By alley - Mar 4, 2015, 12:43 PM ET

Marcos sports car co-founder Jem Marsh passes at 84

Jem Marsh, co-founder of the Marcos Engineering car company that built a series of legendary sports racers in the 1960s, has died at the age of 84, the

Western Daily Press

reports.

After setting up the Marcos company in 1959 along with Frank Costin – brother of Cosworth co-founder Mike Costin – Bristol, UK-born engineer Marsh's designs for both road and racetrack soon became renowned for their eye-catching style, such as the dramatic looking Mantis XP (shown above at the Goodwood Festival of Speed) that was designed for the Group 6 Prototype category in 1968.

Marcos went out of business in 1971 and the assets were sold off, but Marsh bought back the rights to the Marcos name in 1976. In 1981 the brand was relaunched with the Marcos V6 Coupe, which was sold in kit form. The design evolved to incorporate both Rover and Ford V8 engines, as well as moving from kit cars to entirely factory-built cars (from 1992), before the company went bankrupt again in 2000. A second revival from 2002-'07 saw racecar production revived in the Netherlands while Marcos road cars were built at a new factory in Warwickshire.

Marcos cars remain active in historic racing races around the world.