© 2015 Automodello
When Jem Marsh and Frank Costin first combined their efforts—and their names—to produce an awkwardly styled but surprisingly effective little wooden monocoque sports car called the Marcos, few would have envisioned it evolving in just a few short years into the sleek machine you see replicated here. The Marcos 1800—so named for its use of the ‘P1800’ Volvo 1783cc inline-4 engine—looks nothing like its forbearer, but hidden beneath the low-slung fiberglass-reinforced plastic body lies the same style wooden monocoque chassis that underpinned the first Marcos.
The body made for tight confines within, but driver and passenger were treated a fair degree of luxury in its 45-degree-reclined seats. Triumph-sourced hood latches allow the entire forward section of the body to tilt, yielding access to the Volvo power plant, backed by a 4-speed gearbox with an MGB-sourced overdrive unit. The car’s light weight, aero-friendly shape and 114hp made it good for 9-second sprints to 60mph—quite respectable for the day—and with the overdrive engaged could hit 115mph. The stiffly sprung independent suspension yielded impressive grip as well, giving the all-around performance to validate its attention-grabbing looks.
Automodello is proud to bring this gorgeous piece of independent sports car history to premium 1:43 scale. Both the Homage and Tribute Editions personally approved and hand-signed by Jem Marsh himself.
