"MegaSuper" (megasuper)
04/17/2015 at 20:35 • Filed to: None
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"MegaSuper" (megasuper)
04/17/2015 at 20:35 • Filed to: None | 0
| 10 |
For those of you not familiar with the vehicle, it’s a V8-powered sports cars by the British sports car company Marcos. You may have seen Hammond driving a silver one on Top Gear.
They manufactured the TSO from 2004-2007, according to Wikipedia.
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According to Pistonheads, there were only ever 7 manufactured; the other 6 are in Europe.
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Well on flickr, there’s what appears to be pictures of a car show on June 15, 2008 on Rodeo Drive (famous street in Beverly Hills) that features a Marcos TSO. It’s wearing California license plates with a registration sticker, which would mean that it’s on file with the California DMV.
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How can that be? It’s not 25 years old! Heck, at the time of the photo, it wasn’t even 5 years old! There’s never been such a thing as a Marcos dealership in the USA, AFAIK. Plus, with only 7 built, I can’t imagine they did the crash-testing to make it federally-compliant.
If it were the manufacturer bringing it over for the car show you’d think that either:
A) It’d have no plates or just a show plate that has the Marcos logo B) It would still be on UK plates C) It would be on Californian Manufacturer’s plates
Some of you might be thinking “kit car”, but CA’s “kit car” laws state that the final assembled car cannot be a pre-existing model, which a Marcos TSO most certainly is. Here’s the actual law: [A] “home-made, specially constructed, or kit vehicle” is a vehicle that is built for private use, not for resale, and is not constructed by a licensed manufacturer or remanufacturer. These vehicles may be built from a kit, new or used parts, a combination of new and used parts, or a vehicle reported for dismantling (junked) that, when reconstructed, does not resemble the original make of the vehicle that was dismantled.”
To make matters more strange, it was spotted again at a charity dinner on September 19, 2010. You can clearly see that the vehicle is RHD.
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So does anyone know the story here? Is it privately-owned? Was anyone at this show? I just can’t think of a way by which it’s registered in California legally, let alone physically present in the USA legally.
My guess is that it’s maybe registered as a Corvette because of the engine? Still, if anyone had to run its registration with the vehicle in view, they’d see it sure isn’t one.
Dsscats
> MegaSuper
04/17/2015 at 20:42 |
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SB100
Definitely not a Corvette, it shares none of the bits other than drivetrain.
Also, it has no smog history whatsoever
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MegaSuper
> Dsscats
04/17/2015 at 20:49 |
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Sorry, I’m new here; what’s SB100? Some kind of Californian law?
When you say “definitely not a Corvette,” are you just pointing out that it’s its own car (I know), or are you saying the license plate somehow comes up as being registered as a Marcos or something? I don’t know what other information there is out there about this vehicle.
AFAIK it’s the only one in the world painted that particular color.
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Dsscats
> MegaSuper
04/17/2015 at 21:11 |
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http://home.thegrid.net/~ffr4776/SB100…
I mean definitely not registered as a Corvette, should have clarified. And it comes up with no emissions history. Ever.
Tohru
> MegaSuper
04/17/2015 at 21:57 |
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The Marcos TSO is not listed on either of the NHTSA lists: Vehicles Determined Eligible for Importation for Show or Display, or Vehicles Determined NOT Eligible for Importation for Show or Display.
Beyond that, I don’t know. This is more my roommate’s field of expertise, not mine.
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MegaSuper
> Dsscats
04/18/2015 at 01:29 |
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That is so strange. So would that mean that then it was never actually registered legally? Smog testing is a pre-requisite for registration in California I’d imagine, right?
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MegaSuper
> Tohru
04/18/2015 at 01:29 |
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Please do write back if your roommate gets a chance to look at it!
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Dsscats
> MegaSuper
04/18/2015 at 02:23 |
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No, it’s registered, but they probably found some way of skirting emissions. Kit cars are smog exempt
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MegaSuper
> Dsscats
04/18/2015 at 04:08 |
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A good point, but it would seem this wouldn’t meet California’s kit car laws, right?
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Dsscats
> MegaSuper
04/18/2015 at 10:32 |
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Not necessarily as the guidelines state, but it’s still possible
Dogapult
> MegaSuper
04/18/2015 at 23:22 |
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I looked at it. My only real answer is lies and money. It’s not on any list that would make it legal here. DSScats says it’s registered, but with no emissions history. Could be falsely registered under SB100 (the kit car exemption), or something like that. Imported cars are something I’m good at, but the rarer they are, the easier they are to skirt the law. The only one who knows that car’s proper backstory is its owner.