Marcos Mantis History
Marcos's Ford-V8 supercar of the late 1990s — a 4.6-litre Mustang-engined coupe, with a supercharged GT version.
Photo: “1997 Marcos Mantis HCC23.jpg” by MrWalkr / Wikimedia Commons, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Cropped to 16:9.
History
Launched in 1997 and unrelated to the earlier M70, the Mantis was Marcos's most powerful road car to date, built around Ford's 4.6-litre Modular V8 (as used in the Mustang), producing roughly 325 bhp in standard form.
A supercharged Mantis GT pushed output far higher — quoted around 500 bhp — making it a genuine British supercar of its era, albeit in tiny numbers. Around 51 road-legal Mantises were produced in total, 16 of them the supercharged GT, plus a run of Mantis Challenge race cars; the last examples were assembled around 2002 by Marcos Heritage.
Generations
Mantis (1997–2002) · Ford V8 Mantis
Photo: “1997 Marcos Mantis HCC23.jpg” by MrWalkr / Wikimedia Commons, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Cropped to 16:9.
Marcos's Ford 4.6-litre Modular V8 road car — roughly 325 bhp as standard, with a supercharged GT above it; around 51 built.
1997 Photo: “1997 Marcos Mantis HCC23.jpg” by MrWalkr / Wikimedia Commons, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Cropped to 16:9.
1999 Photo: “1999 Marcos Mantis GT HCC23.jpg” by MrWalkr / Wikimedia Commons, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Cropped to 16:9.
2000 Photo: “2000 Marcos Mantis GT HCC23.jpg” by MrWalkr / Wikimedia Commons, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Cropped to 16:9.
Body styles
- Coupe
- Convertible
Notable special editions & performance variants
Mantis GT
Supercharged version of the 4.6-litre Ford Modular V8, with quoted output around 500 bhp; 16 of the 51 Mantises were the GT.
Related models
Collect the nameplate
Find a scale model of the Marcos Mantis
Search Amazon across available years, colors, and scales. Exact releases vary, so confirm the listing before ordering.