Whether it’s people dressed as superheros or a group of cars that cost as much as an entire neighborhood in Detroit, a drive through Hollywood can reveal many spicy appearances. Nonetheless, it’s not everyday that you see Steve Saleen driving a super-bespoke incarnation of the Corvette.
The man who captured the footage below explains he recently saw a rather unusual sportscar driving though Tinseltown and decided to follow the vehicle. He eventually caught up with the mystery car and noticed Steve Saleen behind the wheel.
The founder of the specialty performance cars manufacturer engaged himself in a little traffic light chat with our guy, explaining that this is a Corvette-based prototype. He added the thing fed its rear wheels with 850 hp.
Certain people wonder why Steve didn’t say the vehicle was a modified ‘Vette, but the man’s explanation makes full sense. Like we said, Saleen is a manufacturer, not a tuner, since they basically reinvent the Mustangs they touch. By the way, we’ll remind you Saleen also use to have its own supercar, the S7.
Returning to the mysterious Corvette, this probably means Saleen is looking to deliver its own incarnation of GM’s sportscar. The company has recently enriched its portfolio with the Saleen Tesla Model S, so a further expansion could be possible. To the best of our knowledge, this would be the first time when Saleen touches a ‘Vette, so we’re eager to see the final result. That split rear window, a nod to the original Stingray, is a delicious appetizer here.
The vehicle is currently in its development phase, so you shouldn’t mind the poor fit and finish details in the video.
Interestingly enough, there seems to be a C6 buried under the new lines - from what we can see in the average quality footage, the hard points of the vehicle appear to resemble those of the C6 more than those of the C7. Still, we’d expect Saleen to use the newer platform, simply thanks to the C7 Corvette’s rich palette of technical assets.
We’ve reached out to Saleen for comments and we’ll be back with an update as soon as we receive our answers.
Update: Saleen said this is not their vehicle, adding it was not Steve behind the wheel.
In his quest to bring you the most impressive automotive creations, Andrei relies on learning as a superpower. There's quite a bit of room in the garage that is this aficionado's heart, so factory-condition classics and widebody contraptions with turbos poking through the hood can peacefully coexist. Full profile
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