Kit car maker Rossion buys Mosler, vows to build new models

The half-million-dollar merger of the two Florida automakers may result in a host of new hand-built exotic cars.

Rossion Automotive has purchased Mosler Automotive in a deal that may see an expansion of obscure, hand-built exotic cars coming from South Florida.

If you haven't heard of either company, count yourself in with the rest of the country.

Rossion sells the Q1, a midengine kit car (shown in white, above) based entirely on the old British-built Noble M400, a fast and mostly unknown supercar.

Mosler, based in Riviera Beach, Fla., used to build turnkey midengine sports cars that were fully crash-tested and certified by the Transportation Department as a production vehicle. The last of these cars, the MT900S – later renamed the Raptor GTR and modified by a former employee – strapped 838 horsepower to a bespoke, lightweight chassis made from aluminum and carbon fiber. However, Mosler hadn't sold a car since 2010 – the company sold only about 200 cars in 26 years – and was trying to sell its assets since at least last fall.

autos.msn.com