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Aquila Roadster to Update Classic Marlin Kit Car
RAINHAIM, U.K. — A new sports car has just been introduced in Britain. Called the Aquila, this two-seater roadster has been around one way or another for more than 25 years.

The country which once gave the world such sports cars as the MG TC, the Jaguar E-Type, and the Lotus Elan has lately been turning into a manufacturing hub for Japanese brands. But very small cottage-industry companies are still churning out two-seater roadsters based on tried-and-true mechanicals. The Aquila is no exception. It rides on a ladder-frame steel chassis topped with fiberglass body panels. The main engine choice will be a 130-hp Ford four-cylinder, but a straight-six and a Rover V8 will also be available, the company says. The Aquila will be produced at a factory in Rainham, Essex, England, and will go on sale starting in April.

The Aquila's roots go back to 1979 when Paul Moorhouse, then an engineer at Rolls-Royce, built a one-off roadster in his spare time. Many Triumph parts were used, and eventually a company was set up to offer kit packages for adventurous builders. Over the years the Marlin Roadster, as it became known, shed its Triumph donor for more modern Ford parts. A 2+2 version was offered starting in the mid-1980s.

In the 1990s Marlin underwent some business changes, discarded the kit-car side, and focused on offering turn-key cars, which the company is still doing. The Roadster kit was bought by another company, called YKC. Over the years YKC developed the original recipe, and the revamped model became known as the Romero.

Earlier this year Milan Mladenovic, owner of Aquila Sportscar, took over manufacturing rights for the Romero, updated the car again - and the Aquila was born.

Thanks to the Marlin Owners' Club for background material.

What this means to you: While we love our Cobras, Britons adore classic roadsters.

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