Tag Archives: Mustang

Lifestyle

DJ KIERON’S ON RUN FROM COPS

By: DONOHOE GRAEME on July 13, 2007
Original Article: SUN, THE

Hunk in 1m Dollar US road race

DAREDEVIL TV star Kieron Elliott is revving up to win $1million by outrunning US cops in a real-life Cannonball Run dash across America.

Kieron, 33, is one of more than 400 hellraising petrol heads taking part in a wacky race from New York to Los Angeles on July 29.

The flying Scotsman, above, from Airdrie, will take the wheel of a Mustang Saleen for the 2,900-mile coast-to-coast trek.

And the former River City star has a few tricks up his sleeve to foil cops – just like screen hero Burt Reynolds in the classic Cannonball Run flick.

Keiron, now breakfast DJ for Rock Radio 96.3FM, has air support to help him win – drafting in a HELICOPTER to help avoid police. He grinned: “Cannonball Run has to be one of the best films ever and we’ve got a few tricks up our sleeves.

“The helicopter will be going ahead to look out for cops so we have a ticket to go as fast as we want.”

Kieron – who played cancer sufferer Duncan Robertson in the BBC soap – will be racing with radio pal Billy Anderson.

Parties
The super-rich racers stump up Pounds 5,000 just to take part.

Kieron and Billy hope to be a hit with the ladies at the riotous parties being thrown along the route to LA.

Kieron beamed: “We’ll be wearing our kilts the whole way. I’m really looking forward to the parties.”

Kieron will be phoning in with daily updates for his Rock Radio show – and listeners will have a dream chance to win his super-fast Mustang.

Press Release

SALEEN SIGNS ON AS TITLE SPONSOR OF AMERICA’S LARGEST ROAD RALLY

“THE GREAT AMERICAN RUN”
~ Winner Takes Home a New Saleen S281 “Extreme” ~

IRVINE, CALIF. – Saleen Inc., manufacturer of the world’s fastest production car – the Saleen S7 – today announced it will be sponsoring the world’s largest road rally: “The Great AmericanRun.” This event marks the state-side arrival of Europe’s most famous road rally taking place July 29 – August 4, 2007. To celebrate the inaugural U.S. rally, Saleen Inc. has been commissioned by Cannonball Run World Events, Inc. (CRWE) to uniquely modify 25 stock Saleen S281 “Extreme” Mustangs with an additional 50 horsepower (aftermarket upgrade*), and identical black-on-black paint and graphics packages. CRWE has reserved one of the modified 600 horsepower “Extremes” for the winner of the event.

On July 29, 2007, 400 cars will start from four originating cities: Washington D.C., New York, Atlanta and Miami, to embark on a 3000 mile coast-to-coast free-for-all. Each night, entrants will enjoy luxury hotel accommodations at four star hotels and extravagant parties. Each of the cars will ultimately regroup in Las Vegas, where the remaining drivers will gather for the final leg of the rally to Los Angeles for the event’s award ceremony and track day at the historic Willow Springs Raceway.

“Saleen is proud to support an event of this magnitude that brings together all types of enthusiasts and all types of performance cars – foreign and domestic – in a fun and safe environment,” said Steve Saleen, founder of Saleen Inc. “Our mission is not just about building the highest performance cars in the world, but also about building opportunities for car enthusiasts to share great experiences with each other. The Great American Run will be an experience enthusiasts will talk about for years to come.”

CRWE is well known for developing safe and fun events with a track record of seven successful rallies. In fact, the object of the rally is not who can reach the final destination first, but rather who can most closely attain an average speed of 61 mph over the 3000 mile route.

“Safety is paramount to this event, and in the previous five years and seven events held in Europe, we have never had a serious accident,” said Tim Porter, chief executive officer of Cannonball Run World Events. “We believe that this is due to the way we police our events with very strict rules. The object is to complete the course with an average speed at or below the national speed limit, rather than racing to be the first car to arrive.”

25 “EXTREME” CARS FOR RALLY ENTRANTS

The 2007 Saleen S281 “Extreme” is quickly becoming known as the world’s fastest production Mustang. With 550 horsepower, 525 lb-ft of torque, Saleen’s patented Racecraft suspension, close-ratio six-speed transmission, 4:10 rear gearing with a Maxgrip differential, high-flow cooling system, 15” slotted and vented disc brake system, and numerous additional internal and external performance enhancements; the “Extreme” rivals all competitors in the high-performance sports car world, including the Chevrolet Corvette Z06, Ferrari 430, Porsche 911 Carrera and the Dodge Viper SRT-10.

For the “Great American Run,” CRWE will be commissioning Saleen, Inc. to modify 25 stock Saleen S281 “Extremes” and having them converted to 600 horsepower, with aftermarket options available soon through the Saleen SpeedLab®. CRWE has named this exclusive collection of cars “The Ultimate Bad Boy Edition” and will only make them available to race entrants.

The 550 horsepower Saleen S281 “Extreme” is currently available for purchase at “The Saleen Store” and Saleen Certified Dealers for those not participating in the event. Visit www.saleen.com for further product and dealer information.

Saleen S281 Extreme “Ultimate Bad Boy Edition” vehicles are all equipped the same:

2007 Black Saleen S281 Extreme
Aftermarket options include:

  • Forged 5-spoke, one-piece wheels (painted black)
  • 50 Horsepower upgrade* – VOIDS WARRANTY (Aftermarket option available mid-year 2007 as a Saleen SpeedLab product)
  • Numbered gold plaque (provided by CRWE) (Buyers may add upgrades – i.e. scenic roof, tires, stereo system, etc.)
  • Official “Great American Run decals (provided by CRWE)

For more information regarding “The Great American Run” or Cannonball Run World Events, please contact 1-800-619-8593 or visit cannonballworld.com.

ABOUT SALEEN

Since the company’s inception in 1984, Saleen has produced over 12,000 complete and EPAcertified vehicles, more than any other specialty automobile manufacturer. In addition, Saleen has equipped more than 600,000 vehicles worldwide, further emphasizing their commitment to excellence.

A nine-time Manufacturers’ Champion in GT sports car racing, Saleen manufactures the American super car — the Saleen S7, as well as the S281 Mustang, S331 Sport Truck and the Saleen/Parnelli Jones Limited Edition Mustang. Saleen’s manufacturing facilities are located in Irvine, California and Troy, Michigan. The Michigan facility has just completed all paint and assembly of the Ford GT as a special project for Ford Motor Company.

* Horsepower upgrades are only available on an aftermarket basis and void the manufacturer’s warranty on the vehicle. Customer is responsible for all emission compliance on any aftermarket powertrain modifications. The 550 horsepower Saleen Extreme is fully emissions compliant. Saleen makes no representation as to the emissions compliance of any vehicles modified by CRWE.

Lifestyle

WILD HORSES: YOUR MUSTANG SHORT OF GIDDYAP? ANDERSON FORD-MERCURY WILL PUT SOME SPRING IN ITS STEP

By: TONY REID on April 26, 2007
Original Article: HERALD & REVIEW (DECATUR, IL)

Apr. 26–CLINTON — On the face of it, the Anderson Ford-Mercury dealership in Clinton looks just like your typical car place.

Families come there to shop for their next kid-mover, whether it be a car or van. Working guys buy trucks they need for the job. Would-be owners peer at the window labels, carefully reading the EPA city/highway mileage figures, looking for whatever will give them the most motivation for their buck.

And then there is the sub-section of Anderson customers who couldn’t care less about any of that nonsense. They want potent Mustangs, and they have often ridden many miles — from places like Colorado and Nebraska — to corral their craving at this little dealership with a growing reputation for stabling potent ponies.

We’re talking of a breed of modified Mustang that sells itself with a direct appeal to the driver’s central nervous system. The cars have been reworked by specialist companies such as Saleen of California, for example, which offers Mustangs with tweaked engines, suspensions, interiors and bodywork and has promotional literature that reads like this:

“? Because this is one 335 horsepower beast you can’t break. It was bred to run. Born to be wild. And you have no choice but to set it free. Once you do, you’ll realize that no matter what the title and registration say, you don’t own this car. It owns you, the road, and everyone on it.”

Not exactly your typical Ford family sedan happy speak. And special edition Mustangs can cost up to twice what typical production line versions sell for and are aimed squarely at those motivated by passion and the means to indulge it.

“Most of these customers are not 18- or 25-year-old kids,” said Randy Anderson, the dealership general manager and owner. “They are doctors, lawyers; they are bankers. They are people who years ago wanted a fast car and couldn’t afford it. But now they can.”

So, while fleeting youth may have fled long ago, it’s never too late to gallop after it. Anderson Ford-Mercury has all the means necessary for hot pursuit with a Mustang lineup that includes those cars tricked out by Saleen and a Michigan firm called Roush. And then there are the muscle Mustangs produced by Ford itself, which include the Shelby Cobra version — a factory rocket packing 500 horsepower.

“We’ve sold seven of them this year,” said Randy. “The average dealer might only get one, but because of what we do in Mustangs, even though we’re a small Ford dealer, we’re a top Mustang dealer and we get a bigger cut of the pie. We’ve sold cars to customers in New York, New Jersey, Colorado, all over the place — 50 percent of the cars we sell are to customers outside of Illinois who are drawn by our reputation.”

Still feel a need for more speed? Randy’s brother Rick has a wagonload of goodies waiting over in the Anderson Ford Motorsport division, which he runs. A life-long racing enthusiast, he has developed his own line of go-faster Mustang products ranging from radically modified air and supercharger intake systems to camshafts and even a hand-held computer that lets drivers custom-tune their cars.

The dealership sponsors some very successful Mustang race cars, which earn lots of specialist racing press coverage and win the dealership’s products more fans throughout the nation and all over the world. “Kuwait is one of our biggest foreign customers,” said Rick. “We do a lot with them.”

They sell to both race enthusiasts burning up the quarter mile and regular owners who like to occasionally unwind their potent street cars at the track. The performance cars and parts business is worth hundreds of thousands of dollars a year, and the motorsports division fields maybe 1,000 customer enquiries a month. It also ships out a constant stream of mail order parts, while its own service bays are kept busy fitting performance equipment for owners who show up in person, often having driven hundreds of miles for the privilege.

As Rick and Randy speak, a Shelby Cobra convertible is hooked up to a Dyno machine (a kind of rolling road for the wheels while engine performance is monitored by computer.) This limited edition street-legal Mustang costs about $70,000, and the owner immediately wheeled it over to the motorsport section for Rick to modify. By the time the maestro has performed his laying on of hands, the stock 500 horsepower will have been stepped up to about 600.

During a demonstration, the supercharged engine fires into life, roars for a while and then gets punched into what sounds like the equivalent of automotive warp speed with a jet-like whine that seems to come from inside your head before it’s shut off and the computer numbers checked. Rick says the car probably just did the equivalent of 140 mph while standing still and won’t let you down at the local race track.

“Oh, it’s got enough horsepower to go 190 mph,” he says, matter-of-factly.

Product Review

SALEEN SIMPLY SUPER

By: N.A. on March 30, 2007
Original Article: RECORD, THE (KITCHENER/CAMBRIDGE/WATERLOO, ON)

Auto expert Mark Perleberg of NADAguides.com, a leading U.S. vehicle pricing and information website, recently tested the 2007 Saleen S281 and the 2007 PJ/Saleen Special Edition in a weeklong, side-by-side and back-to-back comparison.

And now he weighs in on both cars’ features and handling.

“Since 1984, Steve Saleen has been remanufacturing new stock Ford Mustangs with a flare that only a businessman with a racing background could pull off,” said Perleberg. “Saleen has emerged as a leader in squeezing the most out of new stock Ford Mustang GTs, giving them near Super Car qualities at a relatively low price.”

Perleberg says the 2007 S281 features more of what all great performance cars need, more horsepower.

Up an additional 30 hp from 2006, the S281 now musters up 465 ponies, and according to Perleberg, acceleration that keeps the car’s passengers pinned to the back of their seats when the supercharger kicks in.

Along with this power, the car features a race-craft suspension that virtually eliminates the loose rear end feeling you typically find in stock Mustangs, with a confidence the car will go anywhere you point it at high speeds.

Perleberg says the 2007 Saleen S281 also features a comfortable day-to-day ride for a car of this nature.

Combined with a tail extension, body cladding and an upgraded interior in the mid-$50,000 US price range, Perleberg says the 2007 Saleen S281 has all the makings of a Super Car with the roots of a Mustang.

Next up, Perleberg tested the 2007 PJ/Saleen Special Edition, a high-performance 302 cubic inch V8-powered car with 370 hp and 370 ft/lb of torque.

Perleberg says the 2007 PJ/Saleen Special Edition is a modern-day rendition of the Boss 302 that raced in the SCCA Trans Am Series in the early 1970s, with less horsepower than its S281 sibling, but it feels quicker due to the normally aspirated engine with a torque that chimes in at 4,000 rpms.

“The 2007 PJ/Saleen Special Edition gives you truckloads of pull when you mash the throttle down in any gear,” Perleberg said.

“Handling is confident and very predictable with a somewhat lighter feel than the S281.”

Lifestyle

RARE SALEEN MUSTANG FOR SALE IN CLINTON

By: MICHELLE KOETTERS on March 28, 2007
Original Article: PANTAGRAPH, THE (BLOOMINGTON, IL)

Mar. 28–CLINTON — A rare version of an American automotive icon is for sale at a Clinton car dealership. Anderson Ford Mercury has a Parnelli Jones Boss 302 Mustang in its showroom — one of only 500 that specialty vehicle manufacturer Saleen built and released for public sale.

The car honors Parnelli Jones, a legendary race car driver from the 1960s and 1970s.

The Central Illinois dealership expects a serious collector eventually will purchase the muscle car for about $60,000, co-owner Randy Anderson said.

The dealership received the car last week because of its reputation for selling high performance vehicles and parts, said Anderson. The company’s Anderson Ford Motorsport division specializes in designing and building high performance parts for Mustangs; clients come from throughout the world.

Meanwhile, the Boss 302 is an exact replica — but with all new technology — of the Mustang Jones used to win the Trans Am Series racing event in 1970, Anderson said.

“It is one of the most breathtaking, gorgeous cars out there right now. It’s a showstopper,” Anderson said.

The Mustang’s orange-yellow color makes it stand out, Anderson said. In addition, it has a modified engine with 400 horsepower, customized black and orange leather interior, special breaks for fast stops, as well as a suspension that makes it drive like a go-kart, he said.

Mustangs are a popular car right now because people love the look and comfort of the sports car, Anderson said. The dealership’s Mustang sales are up about 30 percent from five years ago.

“What has increased the most is the exotic Mustang,” Anderson said. The dealership has 10 of the exotics, including the Shelby GT 500, the Shelby GT, Roush and Saleen, all priced from $30,000 to $60,000, Anderson said.

“It’s just a gorgeous car to look at,” Anderson said. “No matter if you’re a Ford fan or not a Ford fan, everyone loves the look of a Mustang.”

Enthusiast News

PERFORMANCE ON DEMAND BY SALEEN CANADA

By: ERIC DESCARRIES on February 22, 2007 | Updated: February 22, 2007 at 9:27
Original Article: AUTO.LAPRESSE.CA

Joe Visconti, president of Saleen Canada could more than double the capacity of its body shop. Photo: Patrick Sanfacon, La Presse
Joe Visconti, president of Saleen Canada could more than double the capacity of its body shop.
Photo: Patrick Sanfacon, La Presse

The Texan Carroll Shelby was the first to discover the Mustang performance potential in 1965. He managed to convince Ford to change versions of high-performance and racing and make marketing. The Californian Steve Saleen took over in the eighties. This wizard automobile could see that there was a demand for its Mustang in Canada, but for Saleen US to import Mustangs that meet Canadian legal requirements and return them to the country once modified, made no sense from the point of economic view.

That was when the Montreal Joe Visconti suggested a deal with the transformation of Saleen Mustangs in Canada. It’s trade in exotic cars or luxury, in Dorval, Auto Bugatti, had already established a fine reputation. The American businessman hesitated because he believed in his own team. Mr. Saleen sent his vice president Fred Blum to Auto Bugatti. What Blum saw in the body shops of the Quebec company surprised him so much that he advised Saleen to trust Joe Visconti even mentioning that their work would be higher than Californian workshops.

Ford of Canada Joe Visconti helped to build a network of a dozen Ford dealers to display the Saleen product. In the first year, Saleen Canada found 27 buyers of S-281 Mustangs, quite a feat for a great car. In 2006, forty brand new enthusiasts have ordered their Canadian Saleen, but Mr. Visconti expects that it will need to build 80 to 100 next year.

Here is the S-331 pickup truck
This increase in production is due to the arrival of another vehicle within the Saleen range, the S-331. This is a pickup based on the Ford F-150. Saleen Canada workshops have had to work extra hard to build their copy, just in time for the Auto Show in Montreal. The truck had quite a success there and the manufacturer has twenty firm orders for the S-331, available in a basic version with 325 horsepower V8 ($59,000 USD) or supercharged 450 horsepower ($69,000 USD). Incidentally, the Saleen S-281-based 335 horsepower has a base price of $58,000, while the supercharged 465 horsepower Supercharged starts at $68,000.

These vehicles come in their original form to Dorval workshops where Saleen Canada technicians start by changing the mechanical (different suspension, souped, redesigned exhausts) before moving on to the body shop where the original bumpers are replaced by Saleen parts. The instrumentation and several interior details are also replaced by parts from Saleen. Wheels and original tires are replaced with performance parts.

It will enlarge!
The Saleen body shop is already busy despite its 12,000 square feet of surface. It can modified a dozen cars a day, a capacity that could double. But Mr. Visconti believes that it will not be sufficient (they are also repairing luxury cars). Of the thirty people who work at Auto Bugatti / Saleen Canada, fifteen are assigned to the body and the exterior finish. There is even a program to accept individual customer cars who want to turn their Mustang GT into a Saleen, if only partially.

[Source: LA PRESSE]

Product Review

A JONES FOR A MUSTANG

By: MARK VAUGHN on January 22, 2007
Original Article: AUTOWEEK, VOL. 57 ISSUE 4

Parnelli just wanted a paint job for his ’70 ‘Stang, instead he got 500 new ones with his name on the side

You could count the American racers with the credentials of Parnelli Jones on one hand (assuming no band saw accidents): Dan Gurney, Mario Andretti, A.J. Foyt and Carroll Shelby. They are an elite bunch, with championships in diverse arenas as well as enough engineering smarts to start their own car companies, which a couple of them did.

It’s not necessary to review Jones’ accomplishments, but just in case you were born in the video-game age, here we go: He won the Indy 500 in 1963 in a car called “Old Calhoun” and almost won it again in 1967 in that whooshing-cool turbine car; won the Trans-Am championship back in 1970 when it was a bigger deal than NASCAR, by only a single point over the formidable Mark Donohue; won the Baja 1000 twice in that wild “Big Oly” Bronco with the huge wing on top; and took a class win at Pikes Peak in 1963 driving a Mercury stock car. That’s in addition to numerous sprint car titles, USAC championships and a career begun as a jalopy driver on the dirt tracks of Southern California.

He was even more successful as a team owner with business partner Vel Miletich, winning 53 Indy car races and the Indy 500 twice with Al Unser driving. He ran his own Formula One team from 1974 to 1976.

His business sense, with that of Miletich, meant most of Southern California at one point drove around on the Firestone tires he sold. (“Get Your ‘Stones From Parnelli Jones,” the bumper stickers said.)

So last year, when Jones inquired at Saleen about getting his personal 1970 Mustang repainted, it wasn’t like just your average 5.0 reader had wandered into Saleen Inc.

Steve Saleen, meanwhile, is no slouch, with a long racing resume of his own that includes nine championships and an even longer carbuilding CV, first as a “tuner” (a word Saleen now abhors), then as an increasingly bigger manufacturer of everything from S281 Saleen Mustangs to Ford GTs and the all-conquering street-blaster twin-turbo S7.

So when these two automotive forces came together, they almost had to produce more than just paint.

“At first I just wanted a paint job,” said Jones. “Then we got to talking.”

Long story short, since we only have two pages, they made the Mustang you see here, a car inspired by Jones’ Trans-Am championship-winning Boss 302 of 1970.

“The whole purpose is really a tribute to Parnelli,” Saleen said. “We tried to capture all the things that were memorable in that period of time.”

Those memorable things come in cues both subtle and obvious from front to rear on the car, including, Saleen said, “…the stylized headlights with that ’70s slant, the chrome detail that was so popular at the time, the sports slats on the rear glass, the wing, and the big number 15 on the side.”

The cosmetics are just the beginning.

“To be authentic, it had to have an honest-to-goodness 302 motor.”

That motor starts as a 4.6-liter modular three-valve sohc V8. Saleen strokes and bores it to 5.0 liters, adds 24 pounds/hour injectors, ported aluminum heads, performance camshafts and dual exhausts. The engine management is recalibrated to make the most of those improvements, and then the stock internal parts are replaced with forged-aluminum pistons, forged-steel con rods and a forged-steel crank so the whole thing doesn’t blow up.

“That’s an honest blueprinted engine with 400 hp and 390 lb-ft,” Jones added.

The transmission is a five-speed manual with a short-throw shifter routed to an 8.8-inch differential with a 3.73 final drive.

To get all the power to the ground and be able to drive around a corner with it, the Saleen crew went to work on the suspension. The heart of the setup is the Watts linkage in the rear, which replaces the Panhard rod found in the stock ‘Stang.

“A Panhard rod works well for NASCAR where you’re always going left, but it’s not real good for going over bumps and transitioning,” said Bill Tally, vp of engineering at Saleen.

While the Parnelli/Saleen rear is still built around a solid-beam axle (an IRS would have been too complicated and expensive), it is kept on the ground by two cleverly placed Watts links on each side, swiveling from outboard body mounts directly onto the back plate of the diff.

It allowed a stiffer rear antiroll bar and a generally stiffer setup without any great compromise to ride quality.

The rest of the setup includes RaceCraft Suspension pieces like stiffer springs, shocks and bushings front and rear, none of which is shared with any other Saleen Mustang.

We drove a short route with Jones himself over the twisting hills of the Palos Verdes Peninsula where he lives.

The car is smoothly improved over the stock ‘Stang in every department. You feel the extra power and torque, naturally, but you also get much better steering feel and quicker cornering. The whole thing works together well; it’s not like a crude aftermarket setup with a monster blower and no brakes.

“I call the car ‘happy,'” said Jones. “It’s a lot of fun to drive, it’s a real balanced car, exceptionally balanced.”

Your checkbook better be exceptionally balanced if you want to buy one, though, since the price is $59,015. There will be only 500 made, and more than half of those are already ordered. If you want one, you’d better log onto www.saleen.com pronto.

Or maybe there’s no rush. Saleen points out that Jones’ teammate on that 1970 Trans-Am team was George Follmer, who drove an almost identical Boss 302 Mustang and has indicated he is not averse to a commemorative Mustang of his own. So you never know.

SALEEN/PARNELLI JONES LIMITED EDITION MUSTANG
ON SALE: Now
BASE PRICE: $59,015 (plus $1,300 gas-guzzler tax and $1,550 transportation)
DRIVETRAIN: 5.0-liter, 400-hp, 390-lb-ft V8; rwd, five-speed automatic
CURB WEIGHT: 3550 pounds
FUEL MILEAGE: n/a
0 to 60 MPH: 4.5 seconds (est.)

Motorsports News

JDM ENGINEERING TEASES NEW SPEEDLAB DRAG CAR

From Jim D’Amore III and our friends at JDM Engineering in Freehold, NJ.

Saleen Special Vehicles of Troy Michigan under guidance from General Manager Bryan Chambers recently completed a repaint and re-body of last years JDM race car.

Some of the special features include:
* Prototype Saleen carbon fiber hood and trunk lid
* Beryllium Copper Saleen custom color
* Complete S281 exterior and interior conversion
* Saleen exterior model designation
* 06-0009 honorary Saleen serial number

Driveline specs are as follows:
* 5.4 Ford GT short block
* CNC ported 3 valve heads
* SALEEN Series VI 5.4 liter S331 Supercharger Kit
* 9 secend ET’s

Read more at: http://www.modularfords.com/

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