Marcos is a small British sports car brand that was founded in 1959 and lasted until 1972 in its original form, when it hit its first of several financial roadblocks.

The company's most recent run was between 2002 and 2007, when it managed to manufacture a range of high-performance, hand-built sports cars.

An original Marcos is a rare sight indeed, and one of them, a 1971 example, recently paid a visit to Jay Leno's Garage. This particular car features a Ford 3.0-liter V-6 but Marcos used engines from a number of suppliers back in the day, including 4-cylinders from Volvo. The car also features a steel chassis, though earlier models featured wood construction.

The car is extremely low, with its tallest point measuring just 43 inches off the ground. Nevertheless, it's extremely practical, as the cars were all designed to fit company co-founder Jem Marsh, who was 6 feet 4 inches.

When it came to drive, Leno needed to hop into the right-hand side, marking the Marcos as a proper British sports car. Click play to find out his impressions of this beautiful piece of history.