Marcos TSO GT2 debuts
Stunning 475bhp coupé makes first UK appearance
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 TSO GT2 at MotorExpo today |
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Marcos Engineering's new TSO GT2 coupé made its world debut today at London's Canary Wharf Motorexpo.
The car is a race-bred GT, designed to deliver superb handling and performance. The 1150Kg car can accelerate to 60 mph in four seconds and to 100mph in nine seconds, with a top speed of 185mph. The GT2 also offers great handling with 50/50 weight distribution and a broad torque curve -- it can accelerate from 50 to 70 mph in only two seconds.
   See the open-top TSO at Mole Valley this week |
Customers can choose from a Sports Package that offers sports suspension, racing brakes and an awe inspiring 475bhp, or a Touring Package that includes softer suspension and additional touring features.
The design team was driven to capture styling cues from Marcos' 45-year British motorsport heritage. This includes Sir Jackie Stewart's first win in 1961 -- in the Marcos Gullwing coupe, numerous finishes at LeMans and the nineties British GT championship race car -- the famed LM600. This design effort has produced a distinctly British sports car with classic lines and a stunning exhaust note.
Driving agility and impressive road holding are achieved through extensive chassis development under a partnership with Prodrive -- a worldwide leader in chassis dynamics, vehicle dynamic systems and power-trains. Prodrive has six World Rally titles and five British Touring Car Championships to their name.
In testing in south Australia, the TSO GT ran pre-race laps at the Clipsal 500 in Adelaide before a crowd of over 250,000 racing fans, and completed a 1,750 mile test programme.
"The TSO GT2 marks the return of the race-bred Marcos coupé in modern form", said Marcos boss Tony Stelliga. "Our extensive engineering efforts have produced an outstanding Grand Touring car with excellent track capabilities -- and a new price/performance point in the industry."
The TSO GT2 is being showcased at London's Canary Wharf Motorexpo from 13 to 19 June and pricing starts at £49,995.
New chief engineer
Meanwhile, Marcos Engineering has also announced that Chris Meakin -- ex-Prodrive, Jaguar and Cosworth -- is its new chief engineer. Chris brings over 15 years of “hands on” industry experience to Marcos.
His job will be to oversee all aspects of engineering including CAD design, homologation, race programme support, key component sourcing and the company’s engineering programmes with Prodrive. He will also continue with his speciality -- developing key performance drive-train and fuel system components.
Steliga said, “We are delighted to have Chris join the team at Marcos as chief engineer. His engineering background in high performance road and race cars is an ideal fit for the company and we have already put him straight to work on our upcoming GT2 road car”.
Chris has an HND in Mechanical Engineering and lives in Coventry with his wife and son.
Is it just me, or is the Marcos just too close for comfort against what the roadgoing Tuscan would have been, had it hit the streets back in the late 80s as opposed to just the tracks? Subtract the roll cage and bolt-on rear spoiler and its virtually the same silluette - even the fronts look spookily similar with the same bonnet shut-lines.
Maybe I'll paint silver panels on the side of the Tuscan and folks will mistake it for a Marcos? Then again maybe not. 475bhp and 1150Kg? Pah!
WB
Jonny TVR said:
Would anyone spend £50K on this versus a Sagaris ... I certainly wouldn't
I would - Prodrive tuned chassis + ultra relible 475bph v8. Although I'm not a huge fan of the side vents on the Marcos, at least it doesn't look like its been attacked by a cheese grater. Plus the Ls1 has decent service intervals (e.g. GM recommends 15,000 mile oil change intervals vs 6,000 mile TVR intervals)
The coupe's styling is well balanced, brawny and the car should have the performance and sound effects that petrolheads will love. The interior's good too.
They won't appeal to everyone, but it's different and it ticks a lot of boxes. I'm a big fan.
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