Hoovey689

iTrader: (16)

Saleen still keen to resurrect S5S supercar

There are many names you could associate with Mustang tuning, but few are as iconic as Steve Saleen. The American tuner extraordinaire made a name for himself tweaking the Ford muscle coupe under the Saleen brand until he left his own company to start SMS Supercars. But now that the two have been reunited, word has it that Saleen is moving ahead with plans to produce a new mid-engine exotic to follow in the footsteps of the famed S7.

Saleen, as you may recall, branched out of tuning pony cars with the S7 in 2000. The car packed a 7.0-liter V8 that was later twin-turbocharged up to 750 horsepower to make it good for a 0-60 run in under three seconds and a top speed of nearly 250 mph. The car endures as an American performance icon, but while an S5S Raptor concept (pictured above) was showcased four years ago at the New York Auto Show, the schism between the two Saleen companies kept it from ever seeing the light of day.

With that ugliness now behind us, however, Autoweek reports that Steve Saleen is intent on picking up where the S7 and S5S left off. Getting to that point is expected to take Saleen a while, but in the meantime, he's working at integrating the two operations. The SMS facility in California will continue building the cars – White Label for mild upgrades, Yellow Label for supercharged models and Black Label for the works – while his Saleen facility in Michigan will distribute the parts. Look for a tuned Chevrolet Camaro to come rumbling around the corner in the near future.

http://www.autoblog.com/2012/04/09/s...-s5s-supercar/

Hoovey689

iTrader: (16)

dew it! the world needs more supercars!

rdgdawg

Was VERY pleased to see Steve back at the helm... and the upcoming Saleen Mustangs

SoCalSC4

It's not that Steve "left the helm" of Saleen motorcars - it's that he ran the business into the ground one too many times and the new investors/owners punted him. See ya!

The S7 was a Ray Mallock design that was actually intended for racing but was re-tasked for Saleen as a street car. They had carbon fiber bodies (made in England by Mallock) but the car was practically a kit car. Everything that made it streetable had to be 'invented' by Saleen, and it was done hurriedly and usually one car at a time. No two cars were alike.

As long as there are naive rich guys, I suppose Saleen will sell a few cars.

Steve, rocking the "Skullet"

Hoovey689

iTrader: (16)

^^ This isn't about the S7 supercar though. Rather the S5S Raptor concept from 2008. Midst the turmoil of the company and a global economic crisis the project was shelved. The S5S concept has a supercharged 5.0L V8 quoted to have 650hp and a 0-60 spring to 3.2sec. The biggest difference between this and the aforementioned S7 is the price tag. The expected price tag comes in under the 200K mark which is well under the S7's price tag

SoCalSC4

What it is about, however, is that Saleen himself is again steering the Titantic. He has shown time and time again that he can surround himself with smart enough people to make a decent car, but he can't manage his way out of a paper bag. It awes me to think that there are financiers out there that think this business model will work - he has already shown it does not.

Think they can sell that new car for $200K? Really? I doubt they can build it for that... unless they make 100,000 of them, which there isn't likely to be enough demand for.

I'm as much of a car guy as the next guy, but maybe it's time for Steve to be put out to pasture (again).