Not every Mantara got a V8 — on request from its Italian distributor, Marcos built a GTS version running Rover's 2-litre Tomcat engine instead.
Lead trim: Mantara 3.9 Rover V8 (190 hp) · up to 230 hp
Marcos Mantara1992–1999
- 0spots by members
- Unclaimednobody has spotted one yet
- 0sets it belongs to
Nobody in Burbles has spotted a Marcos Mantara yet. See one on the street, point the app at it, and the first card is yours — with your @handle permanently credited on this page.
FactNot every Mantara got a V8 — on request from its Italian distributor, Marcos built a GTS version running Rover's 2-litre Tomcat engine instead.
The Marcos Mantara is a sports car designed, developed and built by Marcos and introduced in 1992 (produced until 1999), when the company left the kit-car business and all cars from then on were factory built and sold through dealers in limited numbers. Its main difference from the Mantula was MacPherson-strut front suspension in place of the Triumph suspension and trunnions, giving a wider front track, a different bonnet and flared front arches; the rear arches and lights were changed for a more modern look, and power steering was available for the first time. It was powered as standard by a 3.9-litre fuel-injected Rover V8 (190 hp at 4750 rpm and 234 lb·ft at 3200 rpm), with a 4.6-litre Rover V8 as an option (the page calls the bigger unit both 4.6 and 4.7 litres; 230 hp); Marcos claimed 0–60 mph in 5.4 seconds and 140 mph for the 3.9. From early 1993 models shared more parts with earlier generations (tail lights, fuel filler cap, side indicators), and from about 1996 the Ford Mondeo rear light cluster and side repeaters and a flush aero fuel filler were used. The Marcos GTS was a version powered by the 2-litre Rover Tomcat engine at the request of the Italian distributor Martes Spider Cars, with a 200 bhp turbo as the top version and a smoother bonnet, flared-in headlamps and deeper spoiler later used on the Mantaray; a handful of late V8 Mantaras had the GTS bonnet. The LM500 was a racing-oriented version for sports car racing from 1994 to 2001 and is not entered here.
Collectors Spotted in the Marcos Mantara Lineage
No member has published a public street spot of the Marcos Mantara yet — the First · Worldwide stamp is wide open.
Trims & Figures
3 published trims in the catalogue. A blank is a figure not recorded, not zero.
| Trim | Years | Engine | Power | Torque | 0–60 | Drive | Gearbox | MSRP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mantara 3.9 Rover V8 (190 hp) | 1992–1999 | 3.9 L V8 | 190 hp | 234 lb-ft | 5.4 s | RWD | — | — |
| Mantara GTS 2.0 Rover Tomcat turbo (200 bhp) | 1992–1999 | 2.0 L | 200 hp | — | — | RWD | — | — |
| Mantara Rover V8 (230 hp) | 1992–1999 | V8 | 230 hp | — | — | RWD | — | — |
Owning one
We don’t estimate running costs for a car like this. What it costs depends on its condition, its specialist and how it is driven, and an average would mislead.
Owners’ builds
Nobody has claimed one yet.
Photographs
Rivals
Same body, same money, other badges — tap any card to flip.
This was the year the Virage's automatic finally got a fourth gear — Aston swapped in a four-speed automatic to replace the original three-speed unit for the 1993 model year.
Audi's first drop-top since 1959 barely made a dent stateside: the V6 Cabriolet sold just 5,445 units across its entire five-year run in the US market.
This Azure's V8 exists because of a corporate grudge: when VW won the fight for Bentley, BMW threatened to cut off engine supply — forcing VW to rebuild the 6.75-litre V8 itself, twin-turbos and all.
Bentley never even considered a roll-bar for the Azure's convertible top — they just reinforced the chassis instead and let the design stay pure.
The F8 Spider's folding hardtop raises or lowers in just 14 seconds, and you can do it on the move, at up to 28 mph.
Bentley hid a charging nook for iPads between the rear seats of the Continental GT Convertible — a 2015 update that quietly conceded the future was tablets, not just wood veneer.
Bentley built just 710 of these second-generation Supersports worldwide, coupe and convertible combined — one of the rarest W12 Bentleys ever made.
The Auburn Twelve's V12 outlived the car by decades — its engine design became the basis for American LaFrance fire truck powerplants that stayed in service into the 1950s.