Marcos Mantis History

Sports car · 1997–2002

Sample hero image — replace with real model photography.

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 (1997–2002)

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.