punt across the peaks."
"The most telling thing I can say about the Marcos is that I felt a real sense of loss when I left our last location...the Marcos captured a little bit of my heart. It may be gone but it will never be forgotten".

I've added the excellent article 'Family Ties' from Classic Cars to the page. Click on the image below to read it.