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.