GTP Cool Wall: 1997 Marcos Mantis

  • Thread starter TheBook
  • 35 comments
  • 5,880 views

Marcos Mantis

  • Total voters
    70
  • Poll closed .
TheBook

TheBook

Literary Member
Premium
3,948
United States
Sturgis, MI
GTP_ty00123
1997 Marcos Mantis

MarcosMantis.jpg

Car specifications
Performance
Top speed: 248 km/h (154 mph)
0-60 mph: 5.20s
0-100 mph: 12.50s
¼ mile: 13.70s @ 104.60 mph

Power output
Horsepower: 352.0 bhp @6000 rpm
Torque: 407.0 Nm (300 lbft) @4800 rpm
Transmition: 5 Speed Manual

Body
Length: 4160 mm
Width: 1875 mm
Height: 1016 mm
Fuel Capacity: 45 litres
Weight: 1189 kg

Engine
Type: V-8 / in 90° vee / Wet sumped DOHC / 32 valves total / 4 valves per cylinder
Displacement: 4601 ccm
Compression ratio: 9.85:1
Aspiration: Benz
Layout: RWD

Tires & Brakes
Front tires: Bridgestone 235/40 ZR 17
Rear tires: Bridgestone 255/55 ZR 18
Brakes (F/R): VeDi/Di-S-ABS
Brake size (F/R): 284/240 mm​
 
I nominated this to see what people's reaction is, its a bit of a TVR without the as-famous badge, so I expect to see some say cool and some say uncool.

Personally I always liked the design, Marcos is a car manufacturer I've always liked but I'm unsure if its really "cool". No one will know what it is (though that can be cool, rare cars are sometimes cool), and its performance isn't amazing. It has some racing history at Le Mans and in GT, though not particularly successful. I would lump it with the Lister Storm, though that already beats it just for that Jaguar V12.

For me, this car is the definition of "average sportscar", its not amazing but its not terrible.
 
it was so close to getting a sub-zero from the way it looked and the fact it's not a tvr...that looks like a tvr. But with looks like that you expect more than 154mph, tough one this is. You'd have to explain what it is to someone who isn't car savvy...and explain why you bought it...i'm going to have to go with just 'cool'. It escapes the uncool as it looks like a beast!!!
 
Im going with uncool for this one. It looks like a Dodge Viper knockoff and a bad one at that. It's just not doing it for me.
 
Sub-Z'd that monster. Looks like a Viper, yes, only 154m/ph, yes, but just think of driving that down the road! People wouldn't know what to think of it. Think you're driving a spaceship....
 
Boz Mon
Im going with uncool for this one. It looks like a Dodge Viper knockoff and a bad one at that. It's just not doing it for me.
Click to expand...

*Solemnly hangs shaking head in shame*

The essence of the British sportscar dream? Most likely. Has more character than William Shatner. Cool.
 
I know it's been in racing and won a few times, but it's not really on my "dream car" list...at all. And you rarely see any. It's one of those great looking cars that no one really talks about. It could fit in with any crowd. If you saw one on the street, you'd look and go "what is that?" but it wouldn't really make you rush home and look it up. It's just...average. I mean it's powered by a V8...so it's the precursor to the Solstice. But, it's not as exciting as the BMW Z4 or TVR Tamora which are both powered by I6 engines.
 
I'm saying cool because its an oddball sportscar. But only cool because it also looks like a kit car that's jumbled together a bunch of different designs.
 
Famine
Pity that you can trace the Marcos's design back to 1971, really.
Click to expand...

Even so thats what people will likley think of first...
Boz Mon
Im going with uncool for this one. It looks like a Dodge Viper knockoff and a bad one at that. It's just not doing it for me.
Click to expand...

And thats just about what I thought "a Dodge Viper looking car? Oh wait..."

But it does look cool in my book...👍
 
Thatman
Even so thats what people will likley think of first...
Click to expand...

I'm sure anyone reading The Books of Magic will think it's a Harry Potter ripoff. Rowling certainly did and sued. Pity that Gaiman first published in 1989, really.
 
It looks like someone ran their 911 into the back of a Viper. But it doesn't look bad. I kinda like it. The performance figures aren't too bad for '97. Not far off from the Viper of the time even though that car had an engine twice the size.

I'll give it a cool.
 
I think it looks really ugly and out of proportion, plus it's fairly weak performance for the size of engine and weight of the car.
 
Cool. As Joey said, it's a Marcos. One of the brands that doesn't even need to be cool to be cool.

Plus, it eventually brought us the LM600 and Mantis LM Race cars.

1997%20Marcos%20LM600.jpg


Praise be!
 
Definitely a cool for me. Always loved the design: It isn't a beauty, but there's something special about it. Always loved the GT Marcos as well, and every time I see one on TV I go bonkers. Perhaps because I always used it in the Le Mans game on the PS1.
 
Just not huge on it. It's look is dated - very '90s. Le Mans racer or Not, Just can't bring myself to call it "cool."
 
Modular engine? Eeew. Otherwise it is decent enough. I'd never been able to find any information about the performance or specs of the road car, and I had been beginning to wonder if it ever even existed. Cool, I suppose.
As Jim said, though, it is very 90s, almost anonymously so.
 
I remember when I was 8 years old and one of my Dad's mates drove this car around his house the day he received it. I remember my legs turning to jelly just looking at it and listening to it. Ever since that day it started off my craze about cars. :lol:

The only reasons I didn't give it sub zero is because the styling is crazy, but in a bad way. I probably wouldn't own one because of that...
 
Famine
Pity that you can trace the Marcos's design back to 1971, really.
Click to expand...

1964 really. The shape is pure 1800 GT. It was even sold in the States at that time. The Daytona Coupe hadn't even come out at that time and that's the car that probably inspired the Viper in the first place.
 
The race car, pretty awesome. The road car? Designers went something like this:

"Ok! Lets get the blueprints of the Viper and just give it a few tweaks!"

I give it a meh.
 
oskierox
The race car, pretty awesome. The road car? Designers went something like this:

"Ok! Lets get the blueprints of the Viper and just give it a few tweaks!"

I give it a meh.
Click to expand...

The post immediately above yours:

TheCracker
Famine
Pity that you can trace the Marcos's design back to 1971, really.
Click to expand...

1964 really. The shape is pure 1800 GT. It was even sold in the States at that time. The Daytona Coupe hadn't even come out at that time and that's the car that probably inspired the Viper in the first place.
Click to expand...
 
astrosdude91
It looks like someone ran their 911 into the back of a Viper. But it doesn't look bad. I kinda like it. The performance figures aren't too bad for '97. Not far off from the Viper of the time even though that car had an engine twice the size.

I'll give it a cool.
Click to expand...


I'm glad I'm not the only one seeing the 911 resemblance on the back half.
 

Latest Posts

Back