The sad news of the passing of Jem Marsh reached me this morning. Marsh, co-founder of the Marcos cars company, died two days ago at his home at the age of 84. Marsh certainly was one of the great characters of what is often described as the golden age of motor sports. He was a racing driver, engineer, team manager and of course a motor manufacturer, who came up with the very clever Mini Marcos in 1965. His Marcos Cars may have led a troubled life, but it could not detract Marsh from continuously giving it anew leases of life with lots of flair and he was involved with his cars until his death. The Mini Marcos most famous hour may have been its Le mans entries in 1966 and 1967 (stories here and here). Marsh' death means the end of an era in what may be called the most important chapter of Mini derivatives' history.
Jem Marsh (with tie) and his father behind the first Mk3 Mini Marcos in 1966
Picture Jeroen Booij archive
Jem Marsh and Alex Moulton at Jem's 80th birthday party, 4 years ago
Picture courtesy Andrew Eberlin
Some of us met him at the Marcos 50th Anniversary back in 2009, he had just released his book and was keen to sell it but had time for everyone who wanted a photo or autograph. Nice gent indeed.
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