Hans Leitner didn't know a whole lot about race cars. But he knew a good business opportunity when he saw it.

When he learned that a Medina County company was looking to get out of the replica sports car business, some quick research indicated it was abandoning a market with great growth potential.

So Leitner bought the company's molds for replicas of a pair of ultra-rare race cars — the Grand Sport and the Grand Touring Prototype — and launched a new enterprise: Mongoose Motorsports.

Last year, Leitner spent $300,000 renovating an old machine shop in Cuyahoga Falls into a spit-shine showroom and facility where employees can build and display the ''replicars.''

Mongoose has sold 18 of the street-legal vehicles — which range from $17,000 kits (unfinished bodies with no engine or transmission) to $140,000 turn-key-ready coupes and roadsters.

Customers range from baby boomers wanting to relive their glory years, to car buffs with an appreciation of history, to executives with disposable income and a desire for the ultimate toy.

Some buy them to drive in track and cross-country competitions.

And this summer, Mongoose
opened an office in Germany to sell the cars to people who ''like to take the roadsters out for a little pleasure driving on a Sunday afternoon,'' Leitner said.

The cars are modeled after a pair of legends, operations manager Gary Krause said.

The original Grand Sport — there were only five made — was designed and developed by Corvette creator Zora Akrus-Duntov so Chevrolet could compete against Ford Cobras on the racing circuit in the 1960s.

Leitner said his company's name is an homage to the Grand Sport's original purpose: The mongoose is an animal famous for its ability to kill cobras.

The Grand Touring Prototype — there were only seven made — was built in the early '80s to race and help Chevrolet reignite interest in the Corvette model.

While the replicas are identical in appearance, Mongoose has worked to update the cars with modern technology and amenities, from independent suspension to air conditioning, Krause said.

One reason Leitner sees potential for growth is that there are only four companies making his cars in America.

''There are about 40 Cobra producers in the U.S., so there is a need,'' he said.

Leitner, 54, is experienced at spotting needs and answering opportunity's knock.

He came to the United States from Austria in 1976, and put his welding background to work at Reuther Mold & Manufacturing in Cuyahoga Falls.

Twenty years later, he purchased a division of the business and called it Leitner Fabrication, a Medina company he sold this year.

Currently, Leitner owns a Cleats Club Seat Grille in Fairlawn, the Mulligan Springs golf course in Suffield Township, J&J Precision Fabrication in Columbiana County and J&J Precision Machine, which shares space in the same building with Mongoose.

Just as his own portfolio of companies is diverse, Leitner sees value in diversifying what Mongoose has to offer.

In addition to making the replicars, about a dozen mechanics and bodywork specialists are available for other high-performance and ultra-expensive cars as well as to restore older cars.

Mongoose is also a parts and tires distributor for those vehicles.

And the company recently got its dealer's license and hopes to soon begin selling new and used high-end cars like BMWs, Mercedes and Lamborghinis.