There’s a lot of fun automotive news at the 2017 LA Auto Show. Besides the usual list of new SUVs, there’s a new supercar. Saleen announced production of the S1, a mid-engine coupe with a turbocharged 4-cyl that puts out 450 hp at 350 lb-ft of torque. Not a lot for a supercar? It is in this case since the S1 is reported to weigh 2700#. Naught to 60 in 3.5 sec, and it starts at about $100,000. For those of you in Texas, the top speed is 180 mph. Anyone else find this exciting?
450hp out of a 4? I remember when the S2000 came out and everyone was stunned that its 4-banger was putting out 200.
My MR2 weighs about that and has 130hp. Putting 450 in there would make it an absolutely insane car.
Exciting? Why? It’s just another in a long list of supercars that there’s no place to drive.
Now if they could produce a fun ragtop roadster or coupe for under $10,000, THAT would excite me!
2 Likes
Not really.
The S2000 engine was normally aspirated, and putting out 240 hp or so was quite good the the last decade.
It reminds me of the original NSX, or maybe it’s what I hoped the new NSX would have been. Saleen will build it themselves, too.
Spoil Sport. 8^P
I know guys with 400hp boosted S2ks. They’re great, until they break, which usually involves cylinder wall scoring and that gets fun because the walls are fiber-reinforced metal and expensive to hone.
The new NSX should definitely have been closer to something like the Saleen - especially considering how much it costs.
The 2.5L motor will be built in house. Saleen has a lot of experience turbocharging and supercharging engines, and I expect that pros like them will get the job done right. Those 400 hp S2000 engines had a handicap in that they weren’t designed for power that high. No offense to your friends, but they had to work with what Honda gave them. I’m hoping for reliability in line with the original NSX. Prius-reliable is too much to ask for, IMO.
I wasn’t intending to suggest the Saleen will have reliability problems. It’ll probably be fine right up until the point where the owner wraps it around a tree. 
3 Likes
It reminds me of the Alfa 4c in some ways but it’s about 200lbs heavier with about another 142 horsepower. Could be interesting assuming it actually gets built.
If it were an electric car that cost a quarter of a million dollars you would approve.
1 Like
I’m a lot more approving and excited about the electric car that costs $35K.
I’d be ecstatic if it were an electric car for $10K.
I don’t live by the “mine’s bigger than yours” theory.
But, than, you’re clearly making a judgment about me without having any idea what you’re talking about. Nice try. But you really should try to stop making personally-directed comments.
Cars like the S1 should come with training.
1 Like
I remember reading about a law from the early days that required a ‘mature person’ to warn others that an automobile was approaching.
1 Like
A new civic costs 20k. Why do you think tesla can/could make one for 10k?
The mature part of an adult is not the part that buys a car like the S1. Still, some maturity is required to drive a car like that. Track training to learn how to handle the power is a good first step. Driving responsibly on the road is the next. If someone wants to drive like a mad man, he can go to a road course, like the one he was trained on.
1 Like
You are in favor of the Tesla Roadster but reject the Saleen and other performance cars stating there is no place to drive them.
2 Likes
I was a mature adult once. It was boring. 
1 Like
Not everybody considers “boring” to be a negative thing
One size does not fit all
Doesn’t mean the person that is content to live a boring life is in any way an inferior person
I went to the show in 1975 at the Coliseum. It was very interesting.