Tag Archives: S7R

Press Release

SALEEN S7R’s WIN SEVEN OUT OF TEN RACES THIS SEASON

Konrad Motorsports Faces Up Hill Battle At Sears Point

SONOMA, Calif., May 16, 2002 — While the Park Place Racing S7R of 2001 Grand-Am GTS Champion Chris Bingham has scored three straight victories in the Grand-Am Rolex Cup and the Saleen S7R of Graham Nash Motorsports has won three out of four races in the British and Spanish GT Championships, the Konrad Motorsports team is still looking for that elusive first win in the 2002 American Le Mans Series (ALMS).

Team owner, Franz Konrad, and co-driver, Terry Borcheller, last year’s ALMS GTS Drivers’ Champion, hope this weekend’s 2 hour 45 minute Grand Prix of Sonoma, presented by Foster’s Lager will be the time and the place for their first top podium finish of the year. The challenging 12-turn 2.52-mile up-and-down-hill event on the Sears Point circuit is the second ALMS round of the season, following the 12 Hours of Sebring in March.

Konrad Motorsports finished 3rd at the season-opening Rolex 24 at Daytona (a Grand-Am Rolex Cup race) and 2nd to the factory Corvette at Sebring. This latter podium finish was in spite of penalties assessed by the ACO that resulted in a 15% reduction in airflow to the engine, along with having to add 70 kilos (150+ lb) of lead to the car because of confusion over how many S7s have been produced.

Borcheller and Konrad are out to avenge their 3rd-place finish last year at Sears behind the Corvette Racing team, which will be back to defend their title with two cars, including the Corvette of Ron Fellows and Johnny O’Connell winner of last year’s GTS class at Sears. Last year Terry Borcheller put the Saleen on the pole and set fastest race lap, but the overall GTS win eluded the Konrad team when a problem occurred with its Goodyear tires. The team has switched to Pirelli tires this year, but unfortunately will have to race with a 10% restriction and 50 kilos of weight at Sears Point.

“We were really quick at Sears last year; the very first time an S7R has raced at that rack,” commented Borcheller. “Poles and fastest race laps are certainly satisfying, but this year Franz and I would prefer to put our Saleen in victory circle more often.”

Not that the Konrad team expects an easy time of it. Besides the Corvette factory racing team, the Konrad/Borcheller duo will face stiff competition from a GTS field that also includes Dodge Viper GTS-Rs and a newcomer to the ALMS, the Ferrari 550 Maranello.

ALMS cars will test the circuit for the first time on Friday, May 17, with official practice and qualifying to be held on Saturday, May 18. The race will be televised live by the SPEED Channel beginning at 4 p.m. on Sunday, May 19. Live coverage by the American Le Mans
Series Radio Web can be heard online at www.imsaracing.net beginning at noon with a one-hour pre-race show. ALMS Radio Web also will have two hours of coverage of qualifying for the Sears Point race with several drivers as special quests. The broadcast will start at 5 p.m. on Saturday May 18. Listeners will be able to email questions for the drivers to answer. The names of the drivers and the email address will be listed on the web site.

With four Saleen customer teams entered in four series around the world last year, the Saleen S7R customer teams set 27 poles and fastest laps and won 19 out of 32 races this season — quite possibly the finest inaugural race season for any marque in history. And, hopefully, more in store for 2002.

Saleen was crowned the SCCA World Challenge Champions in 1996-1998, while an ex-Le Mans Saleen SR won the Spanish FIA GT in 1999. In 2000, Saleen swept the Grand-Am GTO Championships winning the Team, Manufacturers’ and Drivers’ titles. Last season’s remarkable success with the S7R makes this the sixth straight GTS Manufacturers’ Championship for Saleen Motorsports — and looking for lucky #7!

Motorsports News

LATE RACING NEWS

By: N.A. on March 25, 2002
Original Article: AUTOWEEK, VOL. 52, ISSUE 13

Four F1 races on ABC
ABC Sports will televise four Formula One races this season. The network will televise the Grand Prix of Monaco on May 26, the Grand Prix of Canada on June 9, the Grand Prix of Italy on Sept. 14 and the U.S. Grand Prix on Sept. 29. The broadcasts from Canada and Indianapolis will be live, with Monaco shown at 3:30 p.m. Eastern and Italy at 1 p.m. Eastern.

Saleen penalized
The Saleen S7R was hit by a big performance penalty just before the opening round of the American Le Mans Series (page 41). The four GTS-class cars entered in the Sebring 12-hour were forced to run with 70kg of ballast and 15 percent smaller engine air restrictors. The penalties were applied because the Saleen failed to meet new eligibility regulations introduced over the winter. The California supercar builder received a total of three penalties, the biggest for failing to build the prerequisite number of road cars. Saleen headed into the race believing it could count three race S7Rs toward the 12-car production minimum. A rule clarification before the race meant the nine road cars in production were not enough. The extra weight and reduction in engine power meant the best of the Saleens qualified nearly 3.5 seconds behind the pole-winning Chevrolet Corvette C5-R. Tommy Erdos, who set the time in the Graham Nash Motorsport entry, said, “This is affecting us immensely. The weight hits us in the corners and straight-line speed is way down.” Both Saleen and Le Mans are confident the performance restrictions will be removed as the company meets the rules. Gerard Gaschet, one of the Le Mans rules bosses, said, “Step by step the penalties will disappear.”

Laguna revamp
Remember the quaint, mostly flat paddock at Laguna Seca? It’s history. By the time you read this, construction crews will be pouring concrete on the first new garages, hospitality suites and fancy restrooms as part of Laguna’s $15 million improvement project. Ten double-car garages and 12 hospitality suites along with numerous other improvements will be in place by the end of the 2002 race season. Twenty double garages and 29 hospitality suites will be in place by the end of the 2003 season. Further upgrades are planned beyond that. The CART, Superbike, Monterey Historics and Sports Car events will go on as planned. See www.laguna-seca.com for more.

Long signs with Manor
Patrick Long, the young American driver who finished second in last year’s British Formula Ford title chase, has signed with the powerful Manor Motorsports team for the 2002 British Formula Renault championship. Manor Motorsports has a strong record of success in both Formula Renault and Formula 3. Finn Kimi Raikkonen, now driving for McLaren in F1, captured the 2000 British Formula Renault championship in a Manor-prepared car. Raikkonen moved straight from Formula Renault to F1. Long ran British Formula Ford last year, winning three races and losing the championship at the last race. His runner-up position was the highest ever by an American in the class. Thirteen Formula Renault rounds will be held at 11 races. The 2002 season kicks off April 1 at Brands Hatch.

Motorsports News

LE MANS SERIES BACK FOR ANOTHER CRACK

By: GABRIELLE STEVENSON on July 18, 2001
Original Article: CONTRA COSTA TIMES (WALNUT CREEK, CA)

SAN FRANCISCO-After more than three months away from the racetrack, the American Le Mans Series gets back into action with this weekend’s X-Factor Grand Prix of Sonoma at Sears Point Raceway.

Four classes of cars-the Le Mans Prototype (LMP) 900, LMP 675, Grand Touring Series (GTS) and Grand Touring (GT) — compete simultaneously in Sunday’s 2-hour, 45-minute endurance race at the 12-turn, 2.52-mile road course.

This is the third event on the nine-race series schedule.

Terry Borcheller, who is the current points leader in the GTS class, is happy to be back in Sonoma. He’s been racing at Sears Point on a regular basis since 1991.

“I love this track,” the Saleen/Allen Speedlab team driver said at McCormick & Kuleto’s Seafood restaurant Wednesday. “Knowing this track is a bonus because some tracks you can learn over the weekend, and some you can’t. You can’t learn Sears Point (in one weekend). There are not a lot of places to pass, and there are elevation changes.

“I love the challenges of this track. The guys who don’t like the track don’t do well here. Otherwise, most road course drivers really like Sears Point.”

Sonoma’s Kevin Buckler (Porsche, GT class) is hoping he and teammate Tyler McQuarrie will have an advantage over the other drivers. McQuarrie, 25, is a series rookie but has been working at the Russell School of Racing, which is located at Sears Point.

“Tyler knows this track better than anyone,” Buckler said. “We were talking about a corner on the track, and he said, `You know, the one with the patch of cement with the little weed in the middle?’ I had no idea where he was talking about. Tyler is a very smart driver and is doing very well.”

As with every road course race, car setup is going to be one of the top concerns during practice sessions.

“You have to deal with winding corners and a track that can be violently bumpy,” Buckler said. “You have to have a happy medium in the setup. The tires are going to be a big issue too. Especially with the Porsche teams because you have corner after corner and the tires have a tendency to go away (lose tread and grip).”

For the first time in six years, the Trans-Am Series is returning to the Sonoma road course. The Wine Country 100, featuring points leader Paul Gentilozzi and 2000 series champion Brian Simo, will be held Saturday. Qualifying is Friday at 2:20 p.m., and the 100-mile race is set for 11:30 a.m. Saturday.

Danville’s Joahnnes van Overbeek (Porsche) also is back at Sears Point and will be competing in the Speedvision World Challenge feature race Sunday.

Practice and qualifying for several race classes start at 8 a.m. Friday. The American Le Mans race is noon Sunday.

Tickets for the event can be purchased at the track, online at www.searspoint.com or www.tickets.com or by calling 800-870-RACE. The cost is $5 for Friday, $25 for Saturday and $40 for Sunday, with parking included with each ticket. There also is a three-day pass for $50.

Press Release

SALEENS S7Rs RACE TO THE FINISH AT 24 HOURS OF LE MANS

LE MANS, June 17, 2001 – ABC’s Wide World of Sports has often suggested that sports involve the “thrill of victory and the agony of defeat.” Well, that may be true for athletic adventures that last for less than three hours, some less than ten seconds. But for those participating in the 24 Hours of Le Mans the emotions are more of sheer physical and mental exhaustion and the pride of finishing this momentous race.

At Le Mans, while winning is the ultimate objective for any manufacturer, the honor traditionally bestowed to those who finish this 24 hour marathon is timeless. At Le Mans, to finish is also victory.

That is why a few moments after the #1 Audi, the overall winner, crossed the finished line at 4 p.m. on Sunday, those gathered in the Saleen pit suite toasted the drivers and crews of the two Saleen S7Rs to finish the 2002 classic. Last year, the #60 Saleen/Allen Speedlab factory car gained a well-earned third-place podium finish in the Saleen S7R’s inaugural trip to Le Mans, setting the fastest lap en route.

This year, Saleen customer teams took the battle to the two factory Corvettes and a nest of Chrysler Vipers. The #68 RML/Graham Nash Saleen S7R finished fifth in GTS behind the #63 Corvette that won for the second-straight year at the 8.5-mile Sarthe Circuit. The #66 Konrad Motorsport, driven by last year’s podium mates Franz Konrad and Terry Borcheller, was seventh in class in spite of four hours lost replacing a gearbox that was
holed by a stone.

“We’re real proud of the effort put forth by our customer teams this year,” stated Steve Saleen, the creator of the S7R. “They not only had to compete against a well-financed factory effort, but also had to deal with a tremendous handicap imposed by the ACO. We are looking forward to the day that we can compete with the Vettes and the Vipers on a level playing field. We’re sure the result will be quite different.”

All three Graham Nash Motorsport Saleen S7Rs return to action in the British and Spanish GT Championships both of which they currently lead. The Konrad Motorsport Saleen S7Rs will battle the factory Corvettes in the next rounds of the American Le Mans series at Mid-Ohio (June 30) and Road America (July 7).

Motorsports News

FELLOWS PRAISES PIT CREW

By: N.A. on May 29, 2001
Original Article: TORONTO STAR (CANADA)

The Saleens were faster in the pre-qualifying session for next month’s 24 Hours of LeMans. But when it comes to the famed twice-around-the-clock race, Ron Fellows is confident his pit crew will carry the day for Corvette Racing.

“We were a couple of seconds faster than we were last year,” said Fellows, who will be honoured on June 7 as Mississauga’s athlete of the year. “But the Saleens were two seconds faster than us.”

“I’m not that worried, though. I think the Corvette is a faster car. And in the race we’ll have a far superior race team. At (the 12 Hours of) Sebring I think we would have been faster than the Saleens if it were not for the starter motor problems. We were 10 seconds faster than them in our pit stops and that’s a huge edge.”

Fellows will share the wheel with Johnny O’Connell and Scott Pruett. Pruett, a former CART driver who had an ill-fated, one-year run in NASCAR’s Winston Cup series last season, replaces Chris Kneifel, who retired as an active driver to become CART’s chief steward.

ASARO THIRD:
Unionville’s Billy Asaro, who won three consecutive U.S. Formula 2000 series races, settled for a third-place finish in Sunday’s rain-delayed “Night Before The Indy” event at Indianapolis Raceway Park, not to be confused with the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Asaro, who qualified seventh, managed to work his way up to third place and a spot on the podium for the fourth consecutive race, but was unable to catch Mexico’s Piero Rodate, who took his first checkered flag. Tommy Constantine of Greece was second.

BURTON CONFIDENT:
“I don’t want to sound facetious or cocky, but it felt normal,” NASCAR driver Jeff Burton said after Sunday’s win in the Coca-Cola 600. “Winning is what Roush Racing is all about.” Burton’s teammates Mark Martin and Kurt Busch were fourth and 12th respectively in the race.

TRIPLE HEADER?
When asked about second-place 600 finisher Kevin Harvick’s tongue-in-cheek plan to run 1,400 miles next Memorial Day weekend (the Grand National race at the speedway Saturday, then the Indy 500 and the Coca-Cola 600 Sunday), Tony Stewart said Harvick was fit enough to do so. “They just need to keep him out of bars,” Stewart quipped.

INDY FOLLOW-UP:
When Team Penske duo Helio Castroneves and Gil de Ferran finished 1-2 in Sunday’s Indianapolis 500 it marked only the third time teammates have crossed the finish line in that order. The last time was in 1999 when Arie Luwendyk won and Treadway Racing teammate Scott Goodyear, the Toronto native, was second. . . . Castroneves’ victory, following last year’s win by Juan Montoya, marked only the second time in race history that rookies have won in back-to-back years. . . . Scott Sharp was the fifth pole-sitter to finish last. Greg Ray ended up last a year ago after taking the pole. . . . Sharp was only the second pole-sitter not to complete even a lap of the race. The other was Roberto Guerrero. . . . Michael Andretti, who finished third but led briefly, became the only driver to lead the 500 in three different decades.

NEXT FOR CART:
Helio Castroneves and the five other CART drivers who raced in the Indy 500 return to the CART series this weekend with Sunday’s event at the Milwaukee Mile.

NASCAR TOPS:
NASCAR dominated a new ESPN poll measuring fan response to the favourite type of auto racing in the U.S.A. NASCAR won 55 per cent of votes while drag racing, with 12.2 per cent, outdistanced both open wheel (CART – 9.1 per cent) and F1 (3.9 per cent). Drag racing makes its only Canadian national event stop this weekend when the International Hot Rod Association tour visits the Grand Bend Motorplex. More than 30,000 attended the three-day event’s Canadian debut last June.

Motorsports News

LATE RACING NEWS

By: N.A. on May 21, 2001
Original Article: AUTOWEEK, VOL. 51, ISSUE 22

Weaver out at Bentley
James Weaver will not race for Bentley in this year’s Le Mans 24 Hours. Weaver pulled out of the recent pre-race test day for what the team described as personal reasons, and it will be confirmed this week that the 46-year-old has decided against taking his place in the second Bently EXP Speed 8. Speculation insists that he has expressed safety concerns in the wake of Audi driver Michele Alboreto’s death at the Lausitzring last month, a test at which Weaver was present with Bentley. Weaver is believed to be unhappy that the car is not fitted with tire-pressure sensors. Perry McCarthy appears the most likely replacement to team with Butch Leitzinger and Andy Wallace. He was on hand at the test day as a so-called reserve but didn’t drive.

Saleen to FIA GT?
Steve Saleen says his Sebring-winning S7R will be produced in sufficient numbers for it to be eligible for the FIA GT Championship next year. But a possible rule change could legislate away any possibility of his radical contender contesting the European-based series. Championship boss Stephane Ratel reckons that the present requirement for 25 road versions of each race car should be increased. “This series should be for high-volume production cars with which the public can identify, so to my mind 25 cars is not enough,” he said. The plan will be discussed in the coming weeks.

Prodrive illegal
Race and rally specialist Prodrive’s new Ferrari 550 Maranello racer has been declared illegal for the FIA GT Championship. The car was meant to debut in last weekend’s Silverstone round, but it was found to contravene the series rules on the eve of the meeting. The new car runs a transverse Xtrac racing gearbox in place of the road car’s longitudinal original, but the rules stipulate that the orientation of the transmission must remain the same. Prodrive insist that only the orientation of the gear cluster has been changed and that the gearbox still runs fore and aft and therefore is legal. A clarification was being sought ahead of this weekend’s round at Zolder, Belgium.

Donlavey taps Simo
Winston Cup team owner Junie Donlavey has hired TransAm Series champ Brian Simo to drive Donlavey’s Ford at Sears Point in June and Watkins Glen in August. Simo will replace Hut Stricklin for those two Cup races. “We’ll be doing some testing prior to the Sears Point race,” Simo said. Donlavey is hoping to get the team’s road-course car ready to test at Virginia International Raceway before Sears.

Motorsports News

FELLOWS HOPES CORVETTE TAKES REVENGE AT LE MANS

By: N.A. on March 20, 2001
Original Article: TORONTO STAR (CANADA)

Ron Fellows wants another shot at the competition he calls “the thing” and this time with a healthy Corvette C5-R.

But he’ll have to wait until June 16-17 when he crosses the pond to France for the famed 24 Hours of Le Mans.

The “thing” is the U.S.-funded, British-built Saleen S7R, a newcomer to the American Le Mans series, which will also contest the event, after which the U.S. series run by Don Panoz is named.

The Saleen beat the Corvettes for the first time this season in the 12 Hours of Sebring (Fla.) to capture the GTS class. A prototype Audi won the overall race.

While he concedes that the Saleen is “pretty fast,” Fellows doesn’t believe it belongs in the GTS class.

“But it’s there and so we have to figure out a way to beat it,” said the Mississauga native. “There’s nothing like a challenge.”

Fellows attempt to beat the Saleen at Sebring was hampered by a faulty starter motor which had to be changed twice during the race and cost the team 10 laps.

Fellows knows both he and the second Corvette, which finished second in the class at Sebring while Fellows was third, will have their work cut out for them at Le Mans.

“It’ll have a big advantage at Le Mans because it’s narrower and lower and it’s a proper race car,” he said. “It looks a lot like the Porsche GT1. It sure looked like it in my rearview mirror and following it, too.”

CYCLING FATALITY:
The auto racing world is mourning the death of champion driver Bob Wollek who was killed when he was struck while riding his bicycle near Sebring International Raceway last Friday.

He was in Sebring for the 24-hour endurance race on Saturday, which he won in 1985.

The 57-year-old native of Strasbourg, France, won the 24 Hours of Daytona four times and two class wins in the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Last year, he won five American Le Mans Series events.

Wollek was riding his bike near the track late in the afternoon when he was hit from behind by a car. The accident is still under investigation by the Florida Highway Patrol.

RETIREMENT SUPPORTED:
Readers of the U.S. racing publication AutoWeek 69 per cent in favour of NASCAR breaking with tradition and retiring the No. 3 of legendary Winston Cup driver Dale Earnhardt, who was killed in a crash during last month’s Daytona 500.

Even many among the 31 per cent opposed to retiring the number expressed the view that removing the number from view on the track would cause people to eventually forget Earnhardt’s contributions.

SUPER SUB:
Oakville’s Kenny Wilden, substituting for injured American driver Leighton Reese, finished a strong third in Trans-Am Series 100, a support event of the 12 Hours of Sebring, this past weekend.

Wilden, driving the Banner Engineering Chevrolet Corvette, passed Johnny Miller’s Jaguar XKR on lap 26 to gain a spot on the podium behind winner Boris Said and runner-up Paul Gentilozzi.

CART GRADS:
Brazilian Tarso Marques, whose top finish in 17 CART races last year for Gerald Forsythe Racing was seventh in the final race of the 2000 season on the California Speedway super oval, finished 14th in Sunday’s Malaysian Grand Prix. Two former CART champions, Jacques Villeneuve and Juan Montoya, both failed to finish the race.

Editorial

FORD-POWERED SALEEN S7R INTO PRODUCTION

By: LARRY ROBERTS on March 6, 2001
Original Article: www.theautochannel.com

Apparently the fortunes of Steve Saleen and his small Southern California car building company are getting better all the time. You might recall that Saleen is the sports car enthusiast-turned-builder who has made his mark in the automotive world as the producer of a line of “sporting” vehicles that have ranged from small trucks that raced in the old SCCA mini-truck road racing series to a line of sports cars that bear the Saleen name.

In truth, all the cars were modified Ford products, the most notable being the various Ford Mustangs that he customized until they were hardly recognizable. Some may dismiss this concept of modifying a currently produced vehicle from a large auto maker and attaching the modifiers own name and logo, but we need only point to the products of Shelby America. Carroll Shelby made his name and reputation on modifying British AC Ace roadster and Ford Mustangs and calling them Shelby Cobras and Shelby GT 350 coupes.

Steve Saleen has followed in the 35-year old footsteps of Carroll Shelby and has gone into production of Ford-powered exotic “supercars” of the same genre of Lamborghini, Ferrari and Lotus. The Saleen S7 was developed from a clean sheet of paper and unlike other Saleen products, uses only proprietary parts such as a Ford twin-cam engine.

But Saleen has also taken a page from Shelby’s book on automotive success and is producing a professional endurance racing sports-racer to compete in national and international events. To that end Saleen’s racing department, Saleen Allen Speedlab, has developed a racing version of its S7 exotic, the S7R, to be campaigned as a “production” car in the various classes in a plethora of sanctioning bodies. Originally the drivers for the factory team were to consist of the multi-national team of Tom Kendall, Oliver Gavin, Terry Borcheller and Ron Johnston driving a single car. The S7R is classed with cars such as the factory-entered Chevrolet Corvette C5R, recent winner of the Daytona 24 hour race, the all-conquering Oreca Dodge Vipers and a half-dozen other brands.

But now Saleen reports that he has contracted to build S7R race cars for so many independent teams that his own effort will have to be delayed. The first of these “privateers” is Paul Gentilozzi, two-time national champion in the SCCA Pro Racing Trans Am series. Gentilozzi drove his Rocketsport-entered S7R at the Rolex Daytona 24 Hour race and while his qualifying times were as good as any in the class, the car went out after 50 laps with undisclosed mechanical problems.

Saleen had planned to prove his S7R in competition and then sell five or six replicas to “privateers” after the 24 Hours of Le Mans race this coming June. But orders up front have taken precedence and his efforts will be concentrated on the orders at hand, some of which are planned to compete at Le Mans by their new owners.

And what could be sweeter for a race car builder than to have customers waiting in the wings to drive a yet unproven machine.

We’ll have to wait and see.

Press Release

GENTILOZZT & ROCKETSPORTS TO RUN SALEEN S7R

First Customer Car to Compete in Rolex 24 at Daytona

IRVINE, Calif., Dec. 18, 2000 – Steve Saleen, six-time GT Manufacturer’s Champion in sports car racing, announced today that Paul Gentilozi and his Rocketsports Racing will run a Saleen S7R in the 2001 Rolex 24 scheduled for Feb. 5-6 at Daytona International Speedway.

Gentilozzi, the “Rocket Man”, won the 12 Hours of Sebring in 1992, the IMSA GTS Manufacturer’s Championship in 1993 and the Rolex 24 at Daytona in 1994. But he is best known as a fierce competitor in the Trans-Am Series where Gentilozzi is the two-time (’98 & ’99) Trans-Am Driver’s Champion and first all-time in starts, “Fast Five’’ starts and top-five finishes. Most recently, Gentilozzi barely missed a “three-peat” finishing second in the 2000 Trans-Am Driver’s Championship.

“We have always prided ourselves a5 being innovative racers at Rocketsports,” stated Gentilozzi. “The opportunity to compete in the jewd of endurance racing in a truly innovative race car was too much to pass up. The Saleen S7R has set a new standard for its class and deserves a win. We intend to be part of that first victory.”

While Saleen will be providing customer support to Rocketsports Racing for the assault on the Rolex, Saleen/Allen Speedlab will use January to concentrate on the development and testing of the S7R to insure a more competitive product for future customers.

“We’re thrilled to have Paul and his Rocketsports Racing running our first customer car, especially at the Rolex,” commented Saleen. “Everyone who follows sports car racing knows of Paul’s competitive nature; he never backs away from challenge. We’re dedicated to a major customer car program with the Salem S7R and we’d be hard pressed to find a better team to run our first customer car.”

The Saleen S7R debuted at Laguna Seca this fall less than two months after its sibling the Saleen S7, was introduced as the first true American supercar at the famed Monterey Historic Races at this same venue. Since then, development of the 7-liter Vg-powered, 6OO-horsepower racecar has been top priority at Saleen’s Southern California-based headquarters. The ACO, ALMS, FIA and Grand-Am have all approved the racecar’s design and Saleen hopes that customer cars will be competing in each ofthe series this year.

Saleen recently announced plans to campaign two Saleen S7R5 in the entire 2001 ALMS season, as well as the 24 Hours of Le Mans. The racecars are expected to compete against the Chevrolet Corvettes and the Dodge Vipers in the GTS classification.

Already the famed racing marque, Ecune Ecosse, announced this month that they will campaign a Saleen S7R in the British GT Championship, as well as the 24 Hours of Le Mans. The Ecuria Ecosse effort will be managed by RML, Saleen’s technical partner who assisted in the design and production of the Saleen S7R.

In addition, Saleen hopes to announce plans for another customer to compete a Saleen S7R in the 2001 &and-Am GT Championship, a series which Saleen/Allen Speedlab won the Driver’s, Manufacturer’s and Team Championships last year.

Saleen facilities include total research, engineering, design and assembly capability. Saleen is certified with the federal government as a specialty vehicle manufacturer. Since the company’s inception in 1934, Saleen has produced over 8JOO vehicles, more than any other specialty manufacturer. The company’s line includes the Saleen S281, the Saleen xP8 SUV, the new Saleen 57 supercar, Saleen Engineering and Certification Service, and Saleen Performance Parts, the latter encompassing the complete line of performance and appearance products for Mustangs and Explorers. For more information about Saleen – its people and its products – visit the web site at www.saIeen.com.

Automotive News

THE NEWS

By: N.A. on December 4, 2000
Original Article: AUTOWEEK, VOL. 50, ISSUE 51

DECEMBER 4, 2000

To misquote Shakespeare, all the world’s a rally and we’re putting you center stage. World Rally driver Richard Burns topped the competition in the Britain (apge 50) and Subaru is already dreaming about what it–and you– will do with its rally-inspired Impreza WRX (Headliner, page 9). Over at Pontiac, the REV is only a concept (Cover Story) but a powerful little all-wheel-driver that claims rally inspiration, too. The yearlong rally is over for our long-term Beetle (page 18), which ran stronger than we expected. Maserati won’t rally anything but its troops, to put a new Spider (below) at an auto show near you in the not-too-distant future.

Mysterious Maserati Spider
Maserati’s Spider will take center stage in the future model lineup and should serve Maserati well for its return to the North Ameri-can market in 2001. Insiders say the car now meets emission regulations of both the American and European markets.

Compared with the coupe version, the new Spider’s wheelbase is slightly shorter. The Spider reportedly will also get an all-new, highly tuned 4.0-liter V8 engine, a derivative of the Ferrari 360 Modena powerplant. With assistance from parent company Ferrari, during the next two years Maserati’s new V8 engine also will be adapted to the coupe and the next-generation Quattroporte sedan.

Company officials declined comment on reports the Spider will be launched at either the Detroit or Los
Angeles auto show.

First Viper GTS-R, now Saleen S7
The engineer responsible for turning the Dodge Viper concept into a production car and then into the Viper GTS-R racer is joining Saleen as chief engineering officer.

Neil Hannemann, whose 18-year career centered on ultra-high-performance street and competition vehicles first at Chrysler and then at DaimlerChrysler, will lead Saleen’s product development and certification programs, including work on the S7 supercar.

Pinto’s revenge?
Years after the federal government complained that Ford’s Pinto exploded on rear impact, the feds are proposing that cars and trucks be built to withstand a 50-mph rear-end collision with virtually no loss of fuel.

The proposed new rule comes more than five years after General Motors agreed to fund research in rear-crash testing to avoid a recall of its full-size pickups outfitted with sidesaddle fuel tanks. Critics contended the sidesaddle tanks contributed to fuel fires in crashes.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administra-tion estimates the tougher standard could save up to 21 lives per year over the existing 30-mph rear-impact requirement. The agency says the regulation would add $5 to the cost of each vehicle. Industry lobbyists are still formulating their response to the proposal, but in the past they have advocated improved testing.
Car of the Year–Japanese-style

Honda Civic is the 21st Japanese Car of the Year, beating its direct rival Toyota Corolla, according to a poll of Japanese automotive journalists.

The Subaru Impreza WRX received the Car of the Year special award and the Mercedes-Benz C-Class received the Imported Car of the Year award. Cars built in Japan between Nov. 1, 1999, and Oct. 31, 2000, were eligible.

Obituary
Bill Devin, an automobile industry pioneer once referred to as “the Enzo Ferrari of Okie Flats,” died Nov. 22. He was 85.

Starting as a Chrysler-Plymouth dealer in Fontana, California, Devin moved up to exotic cars and eventually specialized in racing Ferraris. His dream of becoming a car builder materialized in 1954 with the fiberglass-bodied Devin-Panhard. He ultimately became the world’s largest producer of aftermarket fiberglass bodies in the 1950s. In 1958, he introduced the Devin SS, powered by a Corvette V8, and also produced the Porsche- or Volkswagen-powered Devin D and Corvair-powered Devin C.