A tiny red car is mixing it up at the Monterey Historic Races with 356 Porsches, Morgans, Corvettes, Lotuses and Alfas on the track. “What is that thing?” a fellow racer with a Ferrari on the pre-grid says. The same question has been asked at different racing events around the globe for the last five decades. The mystery car is diminutive in size and its features are not exactly what one would call beautiful. To many, it is as puzzling to identify today as it was when these cars first hit the track over 50 years ago. However, the Mini Marcos is legendary and coveted by those in the know. A fierce competitor in period, as it is today in vintage racing.
The story of the Mini Marcos began in 1959, in Dolgellau, North Wales, when Jem Marsh and Frank Costin founded Marcos Engineering. The name Marcos is derived from a contraction of the founder’s surnames (MARsh and COStin). Jem Marsh was an engineer, and his Luton, England based company, Speedex Castings and Accessories Ltd, manufactured and provided parts for Austin Sevens, based on Marsh’s successful Speedex 750 racing special.
Frank Costin worked as an engineer at the de Havilland Aircraft Company. Costin’s brother Mike, also worked as an engineer for de Havilland, but left the company in 1953 to work for Lotus. (Mike Costin would later go on to co-found Cosworth Engineering with Keith Duckworth in 1958). In 1954, Mike asked his brother to design an aerodynamic body for a new Lotus racing car. Working not as a Lotus employee, but as a paid consultant (and sometimes as a volunteer), Costin applied his knowledge of aircraft aerodynamics to the project, resulting in the Lotus Mark VIII.
Impressed with Costin’s body design for the Mark VIII, Lotus founder Colin Chapman recommended Costin to Tony Vandervell, who commissioned him to design a new body for his Vanwall racing program that would go on to win the first Grand Prix Constructor’s Championship. Costin would later employ aircraft design principals to cars with the use of plywood in creating a stiff, lightweight racecar chassis with an aerodynamic body design.
The first Marcos car was the Xylon, of which nine were built in 1959 and 1960. Nicknamed the “Ugly Duckling” and powered by 977-cc to 1498-cc Ford engines with Standard 10 and Triumph Herald suspension and steering components, it featured gullwing doors and was targeted to compete in 750 Motor Club events. Marcos produced 39 Xylon production cars up to 1963.
The Marcos Luton Gullwing and Spyder were introduced in 1961, with the design being reworked by brothers Dennis and Peter Adams to become the Marcos GT Fastback that debuted at the London Racing Car Show in 1963. With a strong, lightweight chassis fabricated from 3-mm thin sheet of marine plywood, the monocoque design was successfully raced in national and international competitions. Operations were then moved to a converted mill in Bradford on Avon, Wiltshire, in 1963.
Marcos introduced the 1800 GT in 1964. Originally powered by a 1800-cc Volvo four-cylinder engine with a De Dion axle, a variety of mostly Ford engines would be used through its initial production run that concluded in 1971. A plywood chassis was used on the 1800 GT through 1968 before being replaced by one made of steel.
The Mini Marcos
In 1964, a former BOAC test and air show pilot named Desmond “Dizzy” Addicott came up with an idea. His love and enthusiasm for the Austin Mini spurred him on to develop his own aerodynamic version. He called his project the DART (Dizzy Addicott Racing Team), and was fashioned from a wrecked Morris Mini Van with a hand-formed metal body. Dizzy displayed his new creation at the 1964 London Racing Show on the Paul Emery stand, proudly recalling that more people were interested in the DART than the Emery GT on display next to it.
Encouraged by all the interest the DART garnered at the Racing Show, plans to manufacture and retail the DART with a fiberglass monocoque body were made. A plug was produced in steel by Falcon Shells in Waltham Abbey, then work continued at Walton-on-Thames. Jem Marsh was involved with Falcon Shells and did some work there on the project. Marsh wanted to refine and sell the cars, but there was a disagreement with Dizzy concerning the quality of the body shells.
After eight shells were completed, Marsh and Dizzy parted ways, with Dizzy taking four of the shells with him. Dizzy looked for someone else to produce the DART, eventually selling the entire project to Jeremy Delmar-Morgan for 750 pounds through Paul Emery. Jeremy produced the cars under the names of the Mini DART and the Jem Mini, but not before Jem Marsh introduced the Mini Marcos.
After Dizzy’s DART project was cancelled, Jem Marsh still believed in the idea of an aerodynamic coupe body for the Mini and started working on a similar body shell. Marsh had Brian Moulton designed the new shell with Malcom Newell as the pattern maker. Although the Mini Jem and the Mini Marcos had similar lines, the Mini Marcos is unique.
On September 25, 1965, the Mini Marcos made its debut at Castle Comb Circuit with a splash. Autosport magazine published this account of the event on October 1, 1965:
“Don’t expect too much of it-it was only completed at midnight last night and it isn’t all sorted” So said Jem Marsh about his latest brain-child, the Mini-Marcos, which made its debut at the B.R.S.C.C.’s Castle Combe race meeting last Saturday. This little car, of glassfibre and wood construction, was entered by Janspeed Engineering and had “only” a group 2 1,293 cc Mini-Cooper S engine, but even after only seven practice laps Geoff Mabbs had it in pole position for the 1,600 cc GT race. The little device went like a bomb in atrociously wet conditions, lapping all but one car to finish 81.8 secs. Ahead of the second man-who very nearly came under the axe also. Don’t expect too much indeed!
It was Geoff Mabbs and the Mini-Marcos in the next race. Geoff outcornered everyone and left only George Gould’s Ginettea on the same lap. Even Ian Alexander in the class-winning Diva found the conditions so bad that he was lapped by the flying red Mini-Maros.
In January of 1966, the Mini-Marcos was exhibited at the Racing Car Show at Earl’s Court in London, a full year before the Mini Jem was introduced at the same show.
Jem Marsh was able to gain more positive press coverage when a Mini-Marcos operated by the French team of Claude Ballot-Lena and Jean Louis Marnat was entered in the 1966 Le Mans 24-hour race. The little car battled powerful Ferraris, Fords and Porsches to finish in 15th place over all, the only British car to qualify as a finisher.
The following year Jem March entered a more streamlined Mini-Marcos in the Sarthe circuit and was clocked at the incredible speed of 146 mph on the Mulsanne straight before being sidelined by an oil pump failure. Later the same car appeared at Spa and also participated in the 9-hour race at Kyalami.
Most Mini-Marcos cars were sold new as a shell only, available at first as the Mark l, then as the Mark ll in 1967 and finally as the Mark lll in 1970. Owners would remove the drivetrain and suspension from their own Mini and install it into the Marcos shell that was specifically designed to accept the Mini mechanical components. There were three “Stages” available as well: Stage 1—A bare, unpainted shell that required assembly including installation of the doors, glass, etc (all parts provided), Cost: 230 pounds; Stage 3—An unpainted, but assembled shell, fully assembled with doors, windows, door locks, handles, weather-stripping, etc. Cost: 260 pounds; Stage 5- Same as Stage 3, but painted from the factory then fully assembled. It also came trimmed out with headlining, soundproofing kit, carpets, bucket sets, covered door panels, etc. Cost: 260 pounds. (prices are from late 1966)
#7073
Our featured car, chassis #7073 was delivered to Sweden new. It was factory built as a Mark ll, Stage 5 car, finished in Tarton Red. It is unusual in that it was fully assembled with a complete drivetrain and suspension and sold as a finished, running and driving car.
Swedish racecar driver Bo Elmhorn wanted to import the Mini Marcos to his home country in 1967. Elmhorn was the Swedish BMC Competition Director and consultant. He had formed a partnership with another Swedish racecar driver, Picko Troberg, who was well-known throughout Scandinavia to be a very fast driver who dominated the tracks of the region. The two driver’s Stockholm-based company became known as Elmhorn-Troberg Racing Services. These two men where the most qualified people in Sweden to sell the Mini Marcos and a deal was made with Jem Marsh to sell the cars there.
Elmhorn-Troberg’s idea was to market the Mini Marcos both in kit form, as well as fully assembled cars. They would profit not only by selling the cars, but by building to customers needs, street and race preparing them and servicing the cars. To get started, they needed to gain exposure for the Mini Marcos. They wanted to get a top of the line model, hit all the tracks in Scandinavia and win some races that would gain them press coverage to build brand awareness and excitement. Again, the two most qualified men in Sweden, a pair of championship Swedish racecar drivers that knew the Mini inside and out were up to the task.
A new Mini Marcos was ordered (#7073) as a complete car, and in March of 1967, Elmhorn hitched a single-axle trailer to the back of his Austin Estate Wagon and drove to England to pick up the car directly from the factory. Built for dual-use as a showroom demonstrator and a track-ready racecar, chassis #7073 was set up perfectly to entice Scandinavian buyers interested in a fun, road-going sports car or a buyer seeking a car purely to race. Either way, the little red car would serve them well.
A story published in a Swedish automotive magazine, in August of 1967 featured #7073 still wearing the red “export” plates with temporary registration number of A6616 taped to the car, as the permanent registration paperwork was not yet completed. The article mentions the fact that this car had a full-race prepared BMC Group 2 engine installed that was reportedly producing 120 horsepower. A 150 horsepower Group 5 engine was also available as an option for those who desired it.
Photos from this magazine article reveal some of the special equipment #7073 was wearing. Some of the performance hardware visible in the photos include a front oil cooler mounted in a cut-out section below the front license plate, a twin-pipe exhaust, Barnacle mirror and a factory roll bar bonded into the roof.
Elmhorn-Troberg Racing Services was also the Les Leston equipment dealer for Sweden, so the car was fitted with a Les Leston steering wheel as well. Visible also was a set of interesting Minilite magnesium wheels that had cut-out center sections between every other spoke. These same wheels can been seen on the 1966 Le Mans Ballot-Lena Mini Marcos.
Even with all the trick race parts, this car can not be considered a true lightweight. As part of the marketing strategy, potential buyers looking for a car to use on the street demanded a few basic creature comforts. Therefore, #7073 is equipped with a full set of Triplex glass windows, a factory Marcos carpet set, door panels and covers for the kick panels and spare tire.
Elmhorn and Troberg raced #7037, now with its permanent registration number of AA6304, in many events from 1967 to 1969, competing in the Group 4 Prototype category of the “SM for Sportbilar”, or Swedish Championship for Sportscars. The car’s entire race history, with exception of one race at the Roskildering in Denmark, took place in Sweden.
The Mini Marcos faced stiff competition from carefully prepared Porsches and Lotus Sevens, placing mid-pack most of the time, however it was fun to drive and the publicity it drew resulted in sales for the company. Elkhorn-Troberg Racing Services sold 18 Mini Marcos over the next few years. Not a big number, but worth the effort.
A sales brochure designed for Elmhorn-Troberg Racing Services was printed in 1968 featuring #7073 for all the exterior images. A different 850-cc Mini Marcos was used for the interior shots. The exterior photos show the registration number, AA6304, as does a pen and ink drawing of the car commissioned for the cover of the brochure.
In 1969, the BMC Group 2 race engine was removed and replaced with a similar but tamer version and the car offered for sale for the first time. Sven Nillson, a helicopter pilot, purchased the car. Nillson performed a thorough restoration of the Mini Marcos, designing some interesting and clever modifications as well, many of which remain on the car today. The original Cooper S dash and gauge arrangement was completely redone with a custom dash and gauge cluster of his own design using period Jaeger instruments.
The new dash is more comprehensive than the original. It includes an 8,000 rpm tachometer, oil pressure and temperature gauges, water temperature gauge and fuel level indicator. The work is very well done and looks professional. Another well-executed modification was a fresh air intake system that captures external air gathered from an old helicopter scoop grafted onto the hood that pulls the air through a recirculating fan into the interior. Nillson fabricated an aluminum swirl tank under the hood that removes air from the coolant as well.
Several years later, Nillson sold #7073. A new Swedish registration law enacted in 1972 necessitated the car be reassigned a new registration number of AYR394. After changing hands a few times in the 1970s and early 1980s, Calle Berntsson acquired the car in 1986.
Berntsson refurbished the drivetrain with a rebuilt 1380-cc engine and 4-synchro gearbox with the intention of creating a fun club car and spirited weekend tourer. After a while, Berntsson became interested in American Hotrods and his interest in the Mini Marcos waned. The car was then put into a lock-up storage building on the grounds of Goteborg’s Swedish Army Field Artillery Post alongside his 1959 Mini Mk 1. Berntsson listed the car for sale on the internet where it caught the attention of Lt. Col. Andy Seward, who was stationed in Europe at the time, living in Maarstricht, Netherlands.
“I made the first of two trips to Sweden in 2002 to meet Calle and see the Mini Marcos,” recalls Seward in an article posted years ago in the Mini Marcos Owners Club. “After meeting Calle and following him to his lock-up, he opened the doors of his garage. I caught my first glimpse of #7073, covered in dustsheets in the dark corner. Then Calle turned on the lights and whisked the dustcovers off of the bodywork, I knew instantly that this was a real gem of a car, and that I wanted to buy her. A quick drive around the grounds of the Army post and I was fully convinced that this little car was a real jewel.”
Seward was re-posted back to the United States, taking Mini Marcos #7073 with him. His four-year-old daughter gave the car the nickname it still has today as he explains, “My 4-year old daughter immediately nicknamed #7073 ‘the Elmo car’, after the Sesame Street children’s TV show character. And this name stuck; ‘Elmo’ is an apt choice. He is a little red monster, after all.”
A few years later Seward sold the car to Peter Steilberg in Seattle, Washington, who kept the car until early 2010 when its current owner, Steve and Dannielle Schmidt purchased it to be part of their microcar collection in Southern California.
Steve has been a collector of vintage cars for many years and a seasoned vintage car racer with a lot of track time in a Lotus 23, Porsche 356 Speedster, Porsche 935 and a RSR among others. Schmidt spotted the Mini Marcos online and was excited to buy it and get the car on the track. The car was in good shape and ran well when he got it, however he wanted to make it track ready to his own standards. To that end, the engine that came with the car was pulled and properly stored.
A freshly rebuilt Cooper S 1275-cc engine was installed that dyno tested at 107 hp at 6,000 with 93.8 foot pounds of torque. Schimdt says the car is very quick, with the crossover power hitting at 5,400 rpm at 95hp; That’s a lot of power for a car that only weighs around 1,100 pounds. A fire suppression system and a fuel cell were also added for safety and a very loud exhaust was installed that “is great to scare people on the pre-grid.”
The handling characteristics are amazing as well. “Driving ‘Elmo’ is a totally unique experience,” says Schimdt. “It just claws from the front end around the turns. I have other stock-bodied Minis and the Mini Marcos is more nimble and much faster. I keep the power on all the way through the turns and it feels solid and it is really fast. The car sits very low and I’m hard to see sometimes on the track. I have to be careful not to get run over, but man it’s fun!”
Schmidt has been very successful in competition with Elmo, and he has raced about a dozen times since 2012 on the West Coast including Coronado, Sonoma and the Rolex Laguna Seca vintage racing events.
Cosmetically #7073 has a nice patina, retaining its 40-plus-year-old paint and interior. It has FIA paperwork as well. Steve and Dannielle love the car and it has been the star of their microcar collection and Danielle’s absolute favorite. He plans on racing it even more this year and that’s great news to anyone who loves vintage racing. After all, who doesn’t love Elmo?
Marcos Epilogue
In 1971, Marcos relocated to a purpose-built factory at nearby Westbury, England that cost £125,000 to build. Difficulties with exporting cars to the United States and a move to an expensive new facility led to financial troubles, and in 1971 Marcos went out of business. Jem Marsh continued in business by establishing a spare parts and service facility for existing Marcos owners with the help of former Marcos employee Rory Macmath. In 1976, he re-acquired the Marcos molds and name, though it was not until 1981 that Marcos GT manufacturing was re-launched, offering the car in kit form. Several different Marcos models were produced up until the company went bankrupt again in 2000.
Marcos Heritage Spares Ltd secured the future of the Marcos brand by acquiring all its assets, which included the molds, tooling and jigs going back in some cases to 1960. According to the company’s website, “We have all the original drawings and individual car build files to enable us to reproduce parts to the correct specification and supply any information on any particular car. The Heritage team (all ex-Marcos employees), are able to carry out all forms of repairs, upgrades, servicing, restoration, insurance work and paintwork on any Marcos 1959 to date.”
The Marcos marches on.
