Marcos TSO GT2

Scope of this guide

This guide is scoped to the Marcos TSO GT2, the front-engine, rear-wheel drive coupe that Marcos Engineering of Wiltshire, England revealed in June 2005 with a Chevrolet-derived 5.7L V8 naturally aspirated engine. It is not a guide to the Australia-only TSO GT of 2004, to the TSO GTC announced in 2006 and 2007, or to the older Marcos Mantis, Mantula and LM500, which are different cars with their own histories. An advert that says only "Marcos TSO" can describe more than one of them, so read the wording carefully.

We have not driven this model for this article. Everything here comes from three cited sources: the evo road test of the TSO GT2, the PistonHeads road test of the Marcos GT2 by Graham Bell dated 19 July 2005, and the government recall checker. We also read the PistonHeads launch report of 13 June 2005, the Auto Express review, the Marcos Owners Club model pages, the Ultimate Car Page specification table and the Wikipedia article on the TSO, and we say below where a point rests on them. Nearly every number for this car comes from the company's own claims at launch, made before customer cars existed, so treat each figure as a claim rather than a measurement. Prices are history, not valuations.

The figures at a glance

• Engine: 5.7L V8 naturally aspirated, a Chevrolet-derived unit that evo lists as 5665 cc and 16 valves. PistonHeads calls it the LS6 engine, and Auto Express describes the powertrain as basically that of the previous-generation Corvette. Our catalogue stores 5700 cc, which is the rounded figure.
• Power: 475 bhp at 6500 rpm for the top specification, according to evo and PistonHeads. PistonHeads says a base specification gave 420 bhp, with better exhaust and induction and a remap, while the top car added a bigger inlet manifold and special valve lifters.
• Torque: 536 Nm. This is our conversion of the 395 lb ft at 5500 rpm that evo prints (395 x 1.3558 is about 536). PistonHeads says 400 lb ft, which would be about 542 Nm, so the sources differ slightly.
• 0-100 km/h: 4.0 seconds. Marcos claimed 4.0 seconds for 0-60 mph, and evo labels it as claimed. We found no 0-100 km/h figure in any source, so the 4.0 seconds is a 0-60 mph claim that we treat as the 0-100 km/h time. A true 0-62 mph time would be a little longer. Our catalogue used to hold 4.24 seconds, and we could not find a source for that exact figure.
• Top speed: 298 km/h, which is the claimed 185 mph converted (185 x 1.609 is about 298). It is an estimate from Marcos, not a recorded run.
• Drive: rear-wheel drive through a six-speed manual gearbox, which evo names as a Tremec unit.
• Weight: sources differ. PistonHeads quoted 1150 kg at launch and 1170 kg in July 2005, Auto Express said 1,150 kg, and evo printed 1070 kg in one place and 1100 kg in another.

What the car was

The TSO GT2 was built around a tubular spaceframe with a fibreglass composite body. Wikipedia and PistonHeads say Prodrive worked on the chassis and suspension, and PistonHeads calls it the first ground-up Prodrive-specification chassis from Marcos. Marcos called it a return of the race-bred Marcos coupe in modern form. Auto Express found the cabin snug with wide sills and deep bucket seats, said air conditioning was not standard, and thought the car expensive and thinly equipped for the money. Marcos offered a Sports package with stiffer suspension, racing brakes and the full power, and a Touring package with softer suspension.

PistonHeads reported the brakes as 340 mm front and 320 mm rear AP Racing discs with no anti-lock system, so the front wheels could lock under hard braking even on a dry road. evo liked the light, accurate steering and the progressive rear end, and found the gearshift short and precise but the synchromesh tough. Both reviewers drove prototypes, and PistonHeads noted that the car was still being tweaked and that the rev limiter had been turned down for its drive. Production cars may differ from the ones that were tested.

The GT2 name and racing

We could not confirm the idea that the TSO GT2 was a homologation special for the FIA GT2 class. The launch reporting calls the car a race-bred grand tourer. PistonHeads quoted Marcos's chief engineer Chris Meakin as having homologation in his remit for the "upcoming GT2 road car", and its road test said proposed regulations for future sports car racing should suit the GT2 well. None of that is a statement that a certificate was issued or that a race car was built to a GT2 rulebook, and we found no race result. A pre-race lap of a TSO GT at the 2005 Clipsal 500 in Adelaide and a 1,750 mile test programme are reported, but that was the Australian TSO GT, not the GT2.

How the versions differ

The TSO GT came first, announced in 2004 for Australia only. The GT2 joined it in 2005 for Europe. The GTC followed in 2006, described by the Marcos Owners Club as the result of more than 150 changes based on customer feedback and testing, with 420 bhp as standard and 462 bhp with a performance pack. Wikipedia gives the same two outputs for the GTC. The Owners Club page also describes the GTC as a 6.0 litre V8 where Wikipedia describes a 5.7 litre car, which is a conflict we could not settle. Wikipedia also quotes 350 bhp and 400 bhp versions for the range, with no variant named. For the GT2 in this guide the launch figures are 420 bhp and 475 bhp, and the catalogue figure is the 475 bhp one.

How many were built

The count is the weakest number in this guide. Wikipedia says only 5 or 6 road cars were produced, some of them incomplete, but it is describing the TSO as a whole. The Ultimate Car Page table says 8 units for the GT2 with dates of 2005 to 2008, and it gives no source. The Marcos Owners Club says fewer than a dozen cars were built in total, and that was written about the GTC. Around launch, Auto Express projected sales of about 65 cars a year and PistonHeads reported about 50 firm orders split between the GT and the GT2. Those are plans and orders, not deliveries. Our catalogue therefore gives no production count. Ask for the chassis number and the history of any car you consider, because the surviving paperwork may be thin.

The company and support

Marcos Engineering went into administration on 9 October 2007, according to Wikipedia, which cites Autocar and a Marcos press release. We did not find a maker page that still publishes specifications for the TSO GT2, so the figures here come from magazine and club sources. That matters to an owner. There is no maker-backed service network, parts availability is likely to depend on specialists and the Owners Club, and we found no published service schedule, parts price list or running cost. Anyone quoting those is giving an estimate. Wikipedia also says Richard Hammond tested the GT2 on Top Gear in December 2005, praised the mix of muscle car and British sports car, and criticised reliability and oversteer. We read that only through Wikipedia, so check the programme if it matters to you.

What to check before buying

• Confirm exactly which car it is: GT2, GTC or a car sold as a TSO. Check the specification against the 475 bhp, 420 bhp and 462 bhp figures above.
• Ask the seller for build records, chassis number, registration history and any letters from Marcos or the administrators.
• Check for incomplete or finished-later cars, since Wikipedia says some of the few cars built were incomplete.
• Look at the fibreglass body for cracks, repairs and poor panel fit, and at the spaceframe for corrosion and accident repair.
• Test the brakes, which have no anti-lock system, and ask when the AP Racing discs and pads were last changed.
• Have the V8, engine management and six-speed gearbox checked by a specialist that knows Chevrolet engines and low-volume British cars.
• Ask your insurer and the DVLA how a very rare car with a prototype history is classed.

Recalls and the government check

We did not run the government checker, because we are not looking at a specific car. The page says a car with a registration number can be checked through the MOT service for outstanding safety recalls, while a car without one needs the manufacturer, model and year. It also says that you will be told by the manufacturer of any recall that is not about safety. We have not tested what the checker returns for a TSO GT2. With Marcos Engineering gone and so few cars made, we would not expect it to tell you much. A clear result does not mean no fault exists, and we found no recall notice for the car in any source. Treat the check as a starting point, not a clean bill of health.

About the photograph

The picture at the top of this page shows a 2005 TSO GT2 prototype photographed at the London Concours in August 2020. We have cropped and resized it and blurred the registration plate and two background plates. It is a prototype, so it may not match a production car in every detail.

Verdict

The Marcos TSO GT2 in this guide is a claimed 475 bhp, a calculated 536 Nm, a claimed 4.0 seconds to 100 km/h and a claimed 298 km/h, rear-wheel drive and front-engine, built in numbers that run to single figures or perhaps a dozen. It is a rare, loud and simple British V8 coupe whose history matters more than its brochure figures. If you want one, confirm which version it is, insist on a full history, and get an independent specialist inspection. We have not driven it, so use the sources and a proper inspection to decide.