Ford Flexes Its Muscles--on the Street
Among hordes who re-engineer the flexible Ford Mustang into a thoroughbred of quite a different color, none works mightier wizardry than Steve Saleen.
Since 1984, the Irvine-laired Great Saleeni has transformed more than 3,500 genteel Mustangs into limited-edition ruffians.
Heavyweight boxing champ George Foreman and middleweight rock star Jon Bon Jovi own Saleen Mustangs. In a blazing display of faith in his own product, so does Alex Trotman, chairman of Ford Motor Co.
With heavily fortified horsepower, anchor-strength brakes and suspensions reworked until unrecognizable, Saleen Mustangs have won Sports Car Club of America endurance championships and currently campaign SCCA’s World Challenge Series.
Yet it is on the street and beneath suburban carports where the Saleen Mustang earns its daily bread and the worship of motoring disciples seeking the lust and sinew of race cars in their commuter cars.
And it is significant that the corporate godparent thinks enough of this population, and car, to sell Saleens through Ford dealers.
For there is serious buyer comfort in knowing your hot hybrid meets 50 state emissions standards, is backed by Ford financing and servicing and arrives with a three-year / 36,000-mile factory warranty.
For Ford, however, there’s greater relief in being able to sell a Mustang that can match stopwatches with Chevrolet’s bare-knuckle Camaro Z28.
Until Saleen went showroom, the fastest car in Ford’s arsenal was the limited-production Mustang Cobra. It is rough and fast. But the urge from the Cobra’s 240-horsepower V-8 lags the Camaro Z28 that rollicks and snarls behind a 275-horsepower engine transplanted from the Corvette.
A Saleen Mustang calls up 371 horsepower from its V-8. And that’s more than enough to bloody Camaro’s nose while restoring bragging rights to Ford.
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Saleen’s 1995 series is four cars based on the current generation of 5.0-liter Mustang GTs, but upgraded by Ford’s 5.7-liter engine. There’s an S351 Coupe, Convertible and Speedster with the 371-horsepower engine and prices from $39,000 to $48,000. Coupe and Speedster also are available in supercharged form, which ups the price by $6,244 but pumps the engine to 480 horsepower.
If that’s not enough jalapeno juice for your soul, if you are an Encino banker with a Jack-the-Ripper fetish, then there’s a stripped, super-lightweight, mostly carbon-fiber Saleen SR for racing that costs $59,000 and travels in a 550-horsepower blur.
In recent months, most automotive glossies have staged shootouts among current muscle cars, production and modified.
They report a base Saleen S351 is quicker than the Z28 from standstill through triple digits. The Camaro, however, is a whisker faster at the limit, clocking 155 m.p.h. versus 147 m.p.h. for Saleen. But when the supercharged Saleen gets into the act, humiliation of the Camaro is total.
Having said that, it must be remembered that a Saleen S351 costs double the beans required to buy an $18,000 Z28.
Then when you’ve decided it simply isn’t worth it, you realize that the distinction, and Ventura Boulevard snob value of owning a Saleen may very well be worth whatever it costs.
Although no wife will insist you buy one.
“This car,” noted Mrs. Dean, “is not elegant.”
She had a point. The 1995 Saleen Speedster will never be invited to the ballet. It is a supercharged chunk of mayhem; highly sophisticated in its technology, but crossbred and genetically enhanced for the sole purpose of traveling at three times the national speed limit.
Conversely, laudably it is no unruly collection of unrelated tweaks or aftermarket bolt-ons.
As with every Saleen Mustang, each Speedster is disassembled before undergoing the master’s rebuild. No equipment is added that is not in harmony with allied systems. No mechanical refinement is included that might compromise the gospel according to Saleen--to produce race-bred street cars for enthusiasts who appreciate balance and can read optimums of handling and braking.
So the faithful Ford V-8 receives aluminum cylinder heads, an improved intake manifold, Saleen headers, a Saleen camshaft and a Saleen / Borla stainless-steel exhaust system. A new five-speed, quick-ratio manual transmission and balanced drive shaft upgrade the drive line. Gargantuan anti-roll bars, urethane bushings, tougher struts and variable rate springs build the suspension to competition levels, although the ride falls far south of harsh.
Completing the Speedster’s optional performance package is a Vortech supercharger and humongous everything. Eighteen-inch magnesium wheels. Thirteen-inch disc brakes with huge calipers to wrangle all that power. Competition tires that leave grizzly-sized footprints.
None of these goodies could be considered superfluous on a car that rockets from rest to 60 m.p.h. in five seconds. Which is almost hub-to-hub with a Lamborghini Diablo.
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Most impressive is being part of a fine car that only gets better as the pace picks up, as a driver gets down to business and the Speedster’s high-priced mechanicals decide there is serious fun to be done.
Pushed medium hard, the car is not a bucking brute. Sure, with 480 horsepower splaying the rear rubber it’s easy to develop chirps and slides back there. But Saleen’s suspension keeps a firm rein, even adding a smooth transition to the process. So figure a gentle easing of traction rather than a Ferrari-Corvette-Viper whip-snap from grip to zip in a gulp.
In truth, when driven with political correctness and displaying paternal tolerance to Honda Civics, Saturns and other freeway users, the Speedster is a remarkably civilized car. Pedal pressures are light, their travel well measured--particularly clutch lift--and the gear box is smooth enough to be Asian.
Saleen changes the Mustang’s already attractive silhouette with a handsome, effective aerodynamic package including front and rear fasciae, new side skirts, a Batmobile rear wing and a lightweight carbon-fiber hood.
There’s also a cushioned roll bar and a hard tonneau with fairings cued by the racing histories of Porsche and Jaguar. The tonneau is easily removable--although it cannot be stored in the car--to reveal occasional rear seats and the Mustang convertible’s standard soft top.
Seats are comfortably bolstered and by Recaro. Dials are white-faced and the speedometer begs double takes because it winds up to 200 m.p.h. But as with dash gauges to measure boost and fuel pressure, it’s there to suggest extraordinary performance, not substantiate it.
What might be unacceptable to lovers of fine music is the shrieking clatter that sprays from the supercharger at idle speeds. It has to do with the cut of the gears. It sounds like a possum caught in a garbage disposal.
Fast cars are expected to be low cars, although Saleen may have to raise the Speedster a skosh. As it is, the car has difficulty climbing speed bumps, driveways or road dips without filing layers off its chin and bellybutton.
And although Saleen claims 15 m.p.g. around town, we obtained an average 10 m.p.g., which might be enough to send budding boy racers thumbing through Electric Vehicle News.
We are willing to consider these as transient flaws plaguing most products that are dismantled before rebuilding. Saleen agrees that subsequent fine-tuning is a common requirement of initial hand-crafting.
“But you service this car the way you service any Ford product,” he says. “Find something wrong and take it back to the dealership and the dealership fixes it.”
Yet noise, thirst and a little crudeness of construction will deter few from buying a Saleen.
Thirty years ago, those same drawbacks certainly didn’t keep the Shelby Cobra from finding a place in history.
(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)
1995 SALEEN S351 SPEEDSTER
The Good: High-technology American muscle car with international exclusivity. Acceleration of a race car, tempered heft and handling of a stock Mustang. Dazzling styling.
The Bad: Supercharger shriek. Very low to ground. Pricey.
The Ugly: 15 m.p.g. Or less
Cost
* Base, $48,000.
* As tested, $58,363. (Optional $6,244 package includes supercharger, competition brakes, magnesium wheels. Leather Recaro seats, $2,244. Performance Dunlop tires, $1,375. Standard equipment includes two air bags, anti-lock brakes, air conditioning, special aerodynamics package, Pioneer sound system, leather-wrapped steering wheel, convertible top, hard and soft tonneaus.)
Engine
* 5.7-liter, supercharged V-8 developing 480 horsepower
Type
* Front-engine, rear-drive, two-door, high-performance speedster/convertible.
Performance
* 0-60 m.p.h., as tested, with five-speed manual, five seconds.
* Top speed, track tested, 177 m.p.h.
* Fuel consumption, EPA city and highway, 15 and 26 m.p.g.
Curb Weight
* 3,600 pounds.
