Many supercars have slipped under the radar due to a lack of funding or not enough push from engineering teams. The Mosler Consulier GTP is such a sports car. Produced in 1985, the Consulier was on track to provide a more efficient yet powerful driving experience akin to or exceeding that of the Chevrolet Corvette. Alas, the car’s dismal sales were due to a failed marketing campaign and astronomic sales prices. For a brief era, the Mosler Consulier GTP made its mark on the auto industry.

Mosler Consulier GTP looked like a doodle

The Mosler Consulier GTP looked like it was designed by a five-year-old, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing. It looks fast like a Ferrari, with little oddities scattered around. For instance, the front fenders aren’t arches. They curve to a point and then drop straight down. The rest of the car looks like Mosler took design cues from McLarens and Porsches that competed in the Can-Am racing series. Then there was the drivetrain.

Supercar looks without supercar power

The Mosler Consiluer GTP used the same 175-hp turbocharged 2.2-liter Chrysler engine found in the Dodge Shelby Daytona. Thankfully it wasn’t much of a hindrance, considering the Consulier’s extraordinary light chassis. The body was composed of an aircraft-grade fiberglass monocoque. At 1,900 pounds, the Consulier won IMSA events at both Lime Rock and Laguna Seca, according to Road and Track.

The Mosler Consulier GTP eventually got a Chevrolet V8

IMSA had banned the Consulier GTP in 1991, so Mosler fitted it with the Corvette LT1 V8 in 1993. Now called the Intruder, the car made 300 horsepower until it became the Raptor and got 450 horsepower in 1996. Despite this jump in power, the vehicle couldn’t sell and was a marketing failure. To top it off, the Consulier and its variants were consistently kicked out of multiple racing seasons for being too dominant. With better advertising and more time in professional racing, the Mosler Consulier GTP could have been the supercar to beat of the 1980s. 

The MT900 wasn’t far off

Mosler went to work on the MT900 soon after, which was another technological success and colossal marketing failure based on the Consulier. With a mid-mounted 435-hp GM LS1, the MT900 could hit 60 mph in just 3.1 seconds, or about a full second faster than the Chevrolet Corvette C5. It still weighed less than 2,000 pounds, thanks to magnesium wheels, titanium springs, and lots of carbon fiber. 

A combination of factors took down Mosler

While the MT900’s demise is joined at the hip with Mosler’s failure to market its product effectively, the price may have closed the gap between teetering and plummeting over the edge into obscurity. The MT900 was priced around $190,000, orders of magnitude more than a Chevrolet Corvette. It’s a shame that Mosler couldn’t stick around and share in the current supercar market.