Marlin (car)
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Marlin is a British
sports car A sports car is a type of automobile that is designed with an emphasis on dynamic performance, such as Automobile handling, handling, acceleration, top speed, the thrill of driving, and Auto racing, racing capability. Sports cars originated in ...
manufacturer founded in 1979 in
Plymouth Plymouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Devon, South West England. It is located on Devon's south coast between the rivers River Plym, Plym and River Tamar, Tamar, about southwest of Exeter and ...
as Marlin Engineering and now located in
Crediton Crediton is a town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Mid Devon district of Devon, England. It stands on the A377 road, A377 Exeter to Barnstaple road at the junction with the A3072 road to Tiverton, Devon, Tiverton, north w ...
, Devon, England. The company was founded by Paul Moorhouse, who, after building a series of one-off cars for his own use, decided to put one into production as a
kit car Kit may refer to: People and fictional characters * Kit (given name), a list of people and fictional characters with the given name or nickname * Kit (surname), a list of people Places * Kit, Iran, a village in Mazandaran Province * Kit Hill ...
. The first kits were sold in 1979. The first product was the Roadster, which remained in the line-up until sold, along with the Berlinetta, to Yorkshire Kit Cars (YKC) in 1992. YKC kept them in production until the owner retired in 2006 and sold them on to Aquila Sports Cars Ltd. In the mid 1990s, the company was sold to Terry and Mark Matthews, who introduced the Hunter model. In 2016, Marlin bought Avatar Sports Cars primarily to build roadsters. As of May 2019, Marlin Sports Cars has ceased trading and the company is for sale. No further production is planned. In April 2021, Kevin Richardson bought the company.


Marlin Roadster

The Roadster was the original car and was based around components from the
Triumph Herald The Triumph Herald is a small two-door car introduced by Standard-Triumph of Coventry in 1959 and made through to 1971. The body design was by the Italian stylist Giovanni Michelotti, and the car was offered in saloon, convertible, coupé, es ...
range (which included the Spitfire, Herald, Vitesse and GT6). The two-seat body, built of aluminium and glass fibre, had a radiator grille slightly similar to pre-war
Alfa Romeo Alfa Romeo Automobiles S.p.A. () is an Italian carmaker known for its sports-oriented vehicles, strong auto racing heritage, and iconic design. Headquartered in Turin, Italy, it is a subsidiary of Stellantis Europe and one of 14 brands of mu ...
sports cars. As standard, any of Triumph's 4- or 6-cylinder engines of the time could be fitted (1147-2498cc), along with overdrive or non-overdrive gearboxes. In 1981, the
Morris Marina The Morris Marina is a front-engined, rear-wheel-drive C-segment, small family car that was manufactured by the Morris Motors, Austin-Morris division of British Leyland from 1971 until 1980. It served to replace the Morris Minor in the Mo ...
became the donor car, replacing the Triumph; the Marina engine became standard, although many customers fitted engines, gearboxes and back axles of their own choice. Fitted with the two-litre
inline-six A straight-six engine (also referred to as an inline-six engine; abbreviated I6 or L6) is a piston engine with six cylinders arranged in a straight line along the crankshaft. A straight-six engine has perfect primary and secondary engine balanc ...
from a late
Triumph Vitesse The Triumph Vitesse is a Compact car, compact six-cylinder car built by Triumph Motor Company, Standard-Triumph from 1962 to 1971. The car was based on the Giovanni Michelotti designed Triumph Herald, Herald and was available in Sedan (automobi ...
, a top speed of was achievable.


Berlinetta

The Berlinetta was launched in 1983 version using
Ford Cortina The Ford Cortina is a medium-sized family car manufactured in various body styles from 1962 to 1982. It was the United Kingdom's best-selling car of the 1970s. The Cortina was produced in five generations (Mark I through to Mark V, although of ...
Mk III or IV parts. Some Roadster buyers wanted more room for their children and partners, so 1983 saw the introduction of the Ford Cortina (later, Sierra)-based Berlinettas as a 2+2
coupé A coupe or coupé (, ) is a passenger car with a sloping or truncated rear roofline and typically with two doors. The term ''coupé'' was first applied to horse-drawn carriages for two passengers without rear-facing seats. It comes from the Fr ...
. This came complete with new features such as wind-up windows, a lockable boot and a hardtop option. A touring car rather than a sports car, the coupé's sales were lower than the Roadster's, mainly due to the more limited market for such a car.


Cabrio

The 1991 Cabrio was an updated Roadster based on
Ford Sierra The Ford Sierra is a Mid-size car, mid-size/D-segment, large family car manufactured and marketed by Ford of Europe from 1982–1993. It was designed by Uwe Bahnsen, Bob Lutz (businessman), Robert Lutz and Patrick Le Quément, and was noted for ...
parts.


Hunter

Based on the Cabrio, the Hunter was a complete, factory-built car.


Sportster

The Sportster was the last in the Roadster line, completely updated with a BMW E36 six cylinder engine as standard. It was available as a kit or fully built.


5EXi

As a complete change from the retro looks of the previous models, the 5EXi is a modern two seat, mid engined sports car using Honda Civic, Rover K-series engines or Audi 1.8T engine . The car is built up around a space frame on which are fastened glass fibre body panels. It is available as a kit or fully built. It is claimed by the factory that the kit can be assembled in around 120 hours.


External links


Company website

Marlin Owners Club


References

{{Authority control Car manufacturers of the United Kingdom Sports car manufacturers Kit car manufacturers Companies based in Devon