As far as car designers go, Steve Saleen is a legend among legends. The man responsible for six generations of Saleen Mustangs is back in the game with a new offering. It’s called the S1 supercar, and it’s a furious little piece that packs a walloping 450-horsepower on a 2,685-pound carbon fiber body. The S1 made its presence known at the 2017 Los Angeles Auto Show, and it’s the latest masterpiece from a mind that's responsible for giving us more Saleen Mustangs than our fragile hearts could handle. Oh, and he’s also the architect of the S7 supercar, the 550-horsepower supercar that blew everyone’s mind back in 2001. The S1 is the latest in a long line of iconic builds, and it’s arrived to take money out of our wallets. Are your bank accounts ready?
There’s something to be said for a supercar that packs the kind of power and performance that the S1 supercar has. It features a 2.5-liter turbocharged inline-four engine that produces 450 horsepower and 350 pound-feet of torque. The numbers add up to a car that can sprint from 0 to 60 mph in just 3.5 seconds before peaking at a top speed of 180 mph. Those are serious capabilities for a car that weighs just 2,865 pounds. The prevailing thought suggests that there has to be a rub to this kind of packaging.
Well, there is none; the S1 is what it is. There are no hidden agendas tied to the car, and that includes its price tag of just $100,000. That figure is roughly the same starting price as the new Porsche 911 Carrera T, a sports car that offers 80 less horsepower than Saleen’s new pride and joy. The S1’s affordable price tag is no accident either; it’s part of Saleen’s long-term strategy to make the car cheap enough to allow for higher sales and bigger production volumes. The company does have a goal of building 1,500 to 2,000 units per year in the US alone. A similar number is being eyed in the European market to go with a “substantial” number of models over in China.
If you’re interested in getting an early slice of the Saleen S1, now’s as good a time as any to get in on the action as the automaker is already taking $1,000 deposits for the sports car.
References
Saleen S1
Saleen to Bring New S1 Sports Car to L.A Auto Show.
Artega GT
Read our full review on the 2011 Artega GT.
Read more 2017 Los Angeles Auto Show news.