Saleen Planning New American Supercar
04-09-2012, 03:47 PM
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Saleen Planning New American Supercar Saleen keen to resurrect S5S supercar project
by Mark Vaughn on 04/03/2012
Auto-tuning entrepreneur Steve Saleen says he has legally regained use of his name on all his products after a lengthy court battle. On Tuesday, he detailed some of the plans for the company.
Remember the S5S Raptor concept car revealed at the New York auto show in 2008? That is apparently still on the books. While there is no immediate announcement coming, Saleen said he is confident that the S5S, or a car similar to it, will be coming out, though maybe with a different name.
"We're still planning on doing something like that," Saleen said. "That's still a part of our plan. The S5S is still in our planning."
It's just not in the immediate planning. Details of the new car are not out, but the original S5S Raptor was to be powered by a 5.0-liter supercharged Ford V8 making 650 hp. That sounds like a good starting point.
While a new supercar is a ways off, Saleen said you can look for a major new-vehicle announcement in the next 90 days.
"It'll be somewhat of a different direction," Saleen said of the new car.
What does that mean? We'll have to wait.
In the four or five years since Saleen left (or was pushed out of) the company that bore his name, he founded SMS (for Steven Mark Saleen) Supercars and set up shop in Corona, Calif. That operation has produced about 400 Dodge Challengers and Ford Mustangs with the SMS name and various levels of tuning. Now that the legal problems of the brand have been resolved, Saleen says he will begin production of a long-planned Camaro version, too. All three will now carry the Saleen name and be offered in three trim levels:
Among the changes at the company will be that parts distribution will continue through the Michigan facility used by the previous Saleen owners. Car assembly and research and development will continue at the Corona facility formerly known as SMS.
"You have to recognize this: It's going to take me a while to rebuild the company," Saleen said. "It's going to take a while to get things restructured and put back into where we were five or six years ago. So people need to be a little bit patient because there's a fair amount of restructuring to go in place. The name is just kind of the starting point. My hope is it won't take 30 years like it did the first time."
Saleen was founded in 1984 when it released its first Mustang.
"Next year we'll have our 30th-anniversary model," Saleen said. "That really makes you feel old, doesn't it?"
Read More @ http://www.autoweek.com/article/2012...NEWS/120409953
by Mark Vaughn on 04/03/2012
Auto-tuning entrepreneur Steve Saleen says he has legally regained use of his name on all his products after a lengthy court battle. On Tuesday, he detailed some of the plans for the company.
Remember the S5S Raptor concept car revealed at the New York auto show in 2008? That is apparently still on the books. While there is no immediate announcement coming, Saleen said he is confident that the S5S, or a car similar to it, will be coming out, though maybe with a different name.
"We're still planning on doing something like that," Saleen said. "That's still a part of our plan. The S5S is still in our planning."
It's just not in the immediate planning. Details of the new car are not out, but the original S5S Raptor was to be powered by a 5.0-liter supercharged Ford V8 making 650 hp. That sounds like a good starting point.
While a new supercar is a ways off, Saleen said you can look for a major new-vehicle announcement in the next 90 days.
"It'll be somewhat of a different direction," Saleen said of the new car.
What does that mean? We'll have to wait.
In the four or five years since Saleen left (or was pushed out of) the company that bore his name, he founded SMS (for Steven Mark Saleen) Supercars and set up shop in Corona, Calif. That operation has produced about 400 Dodge Challengers and Ford Mustangs with the SMS name and various levels of tuning. Now that the legal problems of the brand have been resolved, Saleen says he will begin production of a long-planned Camaro version, too. All three will now carry the Saleen name and be offered in three trim levels:
- "White Label" will be for normally aspirated cars with unique suspension, tire and 20-inch wheel combinations, unique intake and engine calibration, exhaust, interiors with unique gauges, embroidery on the seats, floor mats, door sills and aerodynamic trim. Power output is listed at 450 hp at the flywheel, Saleen says. The White Label cars all sticker for less than $40,000 and are available at Saleen dealerships across the country.
- "Yellow Label" adds a supercharger to increase output to 600 hp at the flywheel.
- "Black Label" cars get full aerodynamics and a sports suspension and will produce between 625 hp and 650 hp.
Among the changes at the company will be that parts distribution will continue through the Michigan facility used by the previous Saleen owners. Car assembly and research and development will continue at the Corona facility formerly known as SMS.
"You have to recognize this: It's going to take me a while to rebuild the company," Saleen said. "It's going to take a while to get things restructured and put back into where we were five or six years ago. So people need to be a little bit patient because there's a fair amount of restructuring to go in place. The name is just kind of the starting point. My hope is it won't take 30 years like it did the first time."
Saleen was founded in 1984 when it released its first Mustang.
"Next year we'll have our 30th-anniversary model," Saleen said. "That really makes you feel old, doesn't it?"
Read More @ http://www.autoweek.com/article/2012...NEWS/120409953
04-09-2012, 05:04 PM
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What were the other failures? 
04-11-2012, 08:29 PM
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I doubt he noticed that part before responding.
04-12-2012, 08:56 AM
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The Saleen supercars are cool but I find their mustang "upgrades" to be on the gaudy side and it is even worse that they do the ricer upgrades on low end packages with stock GT power.
The "stage 3" cars ran decent though and some parts of the kit look nice.
I think their Camaros will be cringe worthy.
The "stage 3" cars ran decent though and some parts of the kit look nice.
I think their Camaros will be cringe worthy.
04-12-2012, 04:27 PM
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how many was saleen able to sell vs ferrari and lamborghini, or even the smaller companies like pagani or koneigsegg? how did they do in LeMans racing? a win. a win in the decade of racing. hell, one team dumped the S7 for an MC12 of all things. the S7 was a 300,000 dollar top speed car. neat looking and stupid fast but not really a good car overall.
then saleen went bankrupt, which makes his building another car even stranger.
yep, because you know me, tough guy.
then saleen went bankrupt, which makes his building another car even stranger.
yep, because you know me, tough guy.
04-13-2012, 12:23 AM
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how many was saleen able to sell vs ferrari and lamborghini, or even the smaller companies like pagani or koneigsegg? how did they do in LeMans racing? a win. a win in the decade of racing. hell, one team dumped the S7 for an MC12 of all things. the S7 was a 300,000 dollar top speed car. neat looking and stupid fast but not really a good car overall.
then saleen went bankrupt, which makes his building another car even stranger.
then saleen went bankrupt, which makes his building another car even stranger.
Saleen has won 8 championships overall in GT class racing. A Saleen won the 12 Hours of Sebring. Maybe it's just me, but I think that much "WINNING" isn't simply notworthy: It's also a real and true testament to the capabilities of the car, including handling.
Steve Saleen was not with the company when it went bankrupt in 2008. He recently(like last week) announced plans to make plans for the new car builds, as he just got his name back.
