05 Saleen s281 @ Anaheim Auto Show

NCHorseplay said:

In the pictures the badge on the sides say "supercharged". did they just stick that on there to show what it would look like or is the supercharger hiding under there somewhere?

also are those tips fake? look at the pics in the saleen club link.

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Yes, the Saleen is supercharged. It is "mounted backwards" to the current Mustangs, and is making 400hp.

On the show car the tips are both turndowns and center exhaust. I am waiting for a call back from Saleen on what the production car is going to have, center exhaust or "standard" exhaust. Some Vettes used to have 4 tail pipes come off the muffles, but only 2 were funtional, as the other 2 were blocked off.

More on the Supercharger, from the VP of Saleen Engineering:

The blower is new and not “bolt-on”. Lysholm screws are integrated into a unique, cast aluminum Saleen intake manifold. Air is drawn in through the stock throttle body over the top of the engine and makes a u-turn at the firewall, into the rear of the blower. The intake runners are “long and straight”. The whole assembly sits low in the engine bay, similar to the Allen M90 setup.

I like! Time to trade in the 99!

RE: The exhaust

It is what Saleen is calling "Dual on demand exhaust pipes"

For day to day driving the engine flows through the two main pipes in the rear center, but when you jump on the gas a valve opens allowing the exhaust to exit thru two additional pipes that are tucked up and under, the ones coming off the mufflers.

Due to D.O.T. “pass by” testing requirements Saleen had to turn the secondary pipes downward at the tips so the sound was bounced off the pavement rather than flowing straight out the rear.

Here is a shot of the motor:

I had the chance to see the car Monday evening during the photo shoot (the outdoor shots of it out on the road were taken up at my work place) and it took me a few minutes to really appreciate all the work they have done.

First off, can't stand the rims and the rear wing immediately made me think recycled S351 as well. But, when I chatted with Steve about the styling he told me that he wanted to do something with a little more class and refinement rather than a bunch of body parts that look like they were just thrown onto the car.

Later when I remarked to one of the marketing guys about how the rear end reminded me of the S7 he said that they took a lot of styling ques from the S7 as well as some from a few of their other cars as well.

Re: the on demand dual exhausts... when back pressure reaches a certain point a bypass or blow-by valve opens to allow the second set of pipes to flow - not sure if this benefits noise, emissions, or performance. I've heard this technology is already out there on a couple other cars and Saleen thought enough of it to integrate it into the new 281.

I never got a chance to hear the car at any decent speed as they were basically making slow passes in front of the camera, but I can tell you it has a nice deep rumble at lower RPM's. When I asked about the upper end they confirmed the turned down tips of the secondary pipes were indeed for DOT "pass by" noise requirements during the certification process.

Also, FWIW, I was told this is the most advanced car they have done to date and it carries about 10x more goodies than any of their cars in the past.

Brett

With there production addition in Troy Michigan it allows them to do more then ever before. This gives them the ability to do better production and quality control then in the past.

The '05 is an example of this. It will be truly a "factory" car, not just a "tuner" car.

That is one sweet car. I will definitely be purchasing the new Saleen S281 s/c!!

KungFu said:

The car looks very nice. However not nice enough to constitute the lofty price tag. $60K for the 500HP version. at the buyers when the C6 Z06 will stomp the crap out of it in all aspects. JMO of course.

I would like to see more angles of the Roush. A mustang shouldn't cost close to $40K, modded or not. $40K for a S281 not even the SC version, or $40 or less for a slightly used Z06 putting out 80 more ponies at that. Oh well.

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I dont know about handling...but quality wise there's no way a vette will be nicer than the saleen.

kirkyg