05-04-09: With all the news of Saleen Inc. being sold off to MJ Acquisitions earlier this year to Steve Saleen starting his own company SMS Supercars, it has been more difficult to keep up with what is happening. Will there be a Saleen Mustang again? And if so, who will make it?
The answers come with many caveats. Steve Saleen announced at the Mustang 45th Anniversary Celebration that that he intends to build a new Mustang marketed as the SMS 460 and SMS 460X. He unveiled a rendering at the show that outlines the new style. This new car of course is made by Steve Saleen, but not called a Saleen.
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But wait there is more. MJ Acquisitions purchased the remaining automobile operations of Saleen Inc. from Hancock Park LLC earlier this year. They announced at the time that they intended to build a Saleen Mustang again as soon as they had the design, engineering and production capability.
This week a photo rendering came across our desk from a confidential source that shows a well developed design rendering for a 2010 Saleen Mustang. While this rendering is not an official release from Saleen Inc. / MJ Acquisitions, we did confirm with the company that they indeed are working on a 2010 Saleen Mustang product line to be released for sale later this year and that this rendering reflects the working design.
This news is of course tentative as the confidential source did not elaborate on model specifics and stated that the rendering itself may not represent the final product. Furthermore there is no detail or committment on when such cars will be available, where they will be manufacturered, or whether the existing Saleen dealer network will sell the cars. But we did hear that there will be two models including an "S-Line ”, which is pictured.
The rear panel features the now trademark concave surround with SALEEN livery. Rear exhaust tips are sculptured into a handsome rear fascia. The side skirts eschew the Ford black plastic look for a much more integrated and tastefull theme. The front fenders also show some add-on "scoops" that while may not be functional, add to the wow-factor of the car.
If all this comes to pass, interesting times for Saleen enthusiasts indeed.
