Saleen Raptor to Debut at NYIAS

[nthfinity]

[enzoferrari]

very old news,but cool,I dont know why Saleen is not as famous as it deserves.

[styla21]

Originally Posted by enzoferrari very old news,but cool,I dont know why Saleen is not as famous as it deserves.

Because there is limited engineering and development toward chassis, drivetrain and dynamics. Further, they are the most uncomfortable, driver-unfriendly cars around. Riding a horse bareback would be more comfortable.
(I will credit the insane amounts of horsepower they create however.)
**Dons flame-proof suit**

[MidEngine4Life]

Thats a new car? Oh oops i see it now I was distracted by the yellow

[79TA]

Hmm, I'm skeptical. Where and when was this picture taken? If it were Irvine, I'm sure I could find a picture with that particular grey pole in it, but I can't.

[MidEngine4Life]

Originally Posted by 79TA Hmm, I'm skeptical. Where and when was this picture taken? If it were Irvine, I'm sure I could find a picture with that particular grey pole in it, but I can't.

"We managed to get our hands on this photo that shows a clay model of what inside sources tell us is the initial design of an all-new car being considered for development by Saleen at its Irvine assembly plant. While representatives from Saleen would not officially comment as to what is in the photo, our best guess is that they are looking to put to use their knowledge and experience gained from the construction of the Ford GT for Ford. In fact, with the GT no longer in production, a car similar to the Ford GT might be exactly what Saleen is shooting for. After all, they have the facility in which the GT was built, the father of the Ford GT, Chris Theodore, is now Saleen's chief technology officer, and they gained a wealth of experience building a new car from scratch with the S7 program. Theodore has even hinted at the possibility of an all-new Saleen. "I have many ideas," he stated to TheCarConnection.com, "and some of them are inspired by the Ford GT. That car sold very well for around $150,000. So why not think in that direction when we talk about a new supercar? May be an S3 or an S5?" We can only hope."

[satcomvato]

I think it's a pretty cool idea if they can get the price down from the S7. They can utilize their Ford partnership, compete with the ZR1 and capture some of that 100K-150K market. Also, with the rumored 2011 end to the Viper, there should be some additional freed-up market share.

[79TA]

Well, I'll tell you right now that no such things are happening at the Irvine plant.

[HeilSvenska]

If any new car's going to be developed, it's going to be at the Troy facility, even if Saleen's going to leave an office sized crew here. I don't know how long they're going to keep the Irvine counterpart open.

[79TA]

^ not very. I wouldn't give it more than a year.

[nthfinity]

Originally Posted by HeilSvenska If any new car's going to be developed, it's going to be at the Troy facility, even if Saleen's going to leave an office sized crew here. I don't know how long they're going to keep the Irvine counterpart open.

The Troy facility isn't going anywhere anytime soon.

It's just a VERY sad state when Steve Saleen is consulting some chinese manufacturer about coming to the US....

[79TA]

Ok, time for some clarification. The picture was taken at Troy and that model isn't exactly news. Of course, the article referenced by midengined never said where the picture was taken. It only said that they might build it in Irvine. Now, however, it's quite apparent that no such operations will be taking place in Irvine. Also, the car connection article talked about how Saleen sales had increased. They forgot to mention the sudden drop off of the last 4 or so months.

Originally Posted by styla21 Because there is limited engineering and development toward chassis, drivetrain and dynamics. Further, they are the most uncomfortable, driver-unfriendly cars around. Riding a horse bareback would be more comfortable. (I will credit the insane amounts of horsepower they create however.) **Dons flame-proof suit**

Uhm yea, they're racecars for the street. Jim Carrey is often quoted as saying it's like being inside a coffin. I wouldn't put the blame on the development of the chassis or drivetrain and "dynamics" though. It's meant to be a light car with a ton of power with a nice interior. The nice interior part wasn't as much of a priority as the lightness and power.

Oh, and Saleen finally updated their website.

[enzoferrari]

Oh, and Saleen finally updated their website.

link please?

[HeilSvenska]

Saleen.com?

[79TA]

Yea, Saleen.com

http://www.saleen.com/default.asp