Wednesday 4th May 2011

PH Carpool: Marcos Mantaray 4.6

PHer Martin Allan runs a rarely seen British roadster

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PHer - and Marcos fan - Martin Allan

PHer Martin Allan (aka Cool Mart) on life with a V8-engined plastic British sports car. Nope, the other plastic British sports car...

*****

"My Marcos affair began seven years ago with the rash purchase of a Mantula Spyder through eBay, without actually seeing her. I drove to the Midlands with a pocket full of cash and drove away in the car cursing the lack of visibility, the closeness of the pedals and the roughness of the ride. I maintain to this day that if I'd test driven the car before I'd bought it I never would have parted with my hard earned cash! I drove the 100 miles home and by the time I arrived on my driveway I was in love with the whole Marcos experience, not least the reaction of people whenever they heard the roar or saw the gracious lines approaching.

"Five years down the road and only one thing could have persuaded me to part with the Mantula and that was another Marcos. I spotted the Mantaray (on eBay again) at a reasonable price and watched as over the space of a few months the seller reduced the price without luck. Sitting at my computer one Monday morning I fired a speculative offer to the seller more as an opening bid than anything else, and he replied with a despondent 'Ok... sh*t... now I've got to break the news to her indoors...!'

"That Saturday I travelled the 50 miles to view the car and after admiring the brand new engine, the new leather interior and the fresh respray I parted with a deposit and a large smile on my face. The car was delivered to my house on the back of a trailer the following week thus saving me the nervous first journey in the rain and in an unfamiliar car.

"The Mantaray design moved away from the 'steroidal' bulging Marcos design of the mid nineties, and more into line with the TVR Chimaera's subtle shape. But where there were over 6000 Chimaeras manufactured over the years, Marcos managed to build just 26 Mantarays, and just 7 of those were fitted with the 4.6 Rover engine I have lurking under the bonnet of mine. Such exclusivity does, however, come with a downside. Marcos never seemed to get beyond the prototype stage and every Mantaray I've seen seems to be slightly different in its manufacture, if it weren't for the knowledge of the guys down at Marcos Heritage Spares (the only Marcos specialist left) then we'd be stuck every time something fell off or needed replacing.

"There's something special about driving a car that very few people have heard of, especially one that looks as good as the Mantaray (IMHO). Many a stop for petrol has turned into an extended visit as people wander over to find out what the car is all about, and I never grow tired of talking about both the car and the Marque.

"Sitting with your bum just 9" off the ground and with that massive growling engine in front, you know you're in for petrol guzzling excitement every time you get in. The 4.6 engine is easy to drive both in town and on the open road, and the handling is let down only by the state of our roads. With a low centre of gravity and superb grip in the dry, a lot of fun can be had when the sun's shining, however if it's raining she can be a real handful with no ABS or traction control electrickery to bail me out when my self-perceived ability exceeds actual ability!"

[cathalm]

Very nice car sir, one for the enthusiast. Love the lines. What sort of power is it making i wonder?

[Goodfella 555]

thus saving me the nervous first journey in the rain and in an unfamiliar car

- so its not just me that hates that first journey home after buying a car...

[300bhp/ton]

Very, very nice car there mate

I always like to see these at shows in the summer, there's usually a handful of them.

Looks fab.

[sinbaddio]

Beautiful car Martin - and with the child seat in the front, practical too!

[p1doc]

nice car
martin

[CABBYBROWN]

Very nice car - thanks for sharing!
Have wanted a Marcos since I first saw a small article on the Mantula Spyder (Autocar, early 80's?). Still have a poster of my dream Marcos - a Mantis Spyder - in my office.
One day, one day...

[marcosfan]

Yes, very nice car! I test drove that very car when it was new and almost bought a dragon green one. Nearly crashed your car into a bus stop on test drive!!! Car sounded like the Mustang from the film "Bullitt"...awesome! Have since owned 8 Marcoses, inc 3 Mantarays (2 with the 4.6 engine). My favourite was a '99 fliptone blue/green...in was lovely! Supposed to produce 250 bhp...but knowing Marcos, this is probably a guess!

[300bhp/ton]

The Crack Fox said:

These always seem a bit 'kit car' to me, which is perhaps being unfair to the Marcos badge, the one pictured looks good and I bet it is a hoot to drive.

Out of interest, who would have one over, say, a Chim ?

I don't see how they are anymore kit car than any other car using this manufacturing and design process. Spaceframe and separate body tub are more race car than anything.

I guess looks and exclusivity would be the reasons over TVR.

[300bhp/ton]

cathalm said:

Very nice car sir, one for the enthusiast. Love the lines. What sort of power is it making i wonder?

Guess we need to wait for Martin to tell us. But a stock Rover 4.6 V8 would be making 225hp (P38A Rangie/Morgan Plus 8). If it's had anything done to it 250-300hp would probably be realistic. Don't know if Marco tuned them though.

[offspring86]

Fantastic looking cars. My Father had a red Mantula in the late 90's. I loved it and it's still one of my dream cars (Reg B11 RCS if any Marcos owners know where it is?).

The owners all used to joke about how unreliable they were, my Father put a good 20,000 miles on his in a year using it daily to go from Harpenden to Wood Green without a single problem.

[marcosfan]

I've had several TVRs too including a Chimaera. The Mantaray easily out handles the TVR, sounds even better and is nicer to drive. 5 litre TVR MUCH faster though!

[Lets Torque]

If i'm honest, I don't like the front....the backs alright though. Not my type of car but if we all drove the same car it would be boring...

I love the name though....Lets take the Mantaray.

[robsco]

I love these. I still remember seeing a Marcos for the first time, when I was about 7 or 8 and being utterly flabbergasted by the looks. I prefer the Mantis for the front end vulgarity, but this is still a great looking car, and lovely to see vast swathes of traditional wood on the dash. Proper enthusiast's machines.

[sinbaddio]

The Crack Fox said:

These always seem a bit 'kit car' to me, which is perhaps being unfair to the Marcos badge, the one pictured looks good and I bet it is a hoot to drive.

Out of interest, who would have one over, say, a Chim ?

See article below for Chim comparison.......
http://www.pistonheads.com/fastcars/mantaray.htm

[marcosfan]

Marcos did tune the 4.6 with cam and head work. They originally quoted 270 bhp, but later admitted 250, which felt about right to me in a car weighing 1060kg. 0-60 quoted by Marcos at 4.9 seconds, but Autocar tested 5.4 on damp surface in this actual car.

[Baryonyx]

Wow, what a hidden treasure! Shame the car never made it further as a whole, it looks great and I'd love to see more of them around!

[Owlwood]

Great write up, and car...

[dvance]

The looks don't really do it for me ... I am sure it's great to drive though

[300bhp/ton]

From a show last year. Always like to see the Maros's out.

[JuniorJet]

she's a beauty