The Story of the American Supercar
The Chevy Corvette, Dodge Viper, and Ford GT aren't the only supercars to emerge from American automakers. Follow the story from Vector to Hennessey.
The Chevy Corvette, Dodge Viper, and Ford GT aren't the only supercars to emerge from American automakers. Follow the story from Vector to Hennessey.
The Mosler TwinStar packs a Northstar V8 in the trunk in addition to the one under the hood, for a total of 575 hp and an exotic sort of AWD.
No one will look at this 1990 Mosler Targa (a.k.a. Consulier GTP), read that just 100 examples of the car were built between 1985 and 1993, and still wonder why no more were sold. To put it bluntly: this is one of the ugliest cars ever to turn a wheel in anger. Its ungainly silhouette, parts bin accessories and staggeringly shaped glasshouse all seem to scream, "Buy another car."
Mosler is one of the most interesting upstart automakers to have survived the 1980s and '90s. Its Consulier GTP was ugly, but effective, and able to out-lap more powerful cars with its tiny turbocharged 2.2-liter engine from Chrysler. The company, founded by its namesake Warren Mosler, has persevered for 28 years since its founding in 1985, its latest and last vehicle being the John Neff
You've got to admire Warren Mosler. The guy's life-long love affair with composite-bodied vehicles began with his first car, a Volkswagen Rabbit. After seeing just what could happen when he pulled the running gear from the little VW and dropped it into a much more aerodynamic, lighter body, Mosler became obsessed with pushing composite construction forward. His first effort, the Consulier GTP was the first production car in the world
You hear the term "one of one" a lot in the classic car realm. It is meant to indicate the utmost rarity in a vehicle with an extremely limited production run. In contemporary cars, other notable examples include a one-off Bugatti Veyron, or the Ferrari P4/5 commissioned by James Glickenhaus.
Exclusive can be an overused word in the automotive industry, but if anyone can claim the description, it's Mosler. The Florida-based supercar manufacturer recently announced that it will be limiting production of its MT900S Photon supercar to a single unit for 2012. Having that sort of exclusivity comes at a cost, though, and the customer that decides to pick up Mosler's 2012 allocation will have to shell out upwards of $479,000.
We've seen some painful product placement efforts revolving around cars over the past few years. Some of them involve movies or television shows, but more than a fair share come down to music videos. Yet none, absolutely none, can compare with the bizarre spectacle of Abby Cubey behind the wheel of the Mosler RaptorGTR.
The 2012 Mosler RaptorGTR is one serious supercar. It boasts 838 horsepower and weighs just 2,580 pounds. How does an exotic racer manage to weigh so little when it's packing a twin-turbo, 7.0-liter engine? Extensive use of carbon fiber is the key, and the payoff is a 0-60 time of only 2.6 seconds. If that's not quick enough for you, for another $70,000, the RaptorGTR can be upgraded to produce a neck-snapping 1,212 horsepower.
Forza 3 Exotic Car Pack DLC – Click above for high-res screen-shot gallery
How did you find your last gig? Craig's List? Help Wanted ad? Nepotism? Supercar builder Mosler took an interesting tact to find mechanically inclined talent in the land of oranges and botched ballots, by placing a full-page, color advert in Grassroots Motorsports.
Our car culture obsessed friends got the inside scoop on the first road-legal Mosler to be delivered to a U.S. customer. The owner in question is none other than George Lucas, creator of the good and, at times, not-so-good Star Wars sextology.
Mosler Automotive has announced that the company's MT900S will be the first production vehicle to be factory-equipped with carbon fiber wheels. Mosler gave the nod to wheel and composite technology specialists Dymag to develop the 18- and 20-inch magnesium/composite wheels for its mid-engined supercar.