Saleen S7
The Saleen S7 is an American hand-built, high-performance sports car designed and built by American automobile manufacturer Saleen Automotive Inc. Developed jointly by Steve Saleen for the initial concept, direction and engine, Hidden Creek Industries for resources and initial funding, Ray Mallock Ltd. (RML) for chassis, suspension and aerodynamics, and Phil Frank for the body and interior CAD design and development.
| Saleen S7 | |
|---|---|
| Overview | |
| Manufacturer | Saleen |
| Production | 2000–2009 |
| Assembly | United States: Irvine, California |
| Designer |
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| Body and chassis | |
| Class | Sports car (S) |
| Body style | 2-door coupé |
| Layout | Rear mid-engine, rear-wheel drive |
| Doors | Butterfly |
| Powertrain | |
| Engine | 427 cu in (7.0 L) Ford Windsor V8 (naturally aspirated / twin-turbocharged) |
| Power output | 550 hp (558 PS; 410 kW) (S7) 750 hp (760 PS; 559 kW) (S7 Twin Turbo) |
| Transmission | 6-speed manual |
| Dimensions | |
| Wheelbase | 106.3 in (2,700 mm) |
| Length | 188 in (4,775 mm) |
| Width | 78 in (1,981 mm) |
| Height | 41 in (1,041 mm) |
| Curb weight | 2,865 lb (1,300 kg) |
It was the first fully proprietary car produced by Saleen and became America's sixth mid-engine production sports car coming after the Pontiac Fiero, Consulier GTP, Mosler Raptor, Vector W8, and M12. The S7 debuted on August 19, 2000, at the Monterey Historic Races. The all-aluminium engine is a proprietary unit developed and built in house. It is a bored-and-stroked derivative of Ford's 351 Windsor small block, with Cleveland-style canted valve heads which have been extensively reworked and modified. Having a large displacement of 427 cubic inches (7.0 L) the engine is based on and has been developed around the more compact and lighter small-block architecture and is in fact not based on the FE big-block. It proved remarkably tractable and flexible for a high-output requirement—550 hp (410 kW) at 6,400 rpm. In 2005, the S7 gained a more powerful twin-turbocharged powerplant which boosted engine power to 750 hp (559 kW) and estimated top speed of 248 mph (399 km/h).