Marcos Xylon History
Catalog record
This is a brief catalog introduction with limited source documentation. A licensed, identity-checked lead photograph has not yet been added for this page. Detailed year, configuration and ownership coverage must be identified separately; this page is not a complete vehicle catalog.
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Model history available. Detailed year guides are not published for this model.
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The Xylon was the very first Marcos, built in 1959 in Dolgellau, North Wales, by Jem Marsh and Frank Costin. Costin had worked on de Havilland aircraft, and he applied that aviation thinking to the car's structure: a monocoque built from marine plywood, making the Xylon one of the first cars with a plywood-monocoque chassis.
Its awkward four-piece windscreen and gullwing doors earned it the nickname the 'ugly duckling', but the lightweight wooden cars were effective on the track. Future Formula 1 world champion Jackie Stewart gained early racing experience in a Marcos, and the marque's competition pedigree was established from the outset.
Body styles
- Gullwing coupe
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