Autoblog

Click above for gallery of high-res images by Drew Phillips and the author

Day 1 of our first encounter with the Saleen S331 Sport Truck had us exploring the versatility of the truck. We started off by using the vehicle as a swanky ride through the heart of ultra-rich Orange County. A cruise down PCH gave us a chance to sample the ride and power, and to gauge public interest at the extremes of demographic segments. We got just as many thumbs up from the Lexus and Benz set as we did from the pickup and motorcycle crowd. We even had a chance to see how well the truck performed as, well, a truck. With payload that represented what Saleen sees as its target market's toys, we convoyed over to Newport Harbor with a selection of bikes and watercraft that culminated with a 30-ft powerboat. It's definitely a civilized and capable truck, but we wanted to better sample the "Sport" part. And that's what Day 2 was all about.

We met up at the shuttered El Toro Marine Base, which still has its two long airstrips reasonably intact and available for testing. With just about every model from Saleen's current lineup on hand, we were given a pretty compelling reminder that Saleen and performance go hand-in-hand. On one side we had the fleet of S331 Sport Trucks, on the other a row of Mustangs that ran from the Parnelli Jones, to the S281 SC, to the Extreme. At the head of the class sat a silver S7 under the company's new "School of Speed" banner. There is some talk that this will become a traveling show that will allow owners to better understand their vehicle's limits. We also found out a few other things about the truck and the company over the next few hours, most importantly, how the S331 stacks up against Ford's current sportiest truck, the F-150 FX2 Sport that was on hand for comparison purposes.

Follow the jump to find out how the truck (and the author) did in the autocross.

High-res gallery of ten Drew Phillips pics available by clicking image above

What would you drive if you were Steve Saleen's daughter? A Mustang, right? Probably a customized one at that. Well, Steve Saleen's daughter, Molly, does indeed drive a custom Mustang. One with a special paint job custom-blended for her and named in her honor, too. This isn't unprecedented actually. Steve's wife, Liz, also has a paint color named after her, Lizstick red, that is available as an optional Saleen factory paint color. Daughter Molly is actually more than just Steve and Liz's daughter. She is also an active part of the company, running the Saleen retail store in Irvine, CA.

But the car is what we're focused on here. The Saleen Molly Pop Mustang features the previously mentioned one-off Molly Pop paint job that in itself would make this Mustang stand out, but there's so much more. Her S281 Mustang also features the Saleen supercharger with the 475-hp upgrade (new air box cover with 98mm MAF sensor, 39lb fuel injectors, smaller pulley, and modified Saleen programming). Although it doesn't have the full Extreme 550 hp rating, her car does have the Extreme package that includes the lighter 20" forged 5-spoke rims, carbon fiber front splitter and rear diffuser, and shorter gearing. The Molly Pop also features the watts-link suspension in the rear and the scenic roof option. As is corporate custom, this first car's fender number reads "01" – and this will probably be the only one built. Of course, Saleen is quick to note that they have always painted customer cars in whatever color the customer requests.

[Source: Mustang Life Online]