Saleen S1 supercar debuts with modest figures, including price

Saleen Automotive, famed for their legendary S7 supercar and tuner Mustangs, has made a comeback of sorts with an all-new rather affordable supercar. This new US$ 100,000 machine is tagged the Saleen S1 and made its debut at the 2017 Los Angeles Motor Show.

The design of the Saleen S1 is all-new. The carbon fibre body is built over an aluminium chassis which keeps the weight down to 1,218 kg. The design is handsome with edgier lines than the older Saleen S7, although the latter looks more like a supercar. The swooping tail rises up at the end where it forms a spoiler. The gorgeous 20-inch wheels hide some massive brakes.

The mill that’s powering the 2018 Saleen S1 is a turbocharged 2.5-litre inline-four engine that was built in-house by Saleen. Rumours had it that Saleen was going to source the engine from some other manufacturer, but they chose to build the engine themselves as it offers “more control over its engineering.” This engine produces 450 hp and 474 Nm of torque, which is enough to power the Saleen S1 from 0 to 100 kph in just over 3.7 seconds. The top speed is claimed to be close to 290kph. The gearbox available as standard is a six-speed manual unit and a dual-clutch gearbox with paddle shifters will be offered at “some point”.

Along with the release of this new model, Saleen plans to open 50 showrooms across the United States. The customers who sign up for buying the 2018 Saleen S1 will start receiving their cars from “late summer 2018.” There are no plans to open up shop in the GCC that we know of.