Back in August, revived automaker Saleen confirmed that work on a new range-topping supercar for the brand was currently in the works. At the time, it was revealed that the new American supercar would borrow some of the development know-how gained when creating the awesome Saleen S5SS Raptor from back in 2008.
Now, the company’s CEO and founder Steve Saleen has confirmed that the new supercar will be dubbed the S8. This is significant as the previous Saleen supercar was dubbed the S7. “We haven’t forgotten about the supercar genre,” Saleen said. “We are working on what we’ll call the ‘S8’ and the continuation of the American supercar.”
While the Saleen S8 name may suggest a successor to the mighty S7, it is believed that the new Saleen supercar will act as the American alternative to the Ferrari 458 Italia, Porsche 911 Turbo, McLaren 12C and the eventual successor to the Lamborghini Gallardo. As a result, we can expect the new Saleen supercar to produce in the region of 600-650hp.
As a reminder, Steve Saleen left his namesake company in 2007 after a falling out with management. Shortly thereafter he founded SMS Signature Cars who went on to produce high performance versions of various American muscle cars and trucks, with a primary focus on the car that gave Saleen so much of its success early on — the Ford Mustang. However, earlier this year, Saleen Automotive was revitalised and given another lease on life!
[Via Autoblog]
