Saleen seriously considering producing S5S Raptor
Click above for a high-res gallery of the Saleen S5S Raptor.
The Saleen S5S Raptor was one of the stars of the New York Auto Show, so it's not surprising that Saleen is considering building the 650-hp, V8 hyper car. According to an interview in Automobile with Chris Theodore, Ford's former head of NA product development, one of the men behind the Ford GT and the man atop Saleen, "the car has the potential for reality." He went on to say that the concept was "designed around a feasible business model," and that the S5S was very well received after its debut. This could mean that a production version is on the way and that it would take all of six months to have a prototype in testing. The major hurdle Saleen has to overcome is finding a suitable production partner, but if that wrinkle is ironed out and they decide to build the Raptor, Saleen's halo car might be spied in prototype form next year.
Gallery: Saleen S5S Raptor - Live Reveal
Gallery: Saleen S5S Raptor
[Source: Automobile]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
bakka 3:04PM (4/30/2008)
Go away.
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Pete 3:10PM (4/30/2008)
Based on Ford GT? Hmmmm, let's see: Saleen ran assembly for GT, Theodore was head of Product Development at Ford...
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Noah 3:55PM (4/30/2008)
Safe bet. Would be a good platform for it I suppose.
PunkInDrublic 3:32PM (4/30/2008)
Halo car?
I'm pretty sure theres a good reason they gave it less HP, a lower price, and even a lower model number than their S7.
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Dan 3:46PM (4/30/2008)
I talked with a guy from the private equity firm that owns Saleen. He said that it's doing really poorly.
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David(Postal) 4:00PM (4/30/2008)
What is doing poorly? the S7?
Dan 4:27PM (4/30/2008)
The whole firm as an investment.
garlinski 4:07PM (4/30/2008)
sure... why not another car to lust over... oh that's right... there's so many freaking supercars out there that they are no longer so, uh, super... so someone needed to create a Super supercar. ie. Bugatti. We really don't need another supercar. But it looks so good... i'm torn.
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sw 4:19PM (4/30/2008)
Agreed, the only way I'd be excited is if someone built a supercar for less than 40k. Which will never happen so it's a bit of an empty dream.
meshies 4:24PM (4/30/2008)
I think they should. I would take it over a Lambo Gallardo based on looks alone.
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Wolfwood 4:27PM (4/30/2008)
Is it just me or does the S5S look a lot like the 370Z teaser image seen earlier... just picture that screen pressed against the side...
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Wolfwood 4:39PM (4/30/2008)
http://www.autoblog.com/photos/nissan-and-infiniti-design-studies/779622/
vs
http://www.autoblog.com/photos/saleen-s5s-raptor-live-reveal/711242/
Glenn 4:47PM (4/30/2008)
No, the car behined the screen looked a lot more like a solstice or that bently go cart thing from the other day.
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Hiro11 4:47PM (4/30/2008)
The Raptor is gorgeous, IMO. Having said that 9and as others before me have said), if they make just another esoteric, duct-taped together, poor handling, $200K+ supercar that about 17 people in the entire world actually buy, who cares? How about a legitimate, Ford-back competitor for the Corvette ZR1? C'mon, this is the last days of the ridiculously high-powered American sports car, let's do it.
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Fooman 5:59PM (4/30/2008)
Saleen has been having money issues for years now, they where barely afloat when Ford gave them final assembly on the GT, and from what I understand they didn;t make any money doing that. The s7 nearly broke them, so I am not sure why they will try this again. Roush can make bank doing essentially the same thing as Saleen kinda makes you wonder... Also makes you wonder how much money Roush makes off of crate engines... Well Saleen is now selling crates so we will see.
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Not impressed 8:09PM (4/30/2008)
Do it! The Raptor looks amazing!
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porschedevotee 4:36AM (5/01/2008)
Haha, ironic comment with your user name :)
I agree that there's getting to be a glut of supercars. I hate the fact that living in the Bay Area, I'm so jaded I don't even bother turning to watch most cars under $200k go down the street. Oooh, and to get me to take pictures? That'll be a cool half million, please. Minimum. Hey, I can't get any of them, so I might as well be choosy which ones I'm going to lust after, right? Isn't that what guys do with women?
Not impressed 1:10PM (5/02/2008)
Yeah I know : )
Funny thing is I didn't even pick this user name, I'm not sure how I got it. I know what you mean about jaded I live in DFW and see more and more high buck exotics around everyday.
ken_aisin 4:09PM (5/01/2008)
This is what the next Honda NSX should look like.
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