Before the MT900, Mosler made this...thing

"SmugAardvark" (SmugAardvark) 12/28/2017 at 03:55 • Filed to: Mosler, twin engine, Cadillac

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Mosler may not be an incredibly well-known car manufacturer. But their MT900 is a fairly wild GM LS-powered supercar. Fewer than 100 seem to have been produced and sold over its decade-long lifespan.

Mosler MT900

Even less well-known, perhaps, is the car that Warren Mosler built just prior to the MT900. That car is the Mosler TwinStar. Beginning life as a regular 10th generation Cadillac Eldorado, a desire for more power (and apparently, less cargo space) led to some re-working of the body, chassis, and suspension in order to facilitate the addition of a second Northstar V8 motor with its own transmission and ignition system.

As you can see, the bodywork is almost entirely done on the rear half of the car. The frame was lengthened, with new body panels being made. The first sign of what sits behind the driver is apparent in the giant air ducts found just ahead of the rear wheels.

Of course, the question is, “How in the world did this come to be?”

Apocryphally, Mosler had his engineers working on a rear-engine setup using a similar Eldorado, as a test bed for a new “fuel efficient performance vehicle.” But allegedly, when one of Mosler’s friends saw the car in development, he pointed out how cool a twin engine setup was. From there, Mosler decided to make it happen, and thus the TwinStar was conceived.

It appears that five total examples were built, with one customer buying three of those five. I guess it makes sense that it never went any further, seeing as there’s probably not a huge demand for such a car. The last time one went up for sale on the used market, it was listed at $39,000.

As for how the “fuel efficient performance vehicle” aspect of the initial project went? Well, not so great. The TwinStar averaged about 10 MPG when Car and Driver !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! back in the summer of 2000. It did manage to record a 5 second 0-60 time, so at least there’s that.

pip bip - choose Corrour > SmugAardvark 12/28/2017 at 04:41

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don’t forget this monstrosity too.

Mosler Consulier c1990

SmugAardvark > pip bip - choose Corrour 12/28/2017 at 04:59

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Indeed, the Consulier is a pretty wacky offering as well, being one of the first street-legal production vehicles sold without any structural metal in the chassis. Fun fact about them, a company reconfigured the car to use an electric powertrain, and the resulting product was sold through Neiman Marcus as the “Electricar GTP” and had a range of 45-70 miles.

for Michigan > SmugAardvark 12/28/2017 at 06:17

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They should’ve stuck with the mid/rear-engine version and turned the front into a trunk. Probably would’ve sold more than five.

boxrocket > for Michigan 12/28/2017 at 07:40

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Cadillac ElFiero?

One benefit of having a Northstar in the back is when there’s the inevitable oil leak, it could conceivably be easier to fix since there’s no steering components that might have to be disconnected.

Wheelerguy > SmugAardvark 12/28/2017 at 08:10

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Wow! This is your first post on Oppo! Or is it? Did you have a prior burner? I swear I was seeing you around Jalopnik way before this.

SmugAardvark > Wheelerguy 12/28/2017 at 08:15

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Yep, first Oppo post. I’ve been commenting on Jalopnik for a few years now, but just now getting started over here.

Wheelerguy > SmugAardvark 12/28/2017 at 08:19

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Too late. I’m dissolving Oppo.

SmugAardvark > Wheelerguy 12/28/2017 at 08:21

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Wheelerguy > SmugAardvark 12/28/2017 at 08:45

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Oh, you took that seriously?

No, of course I won’t. If I do that, what do I get to rule? Who do I pillage? Besides, the Oppo C Team will kill me if I ever overstep my bounds.

SmugAardvark > Wheelerguy 12/28/2017 at 08:50

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Haha, no not too seriously. But I am enjoying the more laid back mood around these parts.

Wheelerguy > SmugAardvark 12/28/2017 at 09:04

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Because who needs curation, right?

EL_ULY > SmugAardvark 12/28/2017 at 09:22

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WOOO FIRST POST FROM SmugAardvark!!!

Grindintosecond > SmugAardvark 12/28/2017 at 09:37

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Very nice post. Don’t forget this “thing” as well.

I think it was made with real pieces of ass. Although a shocking performer as well.

marshknute > SmugAardvark 12/28/2017 at 09:43

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There’s a guy who attends Dream Ride every year and brings his arsenal of obscure American hypercars, including his Mosler Raptor GTR:

Fun fact: the SSC Ultimate Aero has exactly thrice the horsepower of my 6.2L Corvette (430 vs 1290)!!!!

SmugAardvark > Wheelerguy 12/28/2017 at 09:46

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Pancetta needs proper curation. Prosciutto as well.

(Am I doing this right?)

SmugAardvark > marshknute 12/28/2017 at 09:48

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So much awesome.

BeaterGT > SmugAardvark 12/28/2017 at 09:57

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Can you explain that first fact? What was used instead?

LongbowMkII > pip bip - choose Corrour 12/28/2017 at 10:32

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Neat.gif

Mercedes Streeter > SmugAardvark 12/28/2017 at 10:52

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Welcome to Oppo!!! :D

We’re all an expert in something here. On your first post, you hit it out of the park!

(You won’t see compliments like that on the FP.)

Mercedes Streeter > marshknute 12/28/2017 at 11:05

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I still can’t get myself to like the looks of the Ultimate Aero. But, I’m going to drool over that sweet S7. My dream garage would have a S7 as a centerpiece. When I was little, I had both a S7 and a yellow McLaren F1 on my walls. :3

Mercedes Streeter > Grindintosecond 12/28/2017 at 11:05

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“I think it was made with real pieces of ass.”

Giggity.

SmugAardvark > BeaterGT 12/28/2017 at 11:26

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The chassis was a sort of foam/fiberglass monocoque, with what I believe were carbon support pieces.

The body was made of carbon Kevlar weave, also ahead of its time as far as road cars go.

marshknute > Mercedes Streeter 12/28/2017 at 11:54

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Yeah, it looks like a GTA V rip-off of a Lamborghini Diablo. Definitely a generic looking supercar shape.

But the S7 is truly sexy. The new S1 is nice and all, but has nothing on the S7!

BeaterGT > SmugAardvark 12/28/2017 at 13:18

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Very cool, thanks for sharing.

CaptDale - is secretly British > SmugAardvark 12/28/2017 at 18:15

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Amazing first post!