Marcos LM 400: which version to buy and why

There is one production generation of the Marcos LM 400 (1994–1998) and one listed version: 4.0 MT. Choosing “which LM 400” is therefore not a comparison between several engines or gearboxes in the catalogue.

There is one production generation of the Marcos LM 400 (1994–1998) and one listed version: 4.0 MT. Choosing “which LM 400” is therefore not a comparison between several engines or gearboxes in the catalogue. It is a check of whether this single spec — 190 hp, 235 Nm, 3946 cm³, Gasoline, 8 cylinders, V-shaped, boost No, Manual 5, RWD, Coupe — is the car you actually want, using the numbers that exist and marking every missing figure as not measured.

Specs of the only version: 4.0 MT

4.0 MT is the whole powertrain map for this model. Engine: 3946 cm³, Gasoline, 8 cylinders in a V-shaped layout, 2 valves per cylinder, boost No, distributed injection (multi-point), compression 9.7, bore and stroke 94 × 71.1. Peak output is 190 hp (140 kW) at 4750 rpm and 235 Nm at 3600 rpm. The gearbox is Manual with 5 gears. Drive is RWD. Body for the generation is Coupe. Production window of both the generation and this version: 1994-01-01 to 1998-12-31.

Engine position is not measured. Fuel grade is not measured.

Because there is no second named version, there is no second horsepower figure to pair with the same name. 4.0 MT means 190 hp in this dataset — one name, one power.

Engine: power per litre and where the torque sits

On 4.0 MT, displacement is 3946 cm³ (3.946 L). Specific power is 190 ÷ 3.946 ≈ 48.2 hp/L and 140 ÷ 3.946 ≈ 35.5 kW/L. Specific torque is 235 ÷ 3.946 ≈ 59.6 Nm/L.

Peak torque at 3600 rpm and peak power at 4750 rpm sit 1150 rpm apart. The torque peak is 3600 ÷ 4750 ≈ 76% of the power-peak speed. That is a relatively close pairing: the catalogue does not describe a low-rpm truck curve and a high-rpm peak far apart. Boost is No, so those 48.2 hp/L are the naturally aspirated figure for this Gasoline 8-cylinder V-shaped unit, not a forced-induction number.

Valves: 8 × 2 = 16 valves in total. Compression 9.7 is the only compression figure in the data. Bore 94 mm and stroke 71.1 mm give a stroke/bore ratio of 71.1 ÷ 94 ≈ 0.76 (oversquare on the published dimensions). None of that invents a second engine; it only reads the one block listed for 4.0 MT.

If you wanted more litres, more cylinders, a different layout, or boost, this catalogue does not offer another LM 400 engine. The buy decision on the engine side is yes or no to 4.0 MT as written.

Performance: 0–100, top speed, and what is not measured

4.0 MT is listed at 5.4 s to 100 and 225 km/h top speed.

Fuel consumption city is not measured. Highway is not measured. Combined (mpg / mixed) is not measured. CO2 is not measured. Eco class is not measured. Tank capacity is not measured.

So “economy” cannot be ranked between versions: there is one version and three consumption fields are empty. A buyer who needs a published mpg number will not find it here. A buyer who needs a published 0–100 and a published top speed has both: 5.4 s and 225 km/h on 4.0 MT.

Arithmetic that stays inside the data: 225 km/h is 225 ÷ 3.6 ≈ 62.5 m/s. Time to 100 is 5.4 s. There is no second 0–100 to subtract from 5.4, and no second top speed to subtract from 225. The performance choice is whether 5.4 s and 225 km/h are enough, not whether another LM 400 is quicker.

Dimensions, weight, and kg per horsepower

Kerb weight of 4.0 MT is 1075 kg. Gross weight is not measured. Ground clearance is 120 mm. Wheel sizes are not measured. Tank is not measured.

Mass per horsepower: 1075 ÷ 190 ≈ 5.66 kg/hp. Mass per kilowatt: 1075 ÷ 140 ≈ 7.68 kg/kW. Power per tonne (kerb): 190 ÷ 1075 × 1000 ≈ 176.7 hp/t and 140 ÷ 1075 × 1000 ≈ 130.2 kW/t.

Clearance 120 mm is the only ride-height number. There is no second generation with a different clearance to compare. Wheel size is not measured, so tyre packages cannot be ranked.

Chassis items that are measured, and therefore part of “what you actually get” on 4.0 MT:

Front and rear suspension labels match. Front brakes are ventilated disc; rear brakes are Disc as labelled in the data. None of these fields has a second variant in the catalogue.

Generations: what changed (and what did not)

There is 1 generation. Years: 1994 through 1998 (start 1994-01-01, stop 1998-12-31). Body: Coupe. Versions in this generation: 1 — 4.0 MT.

No restyling row exists in the data, so there is no facelift year, no second body, and no “early vs late” power figure. Generation 1 did not replace an older LM 400 generation in this dataset and was not replaced by a later one here. “Which generation to buy” collapses to: the 1994–1998 Coupe with 4.0 MT, or a different model entirely.

What this generation did not change, because there is nothing to change against: cylinder count stays 8, layout stays V-shaped, boost stays No, fuel type stays Gasoline, gearbox stays Manual 5, drive stays RWD, kerb weight stays 1075 kg, clearance stays 120 mm, 0–100 stays 5.4 s, top speed stays 225 km/h, power stays 190 hp / 140 kW, torque stays 235 Nm.

Which version to choose

Choose 4.0 MT if the measured package is the one you want: 190 hp at 4750 rpm, 235 Nm at 3600 rpm, 3946 cm³, Gasoline, 8 V-shaped cylinders, 2 valves per cylinder, boost No, multi-point injection, compression 9.7, Manual 5, RWD, Coupe, kerb 1075 kg (≈ 5.66 kg/hp, ≈ 176.7 hp/t), 5.4 s to 100, 225 km/h, 120 mm clearance, Independent, spring suspension at both ends, Ventilated disc front brakes and Disc rear brakes, built 1994–1998.

Do not treat missing fields as if they were specified. Fuel use, tank, CO2, eco class, gross weight, wheels, fuel grade, and engine position are not measured. They are not “better” or “worse” than another LM 400 version, because no other version is listed.

There is no extra-money comparison between two LM 400 gearboxes or two outputs: the catalogue does not list an automatic, a different cylinder count, AWD, or a boosted engine. Arithmetic cannot invent a 4.0 AT or a second 4.0 MT with another horsepower. The only named version to buy, if you buy this model from these data, is 4.0 MT.