Road Test
Power steering is overrated. So says Warren Mosler, the financial brainiac who's been hoeing his own automotive row for 15 years. This past winter, after a five-year struggle, Mosler finally began delivering the street-legal, EPA-and-DOT-certified MT900S.
At a base price of $190,500, the mid-engine, 405-hp MT900S doesn't come with power steering, nor is that convenience even available. "Do you think the car needs it?" asks Mosler. "The steering ratio is adjustable, and power assist would only add weight."
And so we arrive at the primary corollary of Warren's World: Weight is always the enemy. Make the car light enough, and you won't need power steering.
Mosler's first crack at a lightweight sports car was the 1991 Consulier. It was indeed light (2166 pounds) and quick, but it had a face that made mama bears eat their cubs. Then, in the late '90s, car designer Rod Trenne produced for Mosler a shape of study-hall dreams. That design became the MT900 ("MT" stands for Mosler Trenne).
As soon as Mosler had a running prototype in early 2001, we came calling (March 2001). The MT900 used a mid-mounted 350-hp Corvette V-8, a Porsche 911 transmission driving the rear wheels, and plenty of Corvette bits for the suspension and interior. It weighed only 2590 pounds and posted exotic-car performance figures. The sprint to 60 mph soaked up a scant 3.5 seconds, and the quarter-mile flashed by in 12.0 seconds at 118 mph. The price was a steep $163,840.
That was five years ago, and only now has the car cleared the maze-like regulatory hurdles to be deemed legal for sale as a new car. So, what happened?
According to Mosler, engineering the car to meet crash and emissions regulations took more time than anticipated. But also during the past five years, Mosler has sold 13 MT900R race cars to overseas customers. Racing the MT900 was always part of the plan. He began by racing the car in the Grand American Road Racing Association's Rolex Series in 2001. Most notably, the MT900R won its class at the 2003 Daytona 24-hour race. But Grand American and other sanctioning bodies found it a tough car to classify as it wasn't yet a production car, nor was it a full-blown prototype racer. So by the end of 2003, U.S. racing options were limited.
The European FIA GT series, however, welcomed the car. Overseas demand for race versions of the MT900 were strong enough that Mosler opened another production facility in Norwich, England, while keeping the doors open at the shop in Riviera Beach, Florida.
Mosler's 26 employees were kept busy developing the race car and certifying the street car. There were countless tests to run. They had to crash two cars to verify its strength. The front airbags had to be designed and validated. With every hurdle came more engineering challenges and more testing.
While this iterative process chugged along, we invited the MT900 to two Supercar Challenges, even though it hadn't been certified for public consumption. C/D's Supercar Challenge is an invitation-only event of souped-up and stock production cars. The Mosler finished fifth in 2002 and fried its clutch in 2004 before completing a run. We wanted some exotics in the mix and were unable to secure a Saleen S7 or a Ferrari Enzo or a McLaren F1, which is part of the reason we let in the Mosler, despite its lack of federal approval. It also helped that many owners and manufacturers of other exotics we invited had an excuse not to show. One guy vocalized what the others were thinking: "Why would I risk seeing my $400,000 car get beaten by a Corvette or Viper?"
Mosler was, to his credit, fearless. But still, after that second car fried its clutch, we decided to wait until the MT900 was street legal before testing another one. After so many delays, we wondered if that would ever happen. Then, in January, we got a call.
