D. M. K. Marendaz
Marendaz Special Cars were made in Brixton Road, London SW9, from 1926 to 1932 and in Maidenhead, Berkshire, from 1932 to 1936.
1926 Donald Marcus Kelway Marendaz started DMK Marendaz Ltd in the premises of the London Cab Co in Brixton where the London agents for Bugatti and Graham-Paige were also based.
The cars were attractive looking with a Bentley like radiator and mainly used Anzani engines. Model names were often confusingly complex with the 11/55, 14/55 and 14/125 also being called the 1 1/2 litre. A strange departure was the 1,495 cc straight eight which used a special Anzani crank and Marendaz designed block. Although catalogued in normal and supercharged form it is thought not to have got past the prototype stage.
Although supporting an ambitious racing programme, very few cars were made and it seems that the company's main income derived from tuning and servicing work and the sales of used sporting cars. Somewhere between 20 and 50 cars were made between 1926 and 1932.
Captain Marendaz had an aversion to journalists and so exactly what happened in the factory is often a mystery. He was also famous for threatening legal action against anyone who made remarks about his cars he did not agree with.
In 1932 the company was re-organised as Marendaz Special Cars
See Also
Sources of Information
- [1] Wikipedia