Saleen 302s - auto show experience

[geep81]

I have loved the looks of the S650 302s and finally got to see one (actually two) in person at the Cleveland auto show.

What a disappointment!

There was a white car and a black one.

The white one had a really badly mismatched front bumper, totally detracted from the expensive custom pony.

Both cars had a cool custom shroud that goes over the dash screens and looks really great in concept. In execution the stitching was so all over the place and un-even compared to the OEM Ford stitched parts it was really really awful looking. They had some stitching on their custom seat covers that was equally as bad.

The cars do look great and Steve was there signing stuff, but as someone interested in this car (I inquired last year via email to get thinking about it and rough pricing ideas) seeing it in person just made me think about how upset I would be if I paid all that money and waited to have my car customized by Saleen and got something on this level back. I would be sick.

The designs are very cool overall, but the fit and finish is worse than Ford by quite a bit which is kind of already a low bar I'd say. It seems like Saleen isn't trying too hard.

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[WItoTX]

https://saleen.com/models/302-black-label/

Just for context. They have a distinct Charger Hellcat front end. I don't hate it. Certainly like it more than anything Hennessey or Shelby has put together thus far.

 

[ShadesOfBloo]

Maybe they're not trying too hard, maybe they don't know what to try...
Steve Saleen got started with selling Mustangs that shared parts with his race cars, right?
In the 1990s a team of Saleen Mustangs raced in the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
So, most of their "street cred" came from track cred.

For a while there, I think Saleen made the body for the Ford GT.
At some point Mr. Saleen invested in a factory in China and, as I recall, he got burned when the CCP said "That's a nice factory you've got there. It's ours now."
I wonder if he basically lost his motivation because of that.

Since then the company keeps plugging away, but we don't hear of Saleen Mustangs on race tracks any more.
I bet it would do wonders for them if they could get a car into an event like the Ultimate Street Car Invitational.
Maybe people would forgive a homemade or glued-on look to the parts if Saleen showed these parts staying together for several laps, on several tracks.
Better still, some commentators saying his name right would set a lot of people straight.

 

[Strokerswild]

I have to say that the S650 Saleen corrects a lot of what I hate about the OEM S650 exterior.....

 

[geep81]

They have a distinct Charger Hellcat front end. I don't hate it.

The front end is one of my favorite parts on it, when the paint matches right.

The exterior is just a really cool looking car, for about a 20k price premium of a factory GT.

 

[geep81]

At some point Mr. Saleen invested in a factory in China and, as I recall, he got burned when the CCP said "That's a nice factory you've got there. It's ours now."

What I read is he got in a partnership with a fraudster over there who got found out and in big trouble with the govt for his crimes. Pretty sure they were putting up all the money, and Saleen was not a money guy they were using him for the name and promotion.

 

[Joe Gonsalves]

I have to say that the S650 Saleen corrects a lot of what I hate about the OEM S650 exterior.....

Yes Saleen has much better style, they look how Ford should have done it. Too bad fit and finish is poor.

 

[SheepDog]

Welp. Im officially old. That thing is tacky AF. 128k for the black label. lol. I'd take the DHSC all day long over this, for likely very similar price.

The front fascia is an improvement over the OEM S650.

 

[9secondko]

Always liked Saleen design. They nailed it with the s560 Black Label. And the 80s Fox bodies were amazing for their time. But this… meh. The wing looks cheap in person and as someone said - the front end looks like a ringer for the charger.

it’s crazy. I had never once been a fan of Shelby American design aesthetic. But then the s650 super snake and 350TA cam out and they both look way better than anything Ford has done with the dark horse sc, etc.

And here I was expecting Saleen to do something really modern like the RTR spec 5, only for rtr to do it.

this gen, Saleen kinda missed the boat while the other two stepped it up to sn almost impossibly good level. Wouldn’t mind seeing Saleen do a mid-gen redo.

 

[wingnutt]

 

[Geodudes550]

This MaiMai is one of the cars Saleen designed for the Chinese market in 2020.

They sold 27.

 

[MACHtobers Very Own]

I hate the spoiler but the rest is ok. I still have a soft spot for the new edge saleen and even the s197 era was kinda fun. I always wondered if that was just a fluke they couldn't replicate or modern cars are just as aggressive as 90's body kits were so it's harder to impress.

 

[sdskinner73]

Welp. Im officially old. That thing is tacky AF. 128k for the black label. lol. I'd take the DHSC all day long over this, for likely very similar price.

The front fascia is an improvement over the OEM S650.

Can’t really be much worse. The S650 looks like an off brand Lego version of an S550. The dark horse is just another attempt to convince you it’s worth more dollar for more plastic.

 

[daSNAK3]

Saleen peaked with the New Edge.

 

[9secondko]

Saleen peaked with the New Edge.

they were his best designs for sure.

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