If you’re not familiar with Loris Kessel Auto SA, allow us to introduce you. It's a showroom bursting with poster cars from the golden age of the automobile, perfectly contrasted by the very latest models from Ferrari and Maserati. However, instead of lusting over an icon from Maranello, we’re looking at a brand that connected both the United Kingdom and the USA through a shared love of one thing: speed.
Despite entrepreneur Warren Mosler dipping his toes into the automotive world as far back as 1985 with the unusual Consulier GTP, it wouldn't be until eight years later that Mosler Automotive was founded. With racing on their mind, Mosler revealed the Intruder, a re-bodied Consulier with a new 300 bhp GM LT1 engine. The result was a highly capable and dominant car when it was running well, so much so that it was banned from competition at the 24 hours of Nelson Ledges for winning with such ease. The years that followed also brought success for the small automotive outfit, building on the strong foundations they’d created with the Counsulier.
2001 brought an entirely new model to the range, the MT900. This carbon-fibre chassis, the rear-wheel drive sports car was designed using then cutting-edge tech and was powered by a 350 bhp, mid-mounted LS6 engine to really give it some growl. The ‘900’ in its name was the target weight of the race car for the road, but due to it’s long, McLaren F1 GTR-style body and huge mid-mounted engine, the MT900’s actual weight was around 1,175 kg. Not obese at all, but designer Rod Trenne wanted the car to be as agile as possible and worked tirelessly in an attempt to shave those vital pounds.
His efforts were rewarded with the MT900S, a freshly updated model that would run as a road-legal variant alongside its race-ready siblings. As production ramped up, Mosler went racing with the MT900R, showcasing a competition debut at the 2001 24 Hours of Daytona, and would be campaigned by a factory Mosler team for the full season of the Grand American Road Racing Championship. The fresh-faced outfit finished an impressive ninth in their class.
The MT900R went global during the early 2000s too, it tackled the mighty Bathurst 24 hr, finishing second overall in their very first outing, and continued their success a year later with a fifth-place finish. The low-slung racer also tackled circuits in the United Kingdom in the British GT Championship, as well as an impressive number of wins in the Spanish GT Championship.
“Race on Sunday, Sell on Monday” was very much a key statement for Mosler’s success, with the MT900S now sporting 435 bhp and weighing just 998 kg without fuel. This would allow the road car to rocket from 0-62 mph in just 3.1 seconds, making it faster than the Ferrari Enzo and Porsche’s Carrera GT. Sales began in January of 2005 and none other than cinematic mastermind George Lucas took delivery of the very first example.
Sadly, you won’t find a lightsabre down the side of the seats in this model, but it is one of the 20 examples to have been sold. Finished in a fantastic colour combination, this 2005 model showcases the no-frills attitude that made it such an exciting car to drive. Step inside, and you won’t find plush leather or stainless-steel switchgear, but its cabin is functional and in-keeping with the crazy exterior styling.
If you’re looking to own one of the quoted 20 examples ever built, this example is the one to put your money on, having covered just 13.800 km since new. This Mosler MT900S is currently available with Loris Kessel Auto SA.
