Will the Mosler ever catch on in America?
Ducati Minor
We tend to leave the supercar in the realm of European manufacturing, but America has seen its share of street monsters terrorize public roads and arouse the senses of auto lovers. The Mosler MT900 has gained a high reputation in Europe in both professional racing and in road form. The Mosler, not a well-known name in car circles, is an American-built (as well as in the UK) supercar available in both "R" and "S" trim lines. It has a carbon fiber body/chassis, a Chevrolet 5.7 L V-8, a ZF transaxle, and a 6 spd. manual. The MT900S has a curb weight of just 2,200 lbs. and a supercharger that boosts output to 600 hp (with projects putting the number up to 1,800). The zero-to-sixty time is three and a half seconds, while the quarter-mile-mark is hit in twelve flat.
There have been a number of legal reasons as to why the Mosler has limited distribution in the USA. Even so, the Mosler has earned a grand rep across the pond. Does the Mosler have what it takes to be ranked by American enthusiasts as the Noble M14 and Pagani Zonda--or even more idolized exotics like the Porsche 997 Turbo and Lambo Gallardo?
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BillS
Seems to me one limitation that Mosler -- along with Panoz and to a lesser degree Saleen -- has is styling/finish. These cars always look like kit cars. A Pagani doesn't look like a kit car, nor does a Bugatti, nor a Konigsegg, nor a McLaren. A Noble does look kit-ish, and a TVR sort of does, but a Noble or a TVR isn't that expensive. And to me even a Noble looks more stylish than a Mosler, and TVRs are cool. When we get to Ferraris and Lambos and Porsches, same deal.
Anonymous
The problem with the Mosler is that Warren Mosler likes to hire friends of the family to take care of some of his affairs. Unfortunately for auto fans, the friends he put in position here are doing their best to make the Mosler go the way of the Bricklin. The workers are trying to build a car but the new people in charge are trying to build a resume. The 'Engineer' has never been an engineer and the General Manager has never managed before. The few people left who know and care about the car are trying to get a quality product out in between training the revolving door of unskilled 10.00 an hour flunky help and crippling supply-scheduling and engineering(?) gaffs but its getting harder as the insanity spirals out-of-control. As this business is a hobby/tax write of to Warren, he just doesnt care whats going on. Look for a Mosler R.I.P. article in the next 24 months.
Steve
I'll take an Ultima GTR w/ a heads/cam LS7, thank you very much. That'll do nicely! The Mosler, for whatever reason, has just never appealed to me in the same way... If I want a small "kit car"... The Ultima is the bees knees in my book.
"There are only three sports: bullfighting, motor racing, and mountaineering; all the rest are merely games.”
Dave B.
To catch on as a serious product, it'll need to look "finished" and have at least SOME creature comforts.
Chris Paukert
I'm not really convinced just yet. If it's racing heritage is an indication of street use, its performance and reliability are certainly there, but I agree with both BillS and Steve - there's an aura of coarseness and cheapness (even if that isn't true under the skin) that's hard to embrace. Potential Mosler owners would seem to have to fall into a few categories: 1) Hardcore racers 2) Serial trackday attendees 3) Corvette Uber Alles enthusiasts.
Mosler's well-documented history of being single-minded about racing and aerodynamics is admirable, but it has resulted in some questionable-looking cars (remember the V-windscreen Raptor?).
If Warren is serious about becoming a bigger volume player or gaining attention on the world stage, he's got to hire a designer that will make some concessions to aesthetics (or at least find one that can design a beautiful, aerodynamic form--history shows they don't have to be mutually exclusive), he will also need to massively update his interiors, and he will need to start showing that he is more serious about getting the word out about his cars--a few cheesy-looking ads in Grassroots Motorsports isn't a marketing plan that will bring his creations to a larger audience.
Chris Paukert
Editor-In-Chief
Winding Road Magazine // NextAutos
Anonymous
This is all stuff the core group of hardcore enthusiasts who build the car realize and are fighting for but is directly opposite what the new management who cite studies, cost etc as reasons this stuff in unimportant.
If the old timers were allowed to have some, -any- input into the direction of the company you would see the most fearsome car ever to come out of America. Until then, smart, educated and all knowing MBA types are going to see to it that the real, actual sports car community sees just what you are commenting on.
Chris Paukert
Given Mosler's successes in racing, I don't doubt Warren's will to make the car a force, but I do have reservations about whether he wants to make his brand a force in the world of street cars. Perhaps this level of focus is necessary and good for the success of his current operations, but one can't help but wonder "what if..."
Chris Paukert
Editor-In-Chief
Winding Road Magazine // NextAutos