<![CDATA[Jalopnik: saleen s7]]> http://cache.gawker.com/assets/base/img/thumbs140x140/jalopnik.com.png <![CDATA[Jalopnik: saleen s7]]> http://jalopnik.com/tag/saleen s7 http://jalopnik.com/tag/saleen s7 <![CDATA[ Saleen S5S Heading To Production? ]]> When we first saw the Saleen S5S at the New York Auto Show, we thought, "That's nice, but it's got concept only written all over it." Well, apparently there's a greater degree of possibility there than we'd initially thought. Saleen Vice Chairman and Chief Technical Officer Chris Theodore dropped in to the offices of Automobile magazine to talk S5S. Seems they're feeling out the market by touring the car around their dealers right now and thanks to an overwhelmingly positive response, the company no longer related in any way to Steve is considering sending it into production. Our favorite part of the whole discussion is about how they decided on the design:

We had an in-house design competition among half a dozen designers, and it came down to two finalists. We had a Betty Crocker bake-off, and David's design won.
Yep, The Saleen S5S is one sleek looking brownie. Or is that a lemon bar? Whatever, we'd eat it either way. [Automobile] ]]>
Wed, 30 Apr 2008 13:40:00 EDT Ben Wojdyla http://jalopnik.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=385651&view=rss&microfeed=true
<![CDATA[ New Screenshots Appear of Midnight Club: Los Angeles ]]> We heard about the release date yesterday, but today we've stumbled upon some of the screenshots from the latest addition to the Midnight Club series. These screenshots feature the likes of the Nissan R34 Skyline GT-R, Saleen S302 Extreme and S7, Dodge Challenger SRT8, 2010 Chevy Camaro and a 2008 Cadillac CTS even appears blurry in the background. Wow, that's quite the repertoire of drivable vehicles in the open-world racing game.

[via Rockstar Games]

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Tue, 22 Apr 2008 13:30:00 EDT Travis Hudson http://jalopnik.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=382549&view=rss&microfeed=true
<![CDATA[ Jalopnik Plays Midnight Club Los Angeles ]]> After checking out the new S5S Raptor and the Dan Gurney Mustang at the Saleen stand, we decided to get behind the wheel controller and a have a test drive of a DUB-customized S302 Extreme— in the upcoming Midnight Club Los Angeles video game. We thought it was a good opportunity let our oldest most life-experienced Jalop, Matt DeBord, have a hand at the game. He knows LA pretty well, so we figured he'd have an advantage driving through the virtual city of angels. We soon found that while Matt may have life experience, he doesn't have so much experience with modern video games. Maybe we should have someone else here give the game a proper review.

Midnight Club Los Angeles is the fourth installment from the critically-acclaimed and genre-defining Midnight Club franchise. The title has sold over 12 million units worldwide and is the second largest series in the Rockstar portfolio. Consistently the highest-rated street racing franchise, Midnight Club set the standard of what an open-world racing game can be. Midnight Club Los Angeles will deliver a truly immersive racing experience that is second to none.

Developed by series creator Rockstar San Diego for the Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system and the PLAYSTATION®3 computer entertainment system and will be released Fiscal Q4 2008.

[source: Rockstar Games] ]]>
Fri, 21 Mar 2008 16:21:00 EDT Mark Arnold http://jalopnik.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=370406&view=rss&microfeed=true
<![CDATA[ Saleen S5S Raptor Concept Unveiled At New York Auto Show ]]> All the folks we shook hands with at the Saleen Sterling Edition S302E reveal a couple of months ago were in attendance and happy to give us a look at their new Saleen S5S Raptor Concept. The ground up design starts with an all aluminum frame and a 5.0 L supercharged V8 good for 650 HP and 630 lb.ft. of torque. Those are some scrappy figures and the S5S Concept is said to make the run to 60 in a mere 3.2 seconds all while sipping on cellulosic ethanol. That's right folks, the S5S Raptor is a psuedo-environmentally friendly car with renewable fuel on its mind. Sounds good to us, we're happy with anything we can blast around in supercar-style long afte the dinosaur squeezin's run dry. Full details in the presser after the jump.

SALEEN REVEALS SUPERCAR CONCEPT THE "S5S RAPTOR" AT THE NEW YORK AUTO SHOW New York, NY (March 20, 2008) - Saleen's all new concept vehicle, the S5S Raptor made its world debut today on the floor of New York City's Jacob K. Javitz Convention Center. The S5S Raptor unveiling comes amidst several other Saleen announcements including a partnership with Dan Gurney, Rockstar Games and the integration of several first time seen ASC products, featured on two existing Saleen vehicles. "We are extremely proud of the Raptor. It is the car that enthusiasts are waiting for America to produce and Saleen is just the company to answer that call, " said Paul Wilbur, Saleen President and CEO. The S5S Raptor represents the first ground up vehicle to be conceived by the new Saleen management team and the most extensive demonst ration of the combined capabilities of Saleen engineering and the ASC creative team. "The Raptor is just a glimpse of things to come from Saleen, " says Chief Technical Officer, Chris Theodore. "Our company is unique in that we have the experience and knowledge behind some of the most exciting performance vehicles built over the past 20 years. Beyond the S7 Supercar, our team members have been involved in the Viper, Prowler, Ford GT, and the products of Chrysler SRT and Ford's SVT performance groups. These 'lessons learned' are evident in the Raptor concept and we will continue to build upon them as the company evolves."

The Raptor is a two seat mid-engine super car that competes in size and style with core offerings from the most notable of Italian exot ic car makes, but with a segment leading 650hp and 630 lb-ft of torque provided by a Saleen 5.0L Supercharged Engine - the source of the "S5S" designation. Unlike its competitors, the Raptor is designed to digest cellulosic ethanol. "This is the same ethanol formula," states Wilbur, "that is the official fuel of the 2008 American Le Mans Race Series and the IRL." The higher octane rating of E85 results in more power. It is a combination that will send the Raptor screaming to 60 mph in a g-force generating 3.2 seconds. With ethanol power, the car is both mean and clean!

Saleen's use of cellulosic ethanol is right for us for two reasons:

- It maintains consistency with our racing heritage, as many of the racing formats (IRL, American Lemans, etc) are now adopting ethanol as the racing fuel of choice.

- It also helps our environment through cleaner tailpipe emissions as well as reducing America's dependency on foreign oil.

While Saleen is a small, specialty vehicle maker, we share in the responsibility to do what we can to support our environment, without compromising on our brand values.

Compromise does not enter into the conversation at all. The Raptor 's hand-built 5.0L cubic inch engine with its patented twin-screw supercharger delivers its 650 horses at 6300 rpm and hits max torque at just 4400 RPM. This power sits on call beneath the knob of a close ratio 6-speed manual, or optional paddle shifting sequential gearbox. It's a combination that send Raptor's rigid aluminum chassis screaming to a top speed of over 200 mph.

As power is nothing without control, the double wishbone suspension and rack-and-pinion steering of the S5S is augmented by ABS traction control and stability control systems. The brake system features 15-inch (381 mm) front rotors with 6 piston calipers, and 13-inch (308 mm) rear rotors with dual piston calipers for maximum stopping power. Road holding traction is provided by the 275/35 ZR20 and 315/35/ZR20 Pirelli Rosso tires that wrap the 20" forged aluminum front and rear wheels respectively. The unique black-diamond and carbon fiber finish on
the wheels make them as stunning as they are strong.

"We spent a great deal of time on the design of the Raptor, " says Marques McCammon, General Manager of Saleen Automotive. "The vehicle's bold shoulders are reflective of an aggressive American attitude, reminiscent of Can-Am race car styling cues, but delivered with modern sophistication. If you see a little Chaparral or McLaren design influence in this car, you are right."

The aesthetics for the Raptor were developed by ASC Creative Services, America's largest independent automotive design firm. "This vehicle was an aggressively compressed program that combined the traditional methods of three-dimensional clay sculpting with sophisticated digital modeling tools," said Steve Nowicki, ASC Creative Services Director. "The vehicle is distinctive in a way that I think the world is going to love. The primary designer on this program was Dave Byron, a CCS graduate and passionate member of ASC's Design
team".

Raptor's unique sun flair yellow paint accentuates the cars beautiful body forms. The interior of the car can be illuminated by the sun or the city lights through the solar-tented scenic roof that covers the cockpit. Detailing is transformed from

mere aluminum on the vehicles wheels and exhaust by their black-diamond powder coat finish. "In all the S5S Raptor is a work of art aimed to take your breath away," said McCammon. "It is aggressive and sexy at the same time."

According to Saleen executives, the S5S Raptor could enter the market in as little as two years, and should it go forward, it would carry a base price of approximately $185,000 MSRP.

ABOUT SALEEN
Since the company's inception in 1984, Saleen has produced thousands of complete and EPA certified, specialty vehicles. In addition, Saleen has equipped more than 600,000 vehicles worldwide, further emphasizing their capabilities and commitment to excellence.

A nine-time Manufacturers' Champion in GT sports car racing, Saleen manufactured the American super car — the Saleen S7, as well as the S281 Mustang, S331 Sport Truck and the Saleen/Parnelli Jones Limited Edition
Mustang. Saleen's manufacturing facilities are located in Troy, Michigan. The Michigan facility has also just completed all paint and assembly of the Ford GT as a special project for Ford Motor Company and currently is providing paint and subassembly for the Dodge Viper SRT-10.

For more information visit Saleen.com.

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Thu, 20 Mar 2008 11:26:39 EDT Ben Wojdyla http://jalopnik.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=370153&view=rss&microfeed=true
<![CDATA[ Iron Man Super Bowl Commercial Shows Off Stark's Hot Garage ]]> UPDATE: The official Iron Man Super Bowl commercial! Apparently it's not just automakers like Hyundai and Chrysler with money to burn this Super Bowl Ad Watch weekend. Nope, it's also the movie industry — it looks like Iron Man will be getting some love in a commercial airing this Sunday during the big game. Apparently, judging by this screen capture of the ad in question, we'll get some shots of Tony Stark spending some time testing his suit in a garage filled with all sorts of hot automobiles. We already knew about the Audi R8, but apparently Stark's also got himself a Cobra, a Saleen S7 and lookie-here, a Tesla roadster. Nice job, Stark — now we know what the "Whitestar" project really was all about, don't we? That's right — a hybrid powertrain for the Iron Man booster rockets. We knew it. Anyway, we'll have the official commercial up here online just as soon as it airs this weekend to add to the original Iron Man commercial — just follow along at our Super Bowl Ad Watch tag and feel free to hit the jump to make the shot above bigger than life.

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Fri, 01 Feb 2008 19:45:00 EST Ray Wert http://jalopnik.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=351882&view=rss&microfeed=true