| 07-29-06 TheMustangNews: In the warm humid summer evening at the grand opening of Steve Saleen’s newest venture, The Saleen Store in Irvine, CA we had a chance to talk with Steve Saleen and Parnelli Jones about the upcoming 2007 Saleen PJ special edition Mustang.
Parnelli Jones is a warm and unassuming character who loves to talk about the cars. A man who Steve Saleen introduced to the crowd as one of his idols, Parnelli spoke enthusiastically about the Grabber Orange Mustang sitting to the left of the podium.
Job One on the cars is said to be sometime in October with deliveries coming shortly thereafter. Steve Saleen said that a little over half the cars are already spoken for. Parnelli smiled and noted that he was responsible for selling 21 of them himself. Only 499 of the 500 special editions will be for sale as the racing legend himself will be getting one of the cars with his name.
The car is special in a number of ways. Not only is it one of the best executed tributes to the Boss 302 Trans Am racing cars we have ever seen, but as a product for today’s market represents an alluring opportunity. The car uses a collection of unique parts not found on other Saleen models including a front fascia, rear spoiler, and trim treatments specific to the car. A shaker hood scoop with a “302” emblem looks as if it was taken directly off a ‘70 Boss. The only giveaway to its part in the 21st century is the Saleen “S” logo. The interior gets a charcoal and orange leather trim treatment that is much in keeping with Saleen’s high sense of style.
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Motivating the car is an intoxicating if not precursory 3V 5.0 liter or “302” version of the Mustang GT 4.6 engine. Hand-built by Saleen, the stroker engine puts out a healthy 370 naturally aspirated horsepower. With a forged bottom end this engine is likely to respond well to forced induction, which left us to ponder the likelihood that the engine might end up in a future Saleen product. With the cost and time investment to get a new engine through the federal smog approval and CARB regulatory process it seems a but heady for only a 500 unit run of cars.
When asked about the possibility of an S-302 or S-302 Extreme Saleen Mustang in the near future, company executives and Steve Saleen himself were mum on the subject. Steve did however agree that it might make sense to offer such an engine at some point in the future saying, “Opportunities such as that are always being looked at.”
In any case the car that Steve and Parnelli built is sure to be one to keep. Not only is it “not another clone”, but it has a genuine pedigree that is worth mortgaging the house for. But as Steve himself said, “Don’t wait too long to get yours”.
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