<< Prev Page 2 of 2 The new Marcos prototype racer was ready in time for the Spa 1000 Kilometres in May of 1968, where it was entered for Jem Marsh himself and Edward Nelson. The race was run under torrential conditions and the chassis flooded on the opening laps. In the pits holes were cut in the floor and the Mantis XP rejoined at the back of the field. By lap 10, Nelson ran as high as 21st from 38 starters before losing some ground after a spin. Four laps later, the Marcos was back in the pits with alternator issues caused by the conditions. Marsh did not want to risk the engine and retired the car as a precaution.
Unfortunately, strikes saw the 24 Hours of Le Mans race postponed from June to September. Anxious to show off his company's latest creation, Marsh had the Repco engine replaced with a similar but more docile Buick 215 V8. This was fitted with a tweaked camshaft and four Weber carburettors, which helped lift the power to over 250 bhp. Although Marsh will surely have enjoyed what must have been one of the fastest cars on the road, registering the Mantis XP backfired on him. It had attracted the attention of the tax man, who demanded sales tax be payed over the car.
In order to avoid the taxes due, the mid-engined Marcos was hastily shipped out of England to the United States. Sadly, this also put a halt to the plans of racing the car at Le Mans. In North America, the Mantis XP was shown at a variety of events until it was acquired by Tom Morris after the 1970 Los Angeles Auto Show under the strict condition that the car could be road registered. The Morris family went on to use the car for many years and still owns it to this day. Although the Mantis name was used again, Marcos never built another mid-engined car. << Prev Page 2 of 2
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Mantis XP
The new Marcos prototype racer was ready in time for the Spa 1000 Kilometres in May of 1968, where it was entered for Jem Marsh himself and Edward Nelson. The race was run under torrential conditions and the chassis flooded on the opening laps. In the pits holes were cut in the floor and the Mantis XP rejoined at the back of the field. By lap 10, Nelson ran as high as 21st from 38 starters before losing some ground after a spin. Four laps later, the Marcos was back in the pits with alternator issues caused by the conditions. Marsh did not want to risk the engine and retired the car as a precaution.