Photo: tuningcar_ps / Instagram
American-developed and produced sports cars have rarely used the mid-engine powertrain setup so dearly loved by Old Continent rivals. Alas, there were a few note-worthy mentions even before the C8 reinvention.
For example, the hand-built, high-performance Saleen Automotive S7 was America’s sixth-only mid-engine production sports car, following with great poise in the footsteps of nameplates such as the Pontiac Fiero, Consulier GTP, Mosler Raptor, and Vector W8 plus M12. It came out at the turn of the millennium, in Monterey, and featured a hidden Blue Oval secret.
Back in 2000, an in-house modified Ford 351 Windsor/Cleveland V8 was bored and stroked to 427ci (7.0 liters), proving that it could lend a respectable number of ponies – up to 550 of them. Then, in 2005, the Saleen S7 entered the cool supercar territory with the twin-turbo version churning out no less than 750hp. And what do you know, it is that time of the Monterey Car Week dreams, all over again.
At least that is valid for the virtual artist better known as tuningcar_ps on social media, who loves to CGI-play with the simple yet quirky stuff, such as a digital Saleen S7 revival for the 2025 model year. It does not come around this time of Monterey adulation without some CGI logic, though. After all, the Ford GT may be feeling a bit lonely in its upcoming quest to fight off the 2023 Chevy Corvette Z06, so perhaps it needs additional limited-series reinforcements.
Well, perhaps this is merely wishful thinking. But, in between Saleen Mustangs and Sportrucks, maybe the company could use some backup at the top of the line – the S1 does not seem to do a wonderful job about that. And even if they think the ICE age has waned, maybe an EV hypercar powertrain would do the trick even better, complete with zero emissions?
Back in 2000, an in-house modified Ford 351 Windsor/Cleveland V8 was bored and stroked to 427ci (7.0 liters), proving that it could lend a respectable number of ponies – up to 550 of them. Then, in 2005, the Saleen S7 entered the cool supercar territory with the twin-turbo version churning out no less than 750hp. And what do you know, it is that time of the Monterey Car Week dreams, all over again.
At least that is valid for the virtual artist better known as tuningcar_ps on social media, who loves to CGI-play with the simple yet quirky stuff, such as a digital Saleen S7 revival for the 2025 model year. It does not come around this time of Monterey adulation without some CGI logic, though. After all, the Ford GT may be feeling a bit lonely in its upcoming quest to fight off the 2023 Chevy Corvette Z06, so perhaps it needs additional limited-series reinforcements.
Well, perhaps this is merely wishful thinking. But, in between Saleen Mustangs and Sportrucks, maybe the company could use some backup at the top of the line – the S1 does not seem to do a wonderful job about that. And even if they think the ICE age has waned, maybe an EV hypercar powertrain would do the trick even better, complete with zero emissions?
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