Driver's Seat: Mosler

Ever wish you had the means to build the bespoke car of your dreams?

What if you could pick the engine, shape the body any way you want and have the interior custom-fit to your dimensions?

For successful bond trader and hedge-fund manager Warren Mosler, this dream has become reality.

In the early 1980s, dissatisfied with the offerings from such high-end performance car makers as Ferrari and Porsche, Mosler realized he had only two options: buy and modify an extreme-performance auto to suit his needs, or set about building a unique, personal super car that would satisfy his desires. He chose the latter.

After about 15 years of assembling, racing and further refining them, Mosler has released his dream car to the public -- and what a sweet dream it is.

(See it for yourself: The MT900S will be on view at the New York International Auto Show April 6 to 15.)

George Lucas, director of the Star Wars films and no stranger to improbable machines, took delivery of the first production Mosler MT900S in December at his ranch in California.

Lucas' black-on-black Mosler came with an interior custom-fit to his dimensions, just one of the highly personal options available on this super car. But even a look at what comes standard is enough to get Darth Vader's blood pumping.

The Nuts and Bolts

The Mosler MT900S is a midengine, high-performance two-seater designed using UGS three-dimensional modeling software.

It is one of the first cars completely modeled on this system, which offers a more realistic picture of how light will reflect on the final product as opposed to the traditional clay-form method.

The name derives from the desired final weight (900 kilograms) of the car, although it actually ended up a bit heavier.

Interested in keeping the car light, Mosler used carbon-fiber composites and Kevlar for the body and supporting structures, and, keeping true to the auto's racing heritage, he emphasized body aerodynamics over gratuitous vents or lurid swoops.

Power comes from General Motors' (GM) all-aluminum LS6 5.7-liter V8 engine, delivering 435 horsepower coupled to a Getrag six-speed manual transaxle transmission.

According to Car and Driver, an MT900S with optional supercharger can complete the 0-60 mph test in an astounding 3.1 seconds and finish a quarter-mile from a standstill in 11 seconds.

	A Terror on the Track

For the uninitiated, what do all these numbers mean? Jill Wagner, vice president of operations for Mosler Automotive, says she has a hard time comparing driving one to anything she's ever experienced. "I imagine it's like flying a jet fighter with a stereo and AC," she says.

But the MT900S is not just a reverie for engineers and aspiring top guns.

There are countless ways to customize the car to your specs: A personalized carbon-fiber dash with any kind of gauge you could want, a full leather cockpit, an Alpine 12-disc CD changer/stereo with a lightweight subwoofer enclosure and an interior fitted to your dimensions are just some of the available options.