Saleen’s New Supercar To Be Called The 'S8'


By Viknesh Vijayenthiran

11/28/2013

Saleen’s S7 supercar of the previous decade will spawn a successor in the next two years, and it will be called the “S8” (assuming there is no conflict with Audi and its own S8). The information was revealed by Saleen CEO and founder Steve Saleen during the recent Los Angeles Auto Show. “We haven't forgotten about the supercar genre," Saleen told Autoblog.

"We are working on what we'll call the 'S8' and the continuation of the American supercar."

In 2007, Saleen was in the midst of developing a successor to the S7. The company rolled out the S5S Raptor concept in 2008 to preview the car, but then Steve Saleen quit to start a new firm called SMS Supercars and Saleen the company eventually ran into financial trouble. This provided Steve Saleen with the opportunity to take control of Saleen once again and continue work on the successor to the S7.

Few details are known about Saleen’s next supercar. Steve Saleen has said the new supercar will be significantly updated and upgraded from the S5S Raptor. The concept came with a mid-mounted 5.0-liter V-8, supercharged to the tune of 650 horsepower. The original S7,meanwhile, was fitted with a variety of different V-8s, including a twin-turbocharged unit with as much as 750 horsepower on tap.