1984-1993 Saleen Mustang

Saleen was founded by racer Steve Saleen in 1983, with the first model being a 1984 Saleen Mustang.

The first Saleens were mainly focused on looks, and used stock Ford engines. The 1984-1993 Saleens were made mostly from LX Hatchbacks and Convertibles however there were a few LX Coupes made into Saleens, however they are very rare.

The difference in the 1984-1988 Saleen Mustangs was in it’s handling. The suspension was upgraded to handle road racing type conditions. The exterior and interior were also upgraded to set it’s self apart from a stock LX. 1989 was the first year that Saleen used a modified engine. The new Saleen was named the SSC. The power of the SSC was increased to 292 horsepower and in comparison to the stock 225 horsepower of the Mustang GT, it made a big difference. Out of the 895 Saleen Mustangs made in 1989, 161 were SSCs.

  
1990 Saleen Mustang had modifications as the 1989 model. The SSC was renamed to SC and the high horsepower Saleen received a boost in horsepower to 304hp. A low end Saleen was still offered but the production numbers dropped to 243 for the low horsepower model and only 10 of the SC’s were sold. Virtually nothing changed for the 1991 model year, aside from the fact that production numbers dropped again, this time to 92 of the base model Saleen Mustang, and only 10 of the SC were produced.

1992 was the lowest production numbers of any year since the creation of Saleen. There were only 17 Saleen Mustangs made and no SC’s were made.

In 1993 there were 87 Saleen Mustangs made, 5 of which were Saleen SC’s and 1993 also brought about two special edition Saleen Mustangs. The SA-10 was developed to celebrate the 10 years of Saleen, which were all black with yellow hood stripes. They were custom made, making all nine of them different in some way. Also, in 1993, Steve Saleen made one special Saleen Mustang, named the RRR for Tim Allen. The car was heavily built, and has more work into it than did any other Saleen product at this point. The end result is a brutal 576 horsepower and 527 lb-ft of torque. This RRR is nothing more than a street legal race car and was very expensive to build, around $50,000.

1994-1998 Saleen Mustang
In 1994 the Ford Mustang implements a complete new look and engine modifications. The lowest level Saleen Mustang was named the S-351. Instead of going the route of prior Saleen Mustangs, which used modified versions of the stock Mustang GT engine, the new 371 horsepower S-351 used a different engine from the GT measuring 351 cubic inches. The bigger news of the Saleen stable for 1994 was the SR, which also had the 351, and offered 480 horsepower. Only two SR’s were built, with 44 S-351s made in 1994. There was a very small collection of V6 powered Saleens built in 1994, which received only appearance and suspension upgrades, but they did not receive the numbering or dash plates.

 The 1995 Saleen remained relatively the same as 1994 using the name “Speedster”.

In 1996, another new Saleen came out  and the name of this new Saleen was the S-281. This new low-end Saleen came equipped with the standard 215 horsepower 4.6L engine found in the Mustang GT’s, and this proved to be a a poor man’s Saleen thanks to the price. The stock horsepower of the S-351 jumped to 495 for 1996, but production of the S-351 dropped to just 20.

1997 and 1998 saw little change for the Saleen Mustang. The selections offered remained steady with the different variations of the S-281, and the rare S-351. 1998 would mark the end of the SN95 body style, and in 1998, another anniversary edition of the Saleen was offered, this one being named the SA-15. Based off of an S-281, there were only 10 made and like the SA-10, the SA-15 stands out thanks in part to their bright yellow paint scheme.

In 1999 Ford Motor Company introduced a new body style called the “New Edge” look to the Mustang. The Saleen Mustang remained the same using the new body style. Production numbers were up with 418 Saleen Mustangs produced in 1999. The power ratings and trim lines were the same as with the SN95 body style.

 2005+ Saleen Mustangs
In 2005 Saleen debuted the S281 3-V which produced 330hp, a Supercharged Saleen which produced 435HP, and the Extreme which produced 550HP making it the fastest Saleen ever produced.

In 2007, Saleen and American Racing Legend, Parnelli Jones, created a limited-edition version of the Mustang. Though often called the Saleen/Parnelli Jones S302, it was designed to pay homage to the legendary Boss 302 that Parnelli Jones had raced in back in the 70's. Equipped with a Saleen MOD 302 cid 3-valve V8, the S302 makes 400 hp (300 kW) and 390 lb·ft (529 N·m) of torque. On the outside, the S302 features a new front fascia, Saleen "Shaker" hood, window louvers, and custom Saleen/Parnelli Jones edition wheels. Production of this car was limited to only 500 cars.