Saleen’s supercharged S351 Mustang would be inexcusable if it weren’t so fast. It’s a fiend with so much brute torque the driver feels as if he could pull both the Titanic and the ocean floor beneath it up out of the North Atlantic. Through corners, it’s as effective and subtle as a leopard clamping his jaw down on a zebra’s femur. The S351 is for fanatics-those few people with $60K to spend who value sheer performance over sophistication, comfort, or the prestige of a luxury nameplate (and who just have to have a Mustang).
Saleen is a small-volume manufacturer, not a tuner, and the S351 is almost a completely un-Ford Mustang. Saleen starts with a base Mustang, rips out the V-6, and replaces it with a version of Ford’s venerable 351-cubic-inch (5.8-liter) OHV V-8. Using TFS “twisted wedge” aluminum heads, the intake manifold from the old Lightning pickup, and a Vortech centrifugal supercharger produces, Saleen claims, 495 horsepower at 5500 rpm and 490 pound-feet of torque at 4500 rpm. Behind that is the Dodge Viper’s Borg-Warner T56 six-speed transmission, and the rearend is packed with a hydraulic Gerodisc differential. The brakes are upgraded to 13-inch-diameter Alcons up front, and the suspension is lowered over a set of 18-inch five-spoke wheels wearing P245/40ZR18 front and P295/35ZR18 rear Michelin Pilot SX tires. The interior gets leather Recaro front seats, white-face gauges (including a 200-mph speedo and a dashtop boost gauge), and body-color trim.
1998 Saleen S351 – Motor Trend
Saleen has done Mustangs long enough to know and apply every trick and subtlety from front camber adjustment plates through a composite hood and on to beefed lower rear control arms. Despite hellacious power, the S351’s chassis is never overwhelmed, which, considering the Mustang’s basic architecture, is amazing. That simple structure does, however, transmit tire noise into the passenger compartment, and bumps aren’t something the suspension subdues peacefully.
Handling is remarkably neutral, and the limits are very high. The rabid blitz through the slalom averaged 70.8 mph, faster than every production car but the Viper GTS, Ferrari F355, and Porsche 911 Turbo. While much credit goes to the splendid Michelins, the differential is equally impressive. The distribution of torque is managed so that the rear end remains composed through every transition and stays planted under acceleration. Unfortunately, by the end of its stay with us, that diff was slipping.
1998 Saleen S351 – Motor Trend
It takes two hands to select reverse in the short-throw shifter and the throttle travel is abrupt for casual cruising about town, but on the track it’s magic. Launched modestly, the S351 ingested the quarter mile in 12.9 seconds at 116.8 mph and barged to 60 in 4.6 seconds. It’s Ferrari-level performance that challenges even the venomous Viper GTS. But it takes a steady hand to extract it.
Even the barbaric Viper, though, seems a garden snake compared to the Saleen’s rude steed. Civilized buyers need not apply.
By: MATT STONE on April, 1998
Original Article: Motor Trend
Future Trucks
A Street Rod For The Rubicon Trail
Think of it as a V-8 Plymouth Prowler (with a back seat) that can also tackle a challenging trail with the best of the Jeep family. With its new-for-’99 4.7-liter/275-horse SOHC V-8, which will debut in the Grand Cherokee, and its unique, electronic four-wheel, independent adjustable suspension, you really could go anywhere with confidence-street or stream, boulevard or boulder-strewn trail.
The Jeepster’s dashboard-adjustable suspension switch allows the rod/ute a 4-inch range of travel, from a ground-hugging 5.75 inches to a rock-climbing 9.75 inches of clearance. The two-plus-two Jeepster, which takes its name from the now rare and collectible ’50 Willys Convertible, has a roster of useful features like water-resistant leather seats, a global positioning system, altimeter, grade and roll indicator, and exterior temperature gauge. Its full-time 4WD system is viscous coupled to a four-speed automatic that rotates huge 19-inch “Hot-Wheels”-inspired wheels equipped with “run-flat” Goodyear Extended Mobility Tires, eliminating the need for a spare.
The cool “what if” exercise certainly raises the possibility of eating your Rocky Road ice cream at the drive-in diner or at the top of the nearest mesa. It seems multiple personalities could pay dividends, after all.-Chris Walton
Performance Test
Saleen Explorer: A Performance/Utility Vehicle
Saleen Explorer XP8
The sport/utility vehicle market continues to subdivide itself. There are now full-size luxury SUVs, convertibles, and others. To this, add the newest trend: the PUV, or Performance Utility Vehicle. Everywhere we look, someone is slamming, supercharging, brake-equipping, and killer-suspending SUVs to perform like-believe it or not-cars.
Saleen Performance has been manufacturing steroid-injected Mustangs for more than a dozen years, and decided the top-selling Ford Explorer was an ideal canvas for its brand of performance redo. Steve Saleen and his band of designers, engineers, and assemblers have taken their customary approach to enhancing the Explorer; upgrading not only the engine, but (if desired) the braking, suspension, appearance, and interior accommodations.
The Saleen Explorer comes in two- or four-wheel-drive four-door configurations, packing either a SOHC 4.0-liter V-6, a 5.0-liter V-8, or a Saleen-developed supercharged 5.0-liter/286-horsepower V-8. Packing a dealer-installed Powerdyne blower, this top-of-the-line model is the subject of our test.
Saleen lowers the Explorer about 2 inches, for both improved handling and appearance. Springs and shocks are swapped for the company’s Racecraft components, and rolling stock is upgraded to Saleen’s own 18-inch genuine magnesium wheels wrapped by Pirelli 255/55SR18 Scorpion S/T radials.
The exterior appearance package includes special front and rear fascia, side skirts, door cladding, roof-mounted rear wing, and faux carbon fiber trim. The cabin is treated to either a real wood or carbon fiber appearance package, depending upon color choice, as well as Saleen gauge faces and floor mats. A particularly nice, though pricey, option is Saleen/Recaro leather seating ($3950), offering 10-way power adjustment up front and hip-hugging support.
According to Saleen, the goal is to enhance the Explorer’s on-road handling and performance with a minimum reduction in its off-road capability. Many SUV users will never leave the asphalt, so max ground clearance is seldom an issue to these folks. On the pavement, the Saleen corners much more confidently than just about any standard sport/ute. There’s a bit of a ride penalty, but the reduction in body roll will be worth it to many drivers.
Our test showed a 0-60-mph time of 7.4 seconds (an improvement of 3.3 seconds over a stock V-8 Explorer). Also significant: 60-0 braking distances are reduced by 26 feet. A big portion of the 0.09 g jump in max cornering forces (0.76 for the Saleen, 0.67 for the stocker) goes to the serious wheel and tire package. Though we did not test its towing capability, we suspect the Saleen Explorer will be popular among those sporty, active lifestyle folks who haul a boat or trailer full of personal watercraft. Increasing supercharger boost would add even more horsepower, but punchy midrange power and long-term dependability were judged more important than Top Fueler acceleration. And you’ve gotta love the tunes issued by the rumbling Saleen/Borla exhaust system.
The MSRP for a V-6 Saleen Explorer is $41,990, and a fully loaded supercharged V-8 model with all available options will run around $56,000. Both Ford’s and Saleen’s own warranties apply. See your Saleen-qualified Ford Dealer.
For the first four seconds, you feel like you’re at the wheel of a dragster with a stuck throttle in a giant pan of cooking oil. Slipping and sluing, the tach builds revs in a needle-blurring burst through first gear, then second. Your toes curl around the top of the gas pedal, trying to feel for traction that isn’t there. You’ve backed off to half throttle, yet both double-wide rear Dunlops churn in a fog of rubber smoke.
Then at about 60 mph, the shift to third puts things right. Finally, the available grip can absorb most of this car’s horsepower. Pulling through 4000 rpm, the pancreas-flattening rush is awesome. Fourth gear is even better. The g’s barely diminished by the rising aerodynamic loads, you’re pinned to the Recaro seatback more forcefully than in anything short of an F-15 in full climb.
Just when you’re ready to scream, through 5500 rpm, the power begins to flatten, but there’s no point in going for fifth this close to the end of the quarter mile. Before you can ponder this any further, you’re shooting past the finish on the high side of 120 mph, then standing hard on the brakes.
You can inhale now. The timing gear displays a 119.3-mph quarter-mile terminal speed, a number that’s difficult to relate to the performance range of normal cars. Muscular production cars, like the Corvette, just crest 100 mph in the quarter mile; really fast ones, like Porsche’s 911 Turbo, can even exceed 110. But tripping the lights at close to 120 mph is a whole other level of thrill. To a driver seasoned in conventional cars, it creates a sensation akin to teleportation. It’s a feeling to which Saleen S351 R drivers first become acclimated, then addicted.
The R-Code Saleen S351 is far from a conventional car, even though it’s based on a production Mustang. Steve Saleen likes it that way. This is a real production vehicle, not a one-off. And you can order one through any Ford dealer, or see it at any of the 75 Team Saleen Ford dealerships that keep the model in stock. Each is an emissions-certified vehicle as easy to buy as an Escort, albeit for a lot more money.
Performance is the single standout feature here. And that’s been Saleen’s obsession since he began tinkering in earnest with Ford’s ponycar in 1984. Today his company offers three different models. On the bottom end is the S281 (coupe, convertible, or Speedster), a modest evolution of the new modular-engined Mustang GT. The next step up is the S351 (around since late ’94), which adds a 5.8-liter/371-horsepower OHV V-8 engine to the mix, among a host of other performance and cosmetic items. Slap the R-Code option on that puppy, and horsepower jumps to a peak of 480. At the pinnacle of the line is the SR, which gives you all the R-Code S351 stuff and less. Less back seat, less cushy civility, and most of all, less weight. Roughly 300 pounds lighter, the SR is the strongest performer in the Saleen line; however, in our estimation it’s too stripped down to serve as a daily driver.
That task is left to the far more civilized S351 R. It begins life as a humble ’96 Mustang V-6, direct from FoMoCo. The unused V-6 is popped out and sold back to Ford, and a Saleen-engineered Ford 351 is dropped in. It breathes through a cast-aluminum manifold and is fed by sequential fuel injection. Saleen-spec TFS aluminum heads cap the iron Ford block. A hydraulic roller cam and roller rockers help cut friction; exhaust is ushered overboard via ceramic-coated headers, stainless converters and exhaust, then finally through a pair of Borla 2.5-inch mufflers. The 351 is mated with a heavy-duty clutch, a Tremec five-speed manual transmission, a special drive shaft, and a heavy-duty rearend with 3.55:1 gearing.
Chassis changes are all-encompassing. Additional structural bracing delivers better chassis rigidity and in turn, wheel control. Saleen/Racecraft struts go up front and mount to adjustable camber/caster plates to allow for new alignment and setup specs. A huge 1.4-inch-diameter front anti-roll bar is fitted, and it rides on firm urethane pivot bushings to further tighten body-roll characteristics.
The Mustang’s live-axle rear suspension carries on with the help of Saleen’s quad-shock system, and another sausage-thick anti-roll bar. Ride height is dropped significantly with the addition of variable-rate coil springs at all four corners. Finally, a set of Saleen-designed 18-inch Speedline magnesium wheels are bolted in place.
On the outside, Saleen wraps the Mustang in new front and rear fascias, bodyside cladding, and a rear wing-which in our experience, combine to create more thumbs-up approval from passers-by than free Duff Beer. The Saleen exudes toughness, without the elitist overtones of the European exotics that approach its performance.
1996 Saleen S351
The S351 is priced at $42,990. Come forth with another $6244, and you can ante up to the R-Code Package of our test car. Lift the hood of an R-car, and you’ll be greeted by a beautifully polished aluminum Vortech belt-driven supercharger that pumps an extra 109 horsepower out of the engine. Normally aspirated, peak horsepower is 371 at 5100 rpm; with the pressure on, you’re looking at 480 horses at 5500 rpm. Torque is similarly enhanced, swelling from 422 pound-feet to 487 at 3600 rpm. Other R-Code delights include recalibrated engine management electronics and pizza-size 13-inch front brake rotors clenched by huge four-piston calipers.
Settle into the firmly supportive Recaro driver’s seat and turn the key, and the car rocks harder than a Northridge condo sitting squarely on a fault line. But tip into the throttle even a little, and the engine smoothes instantly.
Don’t let this taste of civility mislead, however. Even with only 2000 rpm registering on the tach, a sudden stab of half throttle will fling your Slurpee clear into the back seat. Boost arrives progressively, but by 3000 rpm or so, the intensity of the power delivery demands your full attention. Experience in tamer cars such as the Dodge Viper or Corvette Grand Sport won’t fully prepare you for what this Saleen has to offer.
Nor will they ready you for the Saleen’s race-car-spec handling. With firm spring rates balanced by specially nitrogen-charged dampers, the S351 R has a stiff-legged ride. Stiff, but not often abusive. Snap it into a corner, and the S351 R turns in progressively, staying slot-car flat all the while. The Saleen’s chassis is balanced toward a hint of understeer, which can be teased away with the always accessible power. Squeeze on more, and you can transition to glorious tire-burning, teen-cheering oversteer.
Our slalom testing confirmed the Saleen’s remarkably good transient handling-and sheer speed-with a best run of 69.7 mph. If not for having to test at a track with less grip than our usual venue, it likely would have broken into the 70-mph range. The same slippery, weathered pavement netted a mediocre 0.89 lateral g reading on the skidpad and an unremarkable 127-foot stop from 60 mph. With better test conditions, we expect the S351 R’s figures would improve substantially.
The same goes for acceleration numbers: Tippy-toeing off the line, we were able to get the Saleen down to 5.2 seconds 0-60 mph-only a bit better than the last ’96 Mustang Cobra (5.5 seconds) we tested at another facility, and slower than our recent 5.0-second run in a Viper also tested elsewhere. The Saleen’s quarter-mile elapsed time was 13.4 seconds-0.2 second behind the Viper, but almost a second ahead of the Cobra.
The most telling figure is the Saleen’s terminal speed, which is relatively unaffected by low grip off the line. At 119.3 mph, the S351 R is the fastest production street car (not a tuner special) Motor Trend has ever tested in the quarter mile, outrunning even the Saleen SR prototype we drove last year. At the quarter-mile mark, the Saleen pulls away smartly from the 113.4-mph Viper, and accelerates away from the Mustang Cobra at a rate of 17.6 mph-like Carl Lewis at a full run.
That’s teleportation. That’s the Saleen S351 R.
TECH DATA
Saleen Mustang S351 R
General
Manufacturer
Saleen Productions, Inc.,
Irvine, California
Location of final assembly plant
Irvine, California
EPA size class
Subcompact
Body style
2-door, 4-passenger
Drivetrain layout
Front engine, rear drive
Airbag
Dual
Base price
$42,990
Price as tested
$49,879
Options included
Supercharger R -Code Package, $6244;
B-pillar chassis brace, $345
Ancillary charges
Destination, $300
Typical market competition
Chevrolet Camaro Z28 SS,
Corvette Grand Sport, Pontiac Trans Am WS6
Dimensions
Wheelbase, in./mm
101.3/2572
Track, f/r, in./mm
61.6/60.7/1565/1542
Length, in./mm
182.0/4623
Width, in./mm
71.8/1824
Height, in./mm
50.1/1273
Ground clearance, in./mm
3.0/76.2 (est. )
Manufacturer’s base curb weight, lb
3375
Weight distribution, f/r, %
58/42
Cargo capacity, cu ft
10.8
Fuel capacity, gal
15.4
Weight/power ratio, lb/hp
7.0
Engine
Type
90° V-8, liquid-cooled, cast-iron block,
cast-aluminum heads
Bore x stroke, in./mm
4.0 x 3.5
101.6 x 88.9
Displacement, ci/cc
351/5752
Compression ratio
8.8:1
Valve gear
OHV, 2 valves/cylinder
Fuel/induction system
Sequential EFI, supercharged
Horsepower
hp @ rpm, SAE net
480 @ 5500
Torque
lb-ft @ rpm, SAE net
487 @ 3600
Horsepower/liter
83.5
Redline, rpm
5750
Recommended fuel
Premium unleaded
Driveline
Transmission type
5-speed manual
Gear ratios
(1st)
3.27:1
(2nd)
1.98:1
(3rd)
1.34:1
(4th)
1.00:1
(5th)
0.68:1
Axle ratio
3.55:1
Final drive ratio
2.41:1
Engine rpm,
60 mph in top gear
2000
Chassis
Suspension
Front
MacPherson struts, lower control arms,
coil springs, anti-roll bar
Rear
Live axle, four trailing links,
coil springs, anti-roll bar
Steering
Type
Rack and pinion, power assist
Ratio
14.7:1
Turns, lock to lock
2.4
Turning circle
38.3
Brakes
Front, type/dia., in.
Vented discs/13.0
Rear, type/dia., in.
Vented discs/11.7
Anti-lock
Standard
Wheels and tires
Wheel size, in.
18 x 8.5/18 x 10.0
Wheel type/material
Cast magnesium
Tire size
255/35ZR18/285/35ZR18
Tire mfr. and model
Dunlop SP8000
Instrumentation
Instruments
200-mph speedo; 7000-rpm tach;
coolant temp; fuel level;
oil press.; volts;
supercharger boost;
fuel pressure; digital clock
Warning lamps
Check engine; battery; brake; belts;
ABS; airbags; low oil
Performance and Test Data
Acceleration, sec
0-30 mph
2.6
0-40 mph
3.7
0-50 mph
4.5
0-60 mph
5.2
0-70 mph
6.6
0-80 mph
7.6
0-90 mph
8.7
0-100 mph
10.5
Standing quarter mile
sec @ mph
13.4 @ 119.3
Braking, ft
30-0 mph
33
60-0 mph
127
Handling
Lateral acceleration, g
0.89
Speed through 600-ft
slalom, mph
69.7
Speedometer error, mph
Indicated
Actual
30
29
40
39
50
50
60
60
Fuel Economy
EPA, city/hwy., mpg
15/26
Est. range, city/hwy., miles
231/400
THOUGHTS
Although the blown 5.8-liter V-8 has a loping idle sure to strike fear in stoplight tough guys, it can be as gentle as a pussycat-a 480-horsepower pussycat. Saleen claims a top speed of over 180 mph.
The snug-fit Recaro seats are significantly more bolstered than their stock counterparts. That’s good. But with an as-tested sticker of just over $50,000, this Saleen about doubles the price of a Mustang GT.
Convenience items are standard Mustang fare, which means they work without a fuss. White-face Saleen instrumentation is easy to read in daylight (much less so at night). Fuel pressure and supercharger boost gauges live atop the dash.
It’s as subtle as a 20-megaton bomb in a whoopee cushion. As conventional as Jeffrey Dahmer at a Kiwanis father/son picnic. And about as charming, erudite, and socially responsible as a great white shark in a bloody sea of baby harp seals. Make no mistake, the new Saleen SR is a predator of the highest order: a rapacious, wild-eyed, super-Mustang, purpose-built to feed on the weaknesses of others.
If you’re looking for sensible transportation, look elsewhere. The Saleen SR likes nothing better than to stamp its big steel-toed workboots into the cherubic face of “sensible.” Creator Steve Saleen’s mindset here is one of total world domination-one Corvette, Porsche, or Ferrari at a time. And with a supercharged 5.8-liter Ford V-8 that produces well over twice the horsepower of a new Mustang’s 5.0-liter, this veteran racer/car-constructor’s latest offering is his meanest yet.
Now entering his 11th year of producing modified Mustangs, Saleen dishes up the most vicious ponycar available without a prescription. With a reported 80 more horsepower than the Dodge Viper’s V-10 and 75 more than the Corvette ZR-1’s DOHC V-8, the 480 horses churned out by this pressurized Ford V-8 makes the Saleen SR the most powerful American car sold in dealer showrooms.
Dealer showrooms. That’s the operative phrase here. Saleen’s cars aren’t your typical “aftermarket” buy-by-mail-order concoctions. Rather, this California-based company has been certified by government officials as a “small-volume manufacturer.” Over 3000 Saleen Mustangs have been sold since 1984, and the only way to get a ’95 model is to purchase it from one of the 75 Ford dealers certified as “Team Saleen” members. Each car comes with a full factory warranty and a clean-and-green stamp of low-emissions friendliness.
For ’95, Saleen offers four performance levels of Mustang. The bargain of the group is the V-6 Sport, a muscle-toned insurance-beater. The price for this package is approximately $18,000, but another four grand buys you a Vortech supercharger for the 3.8-liter V-6, a set of ceramic-coated headers, and electronic boost control. With a projected 220 horsepower, performance should at least equal that of the Mustang GT’s 215-horsepower 5.0-liter V-8.
1994 Saleen SR
Grab the next rung of the performance ladder and clamp down on Saleen’s potent S-351. Stuffed with a 5.8-liter (351-cubic-inch) modified Ford V-8, this $37,000 freeway flyer wears aluminum cylinder heads, a hydraulic roller camshaft, modified upper and lower intake manifold (sectioned and enlarged for improved high-rpm power), a larger-diameter throttle body and mass airflow sensor, higher-flow fuel injectors, ceramic-coated headers, and a low-restriction 2.5-inch-diameter Borla stainless exhaust system. Backed by a well-fortified suspension, 18-inch rolling stock and full-posture bodyshaping, the S-351 is a 371-horsepower gorilla with projected 0-60-mph times in the low 5s.
Pipe a Vortech supercharger onto the intake tract of that angry simian, and prepare to run for your life. Saleen’s literature quotes the mechanicals as being an 8-psi system, but this motor swelled to 11 psi of boost by the recommended 5500-rpm shift point. Dyno sheets from Duttweiler Performance corroborated the internal-combusting muscle living beneath: With 480 horsepower at 5500 rpm and 487 pound-feet of earth-torturing torque at 3600 rpm, the Saleen SR is a nuclear-powered jackhammer-from-hell, capable of pulverizing small-town street toughs into quivering piles of emasculation with just one rap of the throttle. Prices start at $49,990.
An aluminum driveshaft and a four-row radiator are heavy-duty items unique to the SR, but the purpose-built equipment doesn’t stop there. Everywhere you look, touch, or try to sit, Saleen has replaced the “sensible” factory part with an alternate component fashioned by some sort of whacked-out racing groupie. Most of it works quite well.
Regardless of its giant 18×10.0-inch Speedline five-spoke magnesium rear wheels wrapped with juicy 285/35ZR18 Dunlop SP8000 radials, there’s more torque than traction until well past 60 mph. Outfitted with a transplanted Tremec five-speed and tough Auburn Traction Loc rearend with 3.27:1 gearing, the goes-sideways-just-by-looking-at-it Saleen SR requires a talented hand in order to extract 10/10ths performance, but it’s so surprisingly easy to drive at 7/10ths that even Piltdown Man could dust off every new Corvette in town (despite the fact that such a fraud of anthropology couldn’t have properly operated a stick-shift). At a test venue with less than perfect traction, we coaxed the SR from 0-60 mph in 4.7 seconds and through the quarter mile in 12.9 seconds at 117.0 mph. The last stock Viper we tested ran 0-60 mph in 4.5 seconds and bludgeoned the quarter mile in 13.2 seconds at 112.1 mph.
Saleen quotes top speed at 186 mph, which is about 40 mph faster than that of a stock Mustang GT. We didn’t get the opportunity to corroborate that claim, but our vintage slide rule attests to the fact such a velocity is technically feasible-albeit careening toward the barrier of mechanical reason given the gearing limitations. Plug in the Viper’s Borg-Warner T56 six-speed, and things could get really interesting.
Slathered in Saleen Racing Yellow paint and affixed with every race-car styling cue created since the era of Ray Harroun’s Marmon Wasp, the SR embodies a look that evokes either mouth-watering stares of wanton lust or scrunched-brow grimaces of dyspepsia. Wearing a carbon-fiber hood with functional air vents, aggressive body side-scoops, and a dual-plane rear wing large enough to lift a vintage Stearman tail-dragger into the sky, this Saleen isn’t a car you’ll easily lose in a Chuck E. Cheese parking lot. The usual assortment of bulging fascias and tape-stripe graphics are included, but you can specify an even more outlandish $5500 “FIA Body Components” option that delivers carbon-fiber laminates in the front fascia, front fenders, and rear deck, plus the fitment of a Lexan rear window. Weight savings for racing use is the obvious sales tactic for this package, though at 3094 pounds, the SR already boasts about 285 pounds less heft than the Saleen S-351.
Part of that weight reduction came from the interior, where an upholstered shelf resides in lieu of a back seat, and thin-shell Recaro racing buckets replace the original Mustang couches. As curvaceous and purposeful as anything you’d find in a Group B rally car, these high-sided body-huggers are, however, nearly unusable by anyone with a wider pelvic girth than that of Macaulay Culkin. Combined with seat tracks that don’t allow enough legroom for six-footers, these pinched-derriere torture chairs diminish much of the car’s long-haul comfort.
The rest of the interior is pretty much standard Mustang in design, except for the addition of boost and fuel-pressure gauges in a dashtop pod (replacing the clock binnacle) and a technoid-looking carbon-fiber shift knob. A four-point chromemoly rollbar (officially referred to as an “internal chassis brace”) is well integrated into the rear area. Adding color to the otherwise all-black cockpit are body-hued panels on the sides and backs of the seats, and inserts on the door panels. Saleen-spec white-faced gauges provide a 200-mph speedo and a classy look during the day, but absolutely abhorrent nighttime illumination that pours a mish-mash of green, red, and orange lumens out of every tiny opening in the cluster. We’ve seen better use of display lighting in a Hot Dog On A Stick menu board.
The car we tested (the first SR built) had been rushed through production to meet our deadline and had not yet received the Saleen serial number plates or safety harnesses. Drilled-aluminum pedal covers had been installed, bringing a wider throttle pad that noticeably aided heel-and-toe downshifts. Unlike the S-351 model, however, the SR isn’t offered with leather upholstery nor as a convertible.
Suspension improvements come in the form of progressive-rate coil springs, gas-pressurized struts/shocks, urethane bushings, and a larger diameter front anti-roll bar (1.38 inch), plus the race-bred tweaks of camber/caster plates, a beefier Panhard rod, rear shock mount bracing, and reinforced rear lower control arms. The front-strut tower brace hadn’t been installed at the time of our test, but chassis flex wasn’t a problem. However, by using staggered-size tires (255/35ZR18s up front and 285/35ZR18s at the rear) aggressive steady-state cornering (such as that produced on a skidpad) lets the rears easily maintain their hold, while the overworked outside front tire gives up the ghost-resulting in understeer. There’s little doubt the Saleen SR’s 0.90 g of lateral grip could be improved upon by fitting same-size tires at all four corners, but it would be no minor challenge to stuff 285-series rubber under the front fenders. The other option, using 255-series tires at the rear, would only make for more impressive burnouts.
In real-world situations, where transient response and squirt-to-the-apex talent is more important than driving around a 200-foot diameter circle, the Saleen is in its element. Rapid steering response, precise turn-in control, excellent balance, and an overall authoritative road manner combine with the Lockheed SR-71 jet firepower to move you ahead in a big hurry. The car’s 66.6-mph average speed through our 600-foot slalom was slower than expected (due to moderate twitchiness in the fast left-right-left maneuvers), but this is only part of the equation. From Mulholland to Malibu, the SR runs with all but the hottest Cafe bikes and makes you the center of attention upon arrival at the Sheriff’s impound yard. Pizza-pan-sized grooved brake rotors (13.0-inch-diameter front; 12.0-inch rear) with Alcon four-piston calipers are standard and halted the rampaging pony from 60 mph in 117 feet, despite their present ABS incompatibility. With computer-modulated assist, that figure could decrease significantly.
Sure, there may be questions as to America’s need for a 480-horsepower Mustang, especially one that tops $55,000 with every magic-bean race ornament installed. And no, we aren’t the types who could live with such a temperamental brute on a daily basis. As a commuter car, the Saleen SR is as ridiculous as a GE turbine engine with a barbed-wire seat and training wheels attached. So take the minivan to pick up Nana for the weekend. To use this car properly, you need ready access to a road-racing track and a gas card with a six-figure limit. Then, it’d be one helluva fun ride.
