Steve Saleen's fledgling new company, SMS Supercars, is getting ready to officially debut its first production car and has released a few more photos and information regarding the 570 and 570X Challenger. According to the new press release, the two models are targeted to start at $60,000 and $70,000, respectively. Yes, that's quite a chunk of change, but SMS is making it worthwhile with an extensive list of upgrades. Starting with the powertrain, the SMS 296 supercharger pushes massive amounts of air to the 5.7L HEMI, and true enthusiasts will be glad to know that a proper 6-speed manual transmission will be doing the shifting. Both models also get a high performance suspension, exhaust, 20-inch wheels, and 14-inch front and 12-inch rear brakes. For the exterior, SMS replaces the front and rear bumpers, side skirts, and hood, and adds a rear spoiler. The 570X model also receives carbon fiber front and rear splitters, a carbon fiber diffuser, and a rear wing that replaces the spoiler. The interior receives upgrades as well, including two-tone leather sport seats, leather door inserts, a leather grip shifter, 200-mph gauge cluster, and auxiliary gauges for the supercharger. Each vehicle will also be personally signed by Steve Saleen.
While sales of the Dodge Viper may be down, Chrysler President Jim Press insists that buyers have been lining up to buy the entire operation. Among those potentially interested are American powerhouses Roush and Saleen. The latter, it's worth noting, is already involved in making the Viper, painting the cars off the assembly line. Whatever company ends up buying the Viper operation, Chrysler expects to make anywhere from $50 million to three times that before it vacates its Conner Avenue plant by the end of 2011, and has hired financial firm Lazard Limited to handle the sale. Potentially of equal interest will be the opportunity, as Press sees it, to expand the Viper line-up. We're not sure what else you could make on the V10 sportscar platform, considering that convertible, coupe and hard-core track-day versions are already in line-up. But we'd sure be interested to find out.
Steve Saleen grabbed our attention when he announced his new company SMS Limited and gave us a preview of his upcoming versions of the Dodge Challenger, the 570TM and 570XTM. Since the preview only showed a rendering of the vehicle, we figured it would be quite some time before we saw an actual product. Our expectations were exceeded, however, when SMS sent us news of their very first product: the 296 Supercharger system for the 5.7L and 6.1L HEMI V8. The system features a massive 2955 cc of displacement as well as an internal intercooler, eight-rib pulley, by-pass valve, high-volume heat exchanger and more. The kit can increase horsepower by as much as 45%, all while fitting neatly underneath the stock hood.
If you've noticed that there are more than a handful of Mustang variations out there, then consider Steve Saleen a trend setter. He's been tweaking Mustangs for 25 years now, and even though he and Saleen, Inc. parted ways last year, Steve has continued to work on Ford's ponycar with his new company, SMS Limited. While SMS released a rendering of an upcoming Challenger back in May, this 25th Anniversary Mustang Concept is the first actual vehicle the company has built. It features a supercharged 5.0-liter V8 with 720 horsepower, carbon fiber bodywork, 15-inch brakes, carbon fiber exterior trim, and a custom leather interior with two-tone seats. The SMS Mustang also has a unique Red Butterfly induction system and a pretty trick Light Blade taillight system. Follow the jump for a history of Steve Saleen's career and a complete list of features of the SMS 25th Anniversary Mustang Concept.
We're big fans of Steve Saleen. He's created some pretty incredible Mustangs over the last 25 years, and any guy that successfully builds his own supercar gets major props in our book. Plus, we could listen to his racing stories for hours. After he announced his retirement from Saleen, Inc last year, we were somewhat disappointed when he took the position of CEO at ZX Automobile, a Chinese car company hoping to import trucks into the United States. It's not that we think Steve wasn't up to the task; we were just hoping he would stick to sports cars.
We shouldn't have worried, because Steve announced the formation of his new company, SMS Limited, in March of this year with plans to develop vehicles based on the new breed of American muscle cars (Mustang, Challenger and Camaro) as well as race in the American Le Mans Series. We wanted to get more info on Steve's plans with the company, and what better way than to hear it from the man himself. We were able to get a one-on-one with Steve, and got some inside info on the new company and his plans to race an S7R in the ALMS. Interested? Follow the jump for the interview.
SMS, Steve Saleen's new tuning company, will be producing its own Signature Series versions of the Dodge Challenger. The release from SMS (after the jump) doesn't divulge much, but two versions will be available, the SMS 570TM and SMS 570XTM, based on the Challenger R/T. Both models will benefit from blowers heaving compressed air into the 5.7-liter HEMI V8, with the 570TM producing 500 hp and the 570XTM cracking the 700 hp barrier. Along with the supercharged bent-eight, the SMS-massaged Challengers will get upgraded drivetrain and suspension components, aerodynamic body parts, wheels, tires and interior bits. Mr. Saleen will sign the limited run of Challengers and naturally, interested parties are advised to act fast since SMS will be taking orders on a first-come, first-served basis.
Unbeknownst to many, Steve Saleen's empire incorporates a number of brands beyond the one that pumps out modified Mustangs, including Saleen Autosport, Saleen Productions, Saleen Speedlab, Saleen Performance and Saleen, Inc. The legend has just announced he'll be adding one more brand to his portfolio focused solely on "high-end of the diverse American Muscle Car and Global Supercar markets." Called SMS Limited, this brand will allow Saleen to develop and distribute high-end supercars developed in-house, i.e. having nothing to do with Ford. We've also confirmed that the Saleen S5S Raptor concept debuting at the New York Auto Show next week has nothing to do with SMS Limited and remains a joint development between Saleen, Inc. and ASC.
In the press release after the jump, Saleen also reveals that his company will have turn-key tuned versions and performance parts available for the entire trio of modern American muscle cars coming onto the market in a couple years, including the Ford Mustang, Dodge Challenger and Chevy Camaro. Finally, he also makes mention of Saleen's return to American Le Mans Series racing, which we'll learn more about in the near future.
New Saleen supercars; Saleen versions of the next Mustang, Challenger and Camaro; and a return to ALMS racing? Sounds like a solid business plan to us.
At the Frankfurt Motor Show this past September, Cadillac unveiled the BLS estate, the company's first wagon. The Euro-only Caddy, which slots into the line-up below the CTS, is based on the Saab 9-3 and takes on its wagon bodystyle in addition to a sedan. Cadillac's British operation has released its pricing scheme for the latest BLS, and intriguingly set the base MSRP at the exact same level as the sedan.
For £21,495, British customers can choose the BLS sedan or "estate" wagon, with either a gasoline or diesel base engine, beyond which Cadillac is offering an additional three engine options for the sedan or five for the wagon, including a new 180-hp turbodiesel and Saab's 200-hp Biopower ethanol engine, relabeled for the Caddy as Flexpower. No matter the engine or bodystyle choice, the BLS comes fully equipped with Elegance remaining as the only trim level and only metallic paint (£500) and sunroof (£650) as optional equipment.
