After a few thousand blind lane changes our opinion on these window covers remains the same: They stink. The transmission gearing is not stratospheric in the upper cogs. This doesn't include $2,660 Gas Guzzler tax, nor sales taxes ($6,537 in our corner of the country), licenses, or dealer prep charges.
Descriptive, but a mouthful.Looking down the stock center stack of familiar Shaker 500 sound and HVAC controls brings us to the shifter, which Saleen has fitted with a nicely turned-out leather boot to match the seat upholstery, along with a smallish, tapered cylinder of a shift handle, also done in hide-like trim.
Our thought is Saleen is headed upmarket, similar to the migration Porsche made from curio sports car maker to exotic marque decades ago.As for Steve Saleen, he's no longer associated with, represents, or has any position in the company that bears his name. You're home free in Third, except by this point you're already felony-fast.
Until late spring of 2007, Hancock Park remained in the background to outside observers behind company founder and front man Steve Saleen. A special Black Label addition has even greater adjustments with Racecraft control arms and specially made shocks.Iron City Ford can help you custom order your Saleen high-performance vehicle today! 2008 Ford Mustang Saleen S302E Sterling Extreme 44139, Solon, Cuyahoga County, OH . So, even more power could be made from this combination should the driver be willing to carefully monitor temperatures and environmental conditions, which we highly recommend against in a street car.As it is, the power curve is wonderfully linear and easy to drive, and the lie-detector Dynojet shows the Saleen power ratings are correct assuming an 18 percent driveline loss or slightly more power under ideal test conditions.Saleen has been owned by Hancock Park, an investment and holding firm, for approximately four years.
"Saleen is no longer the vision of one man--it is the collective passion of each employee," the press release concludes.
The 2008 Mustang Saleen comes with five engine options: -->Saleen S281 (4.6L 335hp V8), and a -->Saleen 302 Extreme (S302-E) (4.9L 620hp extreme supercharged V8). The overall affect is of a Mustang interior that has only what needed upgrading changed: a bit of welcome subtlety. The standard engine for any Saleen S302 model is the highly-capable 5.0L PFDI V8 engine.
What does stay with you is that Second gear rush.
They're upholstered in black leather with white stitching, and the workmanship was excellent--absolutely worthy of a mainstream OEM. A tastefully subdued serial number plaque is glued to the far right of the dash. This site, and all information and materials appearing on it, are presented to the user "as is" without warranty of any kind, either express or implied.
We always knew Saleen would be offering the PJ's bodywork and expensive engine in future models, as both were far too pricey to develop and certify for a mere 500 model run.
A. Autabuy 30+ days ago.
This really is a daily driver Mustang with easy ingress/egress, normal sight lines (save for the quarter-window covers--more on which later), a plushly elegant cabin, relatively low noise, no racy rattles or vibrations, normal control efforts--in short, all the comforts of home.But mat the gas in any gear and it's anything but normal. All vehicles are subject to prior sale.
The driver is in full control, backed up by the traction control, which understands that power-induced wheelspin is necessary for the expert driver, but is ultimately not going to let things get out of hand.So reassured, we found the Extreme a great partner even when it came time to jump into busy traffic flows from side streets or merge onto flying freeway traffic from long uphill ramps.
And some things never seem to change, such as the Saleen-specific HID headlights that were maladjusted to shine about a yard in front of the hood, or the check engine light that lit for no apparent reason. The frontend doesn't feel so heavy.
Enjoy a supercharged version of the classic Saleen powertrain that churns out 700+ horsepower. Likewise, the exhaust has a purposeful growl, not enough to render the stereo totally useless but absolutely part of the environment. By foregoing the S281 Supercharged's vented aluminum hood and big brakes, the Red Flag squeaks under the $50,000 mark to hopefully prevail in the battle of the blower Mustangs. This is keeping him fully occupied, but having known Steve for 20 years, we don't believe he's left high-performance cars behind forever.By far, 2008 marks the largest Saleen lineup in the company's 25-year history.
three new Saleen Mustang models. It has more power, more attitude, and more exclusivity than the others.
Curiously, it's not new for 2008, but is rather mainly a carryover from 2007, when the company quietly produced small numbers of the uber-Mustang essentially in its current form. We won't count the tire-pressure-monitoring fault code, as those seem to illuminate with every new car we test.In the end, those concerns faded to the rear, just as the scenery does when the Extreme throttle opens wide.