This is a vintage twin-engined 1965 Hornet Marauder III enduro go kart from 1965. It’s powered by two West Bend 820 two-stroke motors, each with a displacement of 8.2 cubic inches or 134cc and 6 bhp.
The combined output of these motors is 12 bhp from the 268cc of total displacement, and each motor is fed by its own three-gallon aluminum fuel tank with one mounted on each side of the kart.
As an enduro kart, the Hornet Marauder III has a more laid back, or recumbent, driving position.
The Hornet Marauder series of go karts were manufactured by P&R Enterprises of Waco, Texas. There were three generations of Marauders made, the Marauder I, Marauder II, and Marauder III, each with technical improvements over the respective earlier model.
The 1965 Hornet Marauder III you see in this article is a good original example of the series, it still keeps its original pair of West Bend 820 two-stroke engines, its original Hurst Airheart rear disc brake, and its eye-catching three-gallon aluminum fuel tanks.
This kart has a tubular steel chassis with an aluminum alloy floor pan, and a seat with side bolsters and a removable black vinyl cover. The headrest is adjustable to allow it to accommodate drivers of different heights, and the driver’s head is nestled between the two Tillotson carburetors.
The reason for this recumbent driving position is that this is an enduro, or endurance, go kart. It’s designed for races that last hours rather than 15-30 minutes, with some endurance events stretching from 4 hours to a full 24 hours.
The recumbent driving position reduces the stress on the driver’s body and neck, it also lowers the center of gravity and reduces the frontal area for better aerodynamics.
This image gives a good idea of the scale of the Hornet Marauder III, seen here in front of a replica Porsche 550 Spyder.
The go kart you see here is in remarkably good condition for its age, benefiting from a frame that’s been powdercoated in black. It was on display for many years and not used during this time, which helped with its preservation.
It’s now being offered for sale on Bring a Trailer out of Sandy Plains, Georgia with no reserve on a bill of sale. If you’d like to read more about it or register to bid you can visit the listing here.
Images courtesy of Bring a Trailer
Articles that Ben has written have been covered on CNN, Popular Mechanics, Smithsonian Magazine, Road & Track Magazine, the official Pinterest blog, the official eBay Motors blog, BuzzFeed, Autoweek Magazine, Wired Magazine, Autoblog, Gear Patrol, Jalopnik, The Verge, and many more.
Silodrome was founded by Ben back in 2010, in the years since the site has grown to become a world leader in the alternative and vintage motoring sector, with well over a million monthly readers from around the world and many hundreds of thousands of followers on social media.
