Saleen Cars

Saleen, Incorporated, commonly known as Saleen, was an American manufacturer of high performance sports cars and high performance automotive parts in Troy, Michigan, formerly based in Irvine, California. Founded by Steve Saleen in 1983, Saleen was a Delaware corporation owned by Hancock Park Associates from 2001 to 2009.

Elegant White Saleen Cars

Saleen manufactured limited edition, high-performance vehicles. Saleen was an automotive original equipment manufacturer (OEM) and was the last American small car manufacturer bearing OEM status. Unlike aftermarket "tuner" companies, Saleen was subject to the same federal regulations governing design and testing of their automotive products as larger vehicle manufacturers such as Ford, General Motors, or Toyota. Most of Saleen's vehicles were highly modified versions of existing mass produced sports cars such as the Ford Mustang. Saleen produced over 8,000 modified Mustangs from 1983 through 2009. It also produced modified versions of a number of other Ford models.

Yellow Saleen Fast Cars

The parts and gear department of the company marketed car parts and accessories such as custom wheels, exhaust systems, brakes and other high performance parts. Saleen operated a retail store at the Irvine Spectrum in Irvine, California to sell these car parts and accessories directly to customers and to offer vehicle sales without a need for a sales-lot. However, the store was quietly closed on December 7, 2007.

Red Saleen Cars Parking
Yellow Saleen Cars Front View
Yellow Saleen Cars Concept
Red Saleen Cars

Saleen operated an assembly plant (Saleen Special Vehicles) in Troy, Michigan where it conducted assembly and painting for the Ford GT for Ford Motor Company and temporarily offered prototyping and show-car building services to other automotive OEMs.


As of mid-2005, Saleen discontinued manufacture of the "Nitrous-ready" N2O S121 Saleen Focus. The 550 hp (410 kW) naturally-aspirated mid-engine Saleen S7 was discontinued after the 2004 model year with the introduction of the Saleen S7TT although both editions are commonly referred to as the Saleen S7.