In 1989, the Consulier GTP looked promising to Warren Mosler

While most car enthusiasts are familiar with Warren Mosler’s name, it’s probably not because they run into his cars on a regular basis. Yet if you ever stumble upon one of the less-than-100 Consulier GTPs—that may or may not come at you as Mosler Intruders or Raptors instead of a product of Consulier Industries—the encounter should stick with you.

As an experienced club racer in the early ’80s, Warren Mosler felt that while sports cars in America weighed around 3300 pounds, it should be possible to create a more Lotus-like package, a track-ready car with a smaller engine and a dry weight targeting 2000 pounds. To achieve this, Consulier Industries came up with a composite monocoque made of “aircraft-grade fiberglass,” featuring only a few steel pickup points for the suspension.

Though he demonstrated the chassis’ rigidity by jumping on the car’s roof, Mr. Mosler turned towards Chrysler for everything else, starting with the 2.2-liter Turbo II engine from the Dodge Omni GLH and continuing to all interior bits that were equally fifty-state legal and could be had on Chrysler’s dime. With the lightweight four-cylinder turbo pushing out 174 horsepower, the Consulier GTP turned out to be potent on the racetrack and just about comfortable enough outside of it.

However, in the name of superior aerodynamics, Consulier Industries left much to be desired in the aesthetics department. This was good for IMSA racing but bad for business, and while the team planned to make 200 road cars a year at its Florida factory, the Consulier GTP got banned from IMSA as well by 1991. The same year, Warren Mosler went into war with the editors of Car and Driver over whether or not a stock Corvette was faster than his car.

By 1993, the car was renamed the Mosler Intruder, upgraded to a longitudinal Chevy LT1 V-8 tuned by Lingenfelter. This 300-hp offer was succeeded by the Mosler Raptor, the same chassis with a 450-horsepower small-block and a new V-shaped split windshield that made everything but drag figures worse. 

It was hardly a success; yet back in 1989 when MotorWeek made a visit, Consulier Industries still had every chance of becoming America’s new lightweight engineering champion.