I suppose you could say that Marcos holds the rather dubious honour of having produced one of the ugliest as well as one of the most beautiful cars in the world.

Its early forays under the guidance of Jem Marsh and Frank Costin (whose surnames part combined to make up the company name after a chance meeting in 1959) saw a functional, somewhat strange-looking car take to the roads and race tracks. Many called it the ugly duckling and the name has since stuck. A small-engined (it started life with 1172cc) wood and fibreglass racer with fixed glazing all round, it scored null points in the concours d'elegance. But it did go, thanks to Frank Costin's attention to aerodynamics. In fact, it went very well indeed, with a quicker 0-60 time than the then popular Lotus 6, which it could also out-drag. But, successful though this strange little car was, it's not the model that Marcos is most remembered for.

In 1963 Dennis Adams, who like Costin also was ex-RAF and who had been working on and off for Marcos for some years, was given the brief of coming up with a stop-gap model. It was to be based on a wooden chassis (a medium with which Marsh had a great affinity) and would use existing mechanicals. A sketch produced in 1963 became flesh and bone (or rather marine ply and fibreglass) in 1964, and duly made its debut at the Racing Car Show that year.

The car, which was initially fitted with the Volvo 1800 engine, caused a sensation at the show, which was somewhat predictable, given the beautiful shape, the low height (just over 3ft 6in) and the fact that it could accommodate anyone up to 6ft 7in, which was unheard-of in sports car circles. It took a while for cars to be made ready for the press but the orders from dignitaries and celebrities flooded in. Here was a car for a pop star as well as well as a debutante... or even a Lord.

The Marcos of the 1960s and early to mid-1970s is for many the purest of the lot: after all, it's usually the case that something just right the first time round can never be improved upon. You've only got to think in terms of the Jaguar E-type to understand this. The car was (and remains) an uncommon sight on the roads and the early cars, with all their idiosyncrasies, are perhaps the most sought-after of the lot today.

What is out there? Well, if you're looking for transport that turns heads, then you'll do no better than to consider one of these cars. The earliest, Volvo-engined vehicles are the ones that the real, enthusiasts try to find for their power and handling, although originally they were expensive cars to build. But there are other options around: these include cars with the Ford 1500cc and 1600cc blocks as well as the Dagenham 3-litre V6, which was introduced in 1969. Hence there's something for everyone when it comes to power, but the car's all-important looks remained virtually unchanged.

One quirk of the Marcos is the fixed seating, which is unique in the automotive world. Dennis Adams navigated the problem of this by introducing a sliding pedal board: a knob on the dash allows the driver to select the optimal position of the pedals. It's a simple yet brilliant answer and one that is typical of the manufacturer's ingenuity. Those seats, by the way, are possibly the most comfortable chairs that ever you'll encounter in any sports car. Semi-reclining, they offer immense support and the driving position becomes a perfectly natural one. It's not quite like taking a bath, but it's not far removed. Vinyl is the car's interior stock in trade and there's a pleasing strip of wood for the dash in most models.

Early cars had simple window arrangements, too. The side glass is secured by a small knurled nut and all you do is slacken it off (carefully) for the pane to drop. Later cars benefited from electric windows. If you appreciate the little styling tenets that typify the Marcos, then opt for the quad headlamp arrangement under those sexy fairings. Later cars reverted to one oblong headlamp, which doesn't look as aesthetically pleasing.

The huge rear screen is a nightmare if you're driving with low sun behind you because the light bounces off it and rear vision is greatly reduced and no-one, but no-one, wants side mirrors to spoil that gorgeous shape, do they?

And the driving? If you crave real fun, then avoid the 1500cc cars, which are considered a little humdrum. A car to look out for is the rare Lawrencetune 1650 version, which was the work of tuner and builder Chris Lawrence, who pushed up the bhp to around 125. He did similar work on some Morgans. These have plenty of grunt and if you've got the early Ford knife-through-butter gear gate, then the car's a real joy to drive. The large thin steering wheel is rather at odds with modern thinking when wheels of thick and small diameter are more par for the course. But it's period - although you can, of course, retrofit another.

Bottoming out over humps is a fact of life in a Marcos, and if you study the underside of the car you'll see that there are two areas of the car that sit low, in effect added on sections under the seats to help with the headroom. You also learn to pass policemen (sleeping or awake) with caution for the exhaust pipe and silencer are very prone to scrapes.

But if you own one, you can be sure of two things: one, you attract the attention of small boys, elderly walkers and pretty much anyone next to you in a traffic jam. And two, you're unlikely ever to encounter another on the road...

Five things you didn't (perhaps) know about the Marcos.

1. Rear light clusters are sourced from the Vauxhall Victor on the early cars. The same clusters were also used on the Lotus Elan up to the S4.
2. Marcos's distinctive badge was identified by some as having an element of the *** about it: the diagonal lines in heraldry can mean this on a coat of arms!
3. Door striker plates are from the humble Austin A30. Over time, they wear and the doors can slip open on fast corners. It's worth checking their condition before purchase.
4. The marine ply chassis on the early cars is immensely strong. Aerolite glue (as used on the WW2 Mosquito fighter bomber) was employed during construction.
5. The Marcos 1800 was also made in miniature by Corgi Toys - as was Dennis Adams' low-volume Probe car, which was glimpsed in the notorious Stanley Kubrick film "A clockwork orange."