Photos Trevor Porter

During its illustrious 50-year history, Marcos developed a worldwide reputation for producing classic sports cars and achieved numerous sporting triumphs since production first began in west Wiltshire in 1959.

Co-founded by Bradford on Avon man Jeremy ‘Jem’ Marsh, the racing and sports car manufacturer has seen its designs win countless races, as well as being driven by the elites of the motor racing world, including sporting legend Jackie Stewart.

The legendary Mini Marcos was the only British car to complete the Le Mans 24 hour race in 1966.

Mr Marsh, 79, of Poulton Lane, said: “I am very proud of what has happened in the last 50 years because in the special car business it is not easy.

“It all started when I was in the Navy in 1953 and you couldn’t afford to buy a new sports car because it was so expensive, so I built one using an old Austin 7.

“I entered it in to a race in Silverstone in 1956 and crashed the thing. I had hit a lorry which sent me to hospital in Bath. I recovered from that and was still in the Navy where I met a Lieutenant Commander Greville Cavendish from Freshford, near Bradford on Avon, who sponsored me and off we went.”

Mr Marsh, who has racked up more than 100 trophies over his 50-year manufacturing and racing career, originally co-founded the company in Luton, Bedfordshire, in 1959 with Frank Costin and the pair amalgamated their names to create Marcos Cars.

The company moved to Greenland Mills in Bradford in 1963 to be nearer their sponsor before setting up a purpose-built factory on the West Wiltshire Trading Estate in Westbury in 1969.

Problems with exporting cars to the USA and a move to new premises led to financial troubles in the 1970s and by 1971 they were out of business.

Mr Marsh stayed in the auto business and in 1976 he bought back the rights to the Marcos name. In 1981 the Marcos was relaunched with the Marcos V6 Coupe that was sold in kit form.

Mr Marsh has also, with the help of his wife Lyn, recently completed a book called Making My Marque, which is a pictorial celebration of 50 years of Marcos, looking back at some of their best designs.

He said: “It has got a good story to it. It is an insight in to what I have been involved with for the past 50 years.

“It has been very hard work but luckily I kept all of the photos over the years and I am glad I did or else I couldn’t have done the book.”

Despite going into liquidation in 2000, the road car operations side of Marcos Cars was resurrected by former Marcos factory manager, Rory MacMath, under the Marcos Heritage banner, based at Semington, while race car production was relocated to the Netherlands.

Mr MacMath, who is organising a 50th anniversary celebration near Cheltenham this weekend, which will bring together more than 200 of the firm’s most memorable motors, said: “I started working for Marcos as a mechanic when I was a boy in 1968.

“It is part of my life. I have been working with Marcos for 40 odd years. It is a classic British sports car, very individual and great fun.”

l Marking my Marque is available to pre-order for £39.95, from www.jemmarsh.co.uk