Saleen
S7

Why it matters

The S7 was the first car Saleen designed and built itself rather than modifying an existing model, and it was billed as the quickest US-built production car of its time. It was also developed into the S7-R racer, which won its class at the Sebring 12 Hours less than six months after its debut and later took a Le Mans class podium.

How rare is it?

Six separate kinds of rarity – never combined into one number.

Each kind of rarity is rated separately and never combined.

Photos

Exterior, interior and detail photos with their licences.

• Saleen S7 (Wikimedia Commons: Saleen S7)
  Photo: Axion23 · CC BY 2.0
• Saleen S7 (Wikimedia Commons: Saleen S7)
  Photo: Axion23 · CC BY 2.0
• Saleen S7 (Wikimedia Commons: Saleen S7)
  Photo: Axion23 · CC BY 2.0
• Saleen S7 (Wikimedia Commons: Saleen S7)
  Photo: steve lyon from los angeles, ca, usa · CC BY-SA 2.0

Production

Every figure says what it counts.

Independent counts (e.g. engine and colour) are never combined into a calculated figure. Surviving examples are never presented as original production.

History

Steve Saleen announced the S7 in August 2000 as a mid-engined, V8 supercar aimed at the McLaren F1 and Ferrari F50, with a target price of about $400,000. The project got its go-ahead in December 1999, and the body was wind-tunnel tested at the University of Glasgow. Car and Driver visited the Irvine, California plant in 2003 and found six cars being assembled; it recorded 0-60 mph in 3.3 s and a quarter mile in 11.6 s at 126 mph. Car and Driver also reported that Saleen had outsourced much of the work to the British firm RML, which claimed credit for designing and developing the car.

A Twin Turbo version arrived in 2005 with two Garrett turbochargers and 750 hp; Road & Track measured 0-60 mph in 3.3 s and a 10.6 s quarter mile at 139.8 mph. Road & Track's 2017 report says only 13 cars were produced for the 2006 model year. A last run of seven "Le Mans Edition" cars with up to 1,100 hp was being built at Saleen's Corona, California headquarters in 2019.

Technical specifications

Engine

Transmission & drivetrain

Chassis, body & dimensions

Performance

“Not yet verified” means no source has been checked for that value yet. Nothing is estimated to fill a gap.

Sources

Each number links to the exact facts it supports.

1. 1
   2005 Saleen S7 – Audrain Automobile Museum Level C

   • 75 approximate chassis sold across S7 and S7 Twin Turbo

   Accessed 2026-11-11
2. 2
   Saleen S7 road test Level C Car and Driver · 2003-09-01

   • massive 7.0-liter V-8 engine; loosely based on Ford's NASCAR racing engine; block redesigned and cast in aluminum
   • massive 7.0-liter V-8 engine
   • It's a pushrod engine with two valves per cylinder
   • 550 horses at 5900 rpm
   • 550 horses at 5900 rpm and 525 pound-feet of torque at 4000 rpm
   • 525 pound-feet of torque at 4000 rpm
   • six-speed manual transmission made to Saleen specifications by the Randolph Austin Company; twin-plate hydraulically actuated clutch
   • six-speed manual transmission
   • The steel-tube chassis, the unequal-length control arms
   • carbon-fiber cloth is layered over the molds and then cured in an autoclave; half-inch aluminum-honeycomb panels
   • reach redline in sixth gear, which works out to 223 mph
   • 0 to 60 arrived in 3.3 seconds
   • quarter-mile went by in 11.6 seconds at 126 mph

   Accessed 2026-11-13
3. 3
   Whoever Buys This Saleen S7 Twin-Turbo Needs to Finally Figure out Its Top Speed Level C Road & Track · 2017-12-23

   • two Garrett turbochargers

   Accessed 2026-11-13