Tuesday, July 26, 2011

Mosler MT900

The MT900 is a sports car built in the United States and the United Kingdom by Mosler. Three submodels have also been produced. The MT900R was a racing version of the MT900. The basic car was updated as the MT900S for 2005, with the MT900S Photon being its racing variant. The original MT900 was introduced in 2001 and the MT900S continues in production. Components for 25 MTs were produced as of January, 2005, though only three road cars and eleven racing versions have officially been completed. The MT900 was the replacement for the Mosler Raptor.
The MT900 used a carbon-fiber chassis with a LS1 V8 engine mounted amidships, powering the rear wheels. Power output is 350 hp (261 kW), with 350 ft·lbf (475 N·m) of torque. A ZF transaxle, designed for Porsche, was mounted upside down to allow the engine to sit in front of the rear axle.
The original MT900 weighed 1175 kg (2590 lb), much more than the target weight, but could still accelerate to 60 mph (97 km/h) in 3.5 seconds according to Car and Driver. The MT900 they tested could also do a 12.0 second quarter mile at 118 mph (190 km/h), and they recorded a top speed of 150 mph (241 km/h), limited by the redline. More impressive, the MT900 pulled 1.02 g on the skidpad. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency estimated 19 and 28 mpg (12.4 and 8.4 L/100 km) in city and highway driving, respectively.
For 2002, the French Perspective Racing team would become the full-season entry in Grand American and saw an improvement in performance. At Daytona the MT900R finished 13th overall and fifth in their class before winning at the next round at Homestead-Miami Speedway, helping the team to third in the championship. Rollcentre Racing and Balfe Motorsport (with aid from Rollcentre) would bring the Moslers to Europe in 2003, starting the British GT Championship year strong with three straight one-two finishes, before finishing the year with four more victories. The Rollcentre squad edged out Balfe for the championship that year. In Grand American, the Moslers were moved to the faster GTS class, but Perspective Racing improved on the previous year's Daytona effort with a ninth place finish and the class victory. Mosler Automotive would take one more victory that season.
Launched in late 2006, the Mosler MT900R GT3 was an attempt by Rollcentre Racing to adapt the MT900R for compliance to the new FIA GT3 category used in various championships. However, the lack of production Moslers led to the FIA rejecting the homologation and forcing Rollcentre to turn elsewhere. The car was allowed into the International GT Open, Australian GT Championship and Belcar series along with the British GT championship which runs to GT3 rules, but has not been approved for other series which use the GT3 category. All MT900R GT3's use the LS7 7.0 L V8 rather than the LS1 5.7 L version from the original MT900R.
In June 2005, Mosler announced that they had reached EPA and California Air Resources Board (CARB) certification on the MT900S, finally allowing road car sales to begin in the United States. The price is set at $189,000 with two examples having been built as of January 2005. George Lucas took delivery of the first street-legal MT900S in December 2006.
Engine
Type: supercharged and intercooled V-8, aluminium block and heads
Bore x stroke: 3.90 x 3.62 in, 99.0 x 92.0 mm
Displacement: 346 in³, 5665 cc
Compression ratio: 10.5:1
Fuel-delivery system: port injection
Supercharger: Eaton, Roots type
Maximum boost pressure: 6.0 psi
Valve gear: pushrods, 2 valves per cylinder, hydraulic lifters
Power (SAE net): 600 bhp (450 kW) @ 6300 rpm
Torque (SAE net): 557 ft·lbf (755 N·m) @ 4000 rpm
Redline: 6500 rpm