eBay Find of the Day: Chevrolet C5 Corvette-based Saleen S7 replica roadster
C5 Corvette based Saleen S7 replica - click above image for hi-res gallery
Steve Saleen's Saleen S7 is a totally bespoke, hand built superduper hypercar that in twin-turbo, 750 horsepower, 700 pound-feet of torque form could go about 250 mph. And it was capable of generating enough downforce to (theoretically) drive upside down. In competition, the S7R has been one of the most dominant vehicles ever fielded, having been "raced in over 264 events, with 218 Top Tens, 166 Podiums, 105 Wins, 86 Poles, 78 Fastest Laps and 9 GT Championships." Price when new was about $600,000, give or take.
Which makes the above car all the more special. Sayeth the seller, "We thought long and hard as to what chassis we would use for our replica. First of all we knew the 80's [sic] Fiero was not an option. its [sic] too old, underpowered, and not a safe frame." Oh man – the replica world has really changed if a Pontiac Fiero chassis is not good enough. But the auctioneer does inadvertently raise a good point, as the S7 is in fact a mid-engined car, and you just got to have that if you're building a replica, don't you? Apparently not.
"So we went with a C5 Corvette chassis. It offers all the driving comforts, with great brakes, Power, and a super strong frame. and we could retail the car for a reasonable price." But not only is it Chevrolet Corvette based, they made it a roadster! See, all those boring old S7s were stuffy mid-engined hardtops – this is the world's first and only front-engined roadster S7. Replica. We've got to say we're a little amazed there are only two bids.
Oh wait, no – we said that wrong. What we meant is that we're a little amazed there are two bids. Currently, the "replica" is sitting at $20,100 and
Gallery: C5 Corvette based Saleen S7 replica
[Source: eBay Motors]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
xtM450 2:34PM (10/27/2009)
so what was the point of this? c5s look much better
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zamafir 2:50PM (10/27/2009)
like a fierro based lambo the only point is to make others laugh at you, not with you.
UCJR 2:36PM (10/27/2009)
Truth be told, if they didn't TRY to make it look exactly like an S7, and they revised the bodywork somewhat to follow the natural curves of a C5, that would be a decent widebody kit for a Corvette.
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Christian de Saint Preux 3:47PM (10/27/2009)
I agree perfectly... the body and the headlights are just awesome... If they go with a unique look..... they are in business.... at least the front, I would buy. I want those headlights.
LaserRed38 4:33PM (10/27/2009)
It does have a certain Lingenfelter-ish look to it doesn't it.
UniBroW 2:36PM (10/27/2009)
the cel is on because the key is obviously in the ACC position. notice the rpms. That said its' mildly awful to look at
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Paul 2:37PM (10/27/2009)
Another day, another bad Corvette re-body (with some nice Saleen logos this time, just to make it as much of a bastard as possible).
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ForgedInternals 2:38PM (10/27/2009)
I lol'd at the valve covers. Did he really think a front mounted LS with S7 valve covers was going to convince people at a car show he really has some sort of special S7.
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Shiftright 2:47PM (10/27/2009)
As impressive performance wise and technically as a Saleen S7 is, it's cheesy, so you can't expect much from a knock off body kit. Still, I've seen worse....
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dasupersprint91 2:47PM (10/27/2009)
The disapointment comes when I think a lot of people will think it's the real thing and think ''oh, that's a Saleen...it's not that impressive.'' Pretty much like any replicas around.
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orriepelc 2:52PM (10/27/2009)
(Psst... Hey, dude? Your fake hood scoop is backward! How embarrassing for you!)
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TXgadgetguy 2:53PM (10/27/2009)
Impressed with how dirty everything is. When I sell stuff I tend to put 10 minutes into cleaning the dirt off the instrument cluster and maybe give some attention to the engine compartment. Wonder what the reserve is, maybe I could buy this, strip off the Fakeleen crap and have a nice little C5.
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71cuda 3:08PM (10/27/2009)
According to the questions in the listing, the reserve is only $50K! But you also get a salvage title, so I'm sure the Vette was nicely whacked before it's conversion.
TXgadgetguy 3:12PM (10/27/2009)
Sweet! What a deal! I'll get on the phone with my insurance agent to see what it'll cost me to get this baby on the central Texas roads once the auction is over. Shouldn't be a problem on the salvage title, should it? Who wouldn't want to spend 50 large on a salvage with 66k miles on it, after all.
Lar7789789 3:04PM (10/27/2009)
I thought the the natural aspirated engine in the S7 made 700 horsepower. The twin turbocharged S7 made well over 1200 horsepower
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Howard H. 4:04PM (10/27/2009)
The nonturbo made 550HP. The twin turbo used only 6PSI of boost and made 750HP. I could not find if it was ford motor or not. I suspect it was ford maybe 427. That motor could easily make that kind of power.
Lar7789789 3:07PM (10/27/2009)
HA?? maybe in the 80s the C5 would have looked better. GM is so out of touch with whats cool on cars look, that they are the only idiots that were still putting flip-up tail lights on their cars as recent as 2004.
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SunC 8:54PM (10/27/2009)
1. That's not GM bodywork.
2. 2004 Corvettes had flip-up HEADlights
3. I liked those more than I do the current model.
4. HA!
LaserRed38 3:10PM (10/27/2009)
Well. It's about 1.7% better than a FWD Cougar-based R8 replica...although that car looked better.
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leftlaneabuse 3:34PM (10/27/2009)
Genius. Take a Vette and make it look like a Fiero with a very bad Saleen kit.
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