The Consulier GTP is one of those strange cars which elicits a ‘what?’ from most people when you name it.
This was proven in the MOTOR offices today, after finding this 1990 example of Warren Mosler’s creation on Bring A Trailer.
The road-legal GTP – in this case a Series II – runs on a 2.2-litre turbocharged Dodge four-cylinder, which allows the sub-tonne sports car to rival a modern muscle car for 0-100km/h sprints and run a sub-12-second quarter-mile.
Australia's own odd sports cars
The video below is proof of that – in addition to it actually being a video of the car up for sale.
About 100 of the oddball cars were built, and they made somewhat of a name for themselves in part thanks to Mosler’s confidence in his own product.
At the time of their production, he offered USD$25,000 to anyone who could “race a street-legal car around any track in the United States, and beat his Consulier GTP model.”
US outlet Road and Track took the challenge, and the Corvette they used came out on top. From the Mosler Automotive website:
“As it turned out, Mosler revealed that the test car was an older model, and it needed work. The tires and brake pads were worn out, and this affected the performance of the vehicle. Warren Mosler took on the challenge to make the necessary fixes to his super car, and he sent new brake pads to be installed.
“Car and Driver, however, didn’t like this, as they argued a new test run meant a new driver would be used, thus affecting the way the cars were driven. Mosler even tried to inform them that they could use any driver they pleased, but the magazine company refused.
“As a result, Car and Driver magazine ended up publishing a negative review for the car. The company also claimed that Mosler refused to uphold his end of the bargain.”
Of course, the accuracy of this story is subject to Mosler’s bias, but it’s interesting to note that the car had received this much attention at the time but is so little-known now.
Bidding on the example in question sits at USD$9,600 with five days to go at time of publish.
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