Mongoose Motorsports GTP And Grand Sport Coupe- Old School Coupe & Too Cool Land Rocket

One of the best ways to prove whether a replica is road-ready or race-worthy is in the driver's or the racer's seat. Mongoose Motorsports, in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio has been building 1963 Grand Sport coupe and roadster replicas for the last four years. In 2007, MM also introduced a replica of the 1986 Corvette GTP.

Ever since the world premiere of Mongoose Motorsports' new super race car, the GTP has made strong showings at events like the Run 'N' Gun and the multi-day, cross-country driving event once known as the Cannonball Run, now called the One Lap of America. In 2007 and 2008, the mid-engine, tubular and composite chassis comprised track terror took the manufacturers' overall top honors at the Run 'N' Gun. With all the impressive manufacturer entries, finishing first overall for two years running proves that the Mongoose Motorsports' GTP is definitely a road course warrior.

What with its pavement hugging stance, the car's front diffuser and rear wing, a 107-inch wheelbase, a wide track, and less than 2,700 pounds fully equipped, the GTP was engineered and designed for high-speed racing. The fact that the yellow and gray Mongoose Motorsports GTP depicted here came in 3rd in its class and 7th overall in a field of 70 some entries at the eight-day and 4,500-mile long One Lap of America demonstrates that it's also adept at street cruising. The One Lap is a series of track events contested at various racing venues across the country. In between events, race teams have just enough time to drive their cars at the posted speed limit to the next venue. There's no time for both pilot and co-pilot to snooze, just the navigator. Of course, the cars, like the Mongoose Motorsports GTP, get no rest.

The Mongoose Motorsports team of talented technicians doesn't have any downtime, either. The Grand Sport coupes and roadsters, and the high-tech GTP are completely built in-house, from hand laying up the fiberglass, to laying down flawless paintwork, with all of the tubular chassis welding, and the powertrain selection and installation as necessary as well. In fact, Mongoose Motorsports' owner Hans Leitner's background is in fabricating, welding, and producing 20-foot diameter cooling fans for immense industrial applications like municipal power plants. Hans finds and hand selects automotive enthusiasts, who are talented fabricators, mechanics, fiberglass, and electronics whizzes to work at Mongoose. Nothing is sub'd out to contractors. The Grand Sports and GTPs are available in kit, turnkey, or turnkey minus form. Once these kits/completed vehicles are ready for shipment, MM delivers the replicas to authorized dealers across the U.S., or directly to the customers' garages. The Mongoose Motorsports graphics-wrapped trailer in these photos is the company's delivery vehicle, in addition to serving duty as the show and event hauler throughout the U.S.

Aaron Quine handles most of the GTP and Grand Sport racing duties for Mongoose Motorsports. He achieved the fastest lap time and the overall manufacturers' honors at the '08 Run 'N' Gun and plans to contest a GTP in the 2009 One Lap of America. Since he knows the old school Grand Sport coupe and roadsters so well, and races the '80s era high-tech GTPs so exceptionally, we decided to get his comparison of the different era race cars/replicars.

Aaron comments: "Though the Grand Sport coupe and roadster handle well, they're cumbersome bricks compared with the sleek GTP. Don't get me wrong. The Grand Sports, with their Corvette C4 suspension underpinnings handle like slot cars. They could do battle and perform very well against other '60s era replicas, like the Cobras or even the Daytona coupes. But, they don't have the advantage of 20 years newer technology that the GTPs exploit. In other words, the IMSA race series GTP replicas have huge down force and better brakes. They're seemingly centimeters from the ground and have a long, low-slung wheelbase for slicing through the wind. Due to the GTP's 48/52 front-to-back weight balance, turn in on the GTPs is superior to that of the Grand Sports. In essence, we're talking an early '60s era muscular race car versus a purpose-built IMSA series, mid-'80s era super race car."

After giving these two distinctly different racing and sporting machines a thorough inspection, we've come to the conclusion that Mongoose Motorsports has you completely covered. Whether you're an old school guy seeking an iconic, rare sports/racing muscle machine of the '60s, or you desire a super exotic, '80s high-IMSA-tech racing/sports land rocket, Mongoose Motorsports can make your replica owning dreams a reality. You can build it yourself, or turn the talented MM crew loose on constructing the Mongoose Motorsports Grand Sport coupe, roadster, or GTP that you've fantasized about for as long as you can remember.