One advantage that large OEMs have when creating track-only supercars is resources. When Ferrari built the FXX back in 2005, all of its components were Ferrari components. What we’re trying to get at, is that all of its bits were organic Ferrari componentry turned up to twelve. They didn’t have to source an engine from a different manufacturer, or use brake lights some van or supermini or something.
This gives these big OEM track-only cars a sense of togetherness or inherent rightness that smaller less resource rich brands cannot hope to create.
It’s a weeping shame, as sometimes a car made from a selection of assorted components can form to create something more potent than the sum of its parts.
The Mosler MT900 was exactly this. A good old American V8, a carbon-fibre body and a hostile attitude to unnecessary weight. The MT900 had a road car version the MT900S, and a racing version, the MT900R.
Big, low, wide and angry, in either guise the MT900 was viciously fast. The first MT900 was powered by a 350 bhp Chevrolet V8, with later versions running a 450 bhp 7.0 Litre LS6 V8 taken straight from a Corvette. This brutish engine combined with a very low weight (as low as 900kg for some versions) is the epitome of sportscar-cooking done right. Power-to-weight ratio is – don’t tell anyone – the real key to a fast and responsive car. This massive power-to-weight ratio made the MT900 nigh uncatchable in a straight line and on the circuit.
And for what the MT900 lacks in straight up prestige, it makes up for in presence.
It is so unashamedly menacing.
Its long wheelbase, and low, wide body seems to stretch flat across the entirety of the chassis almost like an IMSA GTP or Group C sports prototype racer from the 1980s. Remarkably, this stingray-flat body is almost pebble smooth, but there is a real sense that the entire car generates downforce, not only its larger rear wing and front splitter. And those large, virtually undesigned front headlights give the same impression as the cold unblinking eyes of a shark. This MT900 was designed for pure speed and to be really, really fast on track. It exudes confidence and gives the impression that it could easily see off a Porsche 911 GT2 RS or Lamborghini Huracan STO without even breaking a sweat.
It wasn’t turned into a circuit stomper, but was born one. And unlike so many of the modern trackday hypercars, the MT900 is a race car turned road car, but it still retains 95% of the MT900R’s bushido spirit and sheer ability.
But like every car in this series, the MT900S wasn’t a big success. Mosler merged with fellow Americans Rossion Automotive in 2013 and now is no more. It’s a real shame, as the MT900 is an exclusive, takes-no-shit take on the track-focussed supercar.
Kerbside 