manufacturer industry automobiles founded 1979 founder paul moorhouse headquarters crediton devon england uk website 1 marlin is a british sports car manufacturer founded in 1979 in plymouth as marlin engineering and now located in crediton 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 . the first kits were sold in 1979 . 1 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 who 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 . contents 1 marlin roadster 2 berlinetta 3 cabrio 4 hunter 5 sportster 6 5exi 7 external links 8 references marlin roadster edit the roadster was the original car and was based around triumph herald components . the two seat body built of aluminium and glass fibre had a radiator grille slightly similar to pre war alfa romeo sports cars . in 1981 the morris marina became the donor car replacing the triumph and 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 from a late triumph vitesse a top speed of 177 km h 110 mph was achievable . 2 berlinetta edit the berlinetta was launched in 1983 version using ford cortina mk iii or iv parts . of those who had bought roadsters originally some now wanted more room for offspring and partners who also wanted to enjoy the fun of the marlin . so 1983 saw the introduction of the ford cortina later sierra based berlinettas as a 2 2 coup . this came complete with previously unheard of luxuries such as wind up windows a lockable boot and a hardtop option . a touring car rather than a sports car sales of the car were fewer than the roadster mainly due to the more limited market for such a car . cabrio edit the 1991 cabrio was an updated roadster based on ford sierra parts . hunter edit based on the cabrio the hunter was a complete factory built car . sportster edit sportster body and chassis body style open two seat powertrain engine 2000 to 3500 cc bmw e36 i6 transmission 5 speed manual dimensions length 3 650 mm 144 in width 1 650 mm 65 in curb weight 850 kg typical chronology predecessor marlin roadster the sportster is the latest in the roadster line but completely updated with the bmw e36 six cylinder engine as standard . it is available as a kit or fully built . 5exi edit 5exi body and chassis body style open two seat powertrain engine honda b1 .6 1.8 or k20 vtec civic engine rover k series 1.1 to 1.8 ltr rover t series tomcat engine 2.0 ltr turbo audi 1.8 t transmission 5 speed manual 6 speed manual dimensions length 3 550 mm 140 in width 1 690 mm 67 in curb weight 650 kg typical 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 1.8 t 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 100 hours external links edit company website marlin owners club references edit georgano n. 2000 . beaulieu encyclopedia of the automobile . london hmso . isbn 1 57958 293 1 . mastrostefano raffaele ed . 1985 . quattroruote tutte le auto del mondo 1985 in italian . milano editoriale domus s.p.a. p. 535 . isbn 88 7212 012 8 . retrieved from https en.wikipedia.org w index.php title marlin car & oldid 691684507 categories motor vehicle manufacturers of the united kingdomsports car manufacturerskit car manufacturershidden categories cs1 italian language sources it navigation menu personal tools not logged intalkcontributionscreate accountlog in namespaces article talk variants views read edit view history more search navigation main pagecontentsfeatured contentcurrent eventsrandom articledonate to wikipediawikipedia store interaction helpabout wikipediacommunity portalrecent changescontact page tools what links hererelated changesupload filespecial pagespermanent linkpage informationwikidata itemcite this page print export create a bookdownload as pdfprintable version in other projects wikimedia commons languages deutschpolski edit links this page was last modified on 21 november 2015 at 15 01 . text is available under the creative commons attribution sharealike license ; additional terms may apply . by using this site you agree to the terms of use and privacy policy . wikipedia is a registered trademark of the wikimedia foundation inc. a non profit organization . privacy policy about wikipedia disclaimers contact wikipedia developers cookie statement mobile view