Steve Saleen still planning supercar

Auto-tuning entrepreneur Steve Saleen says he has legally regained use of his name on all his products after a lengthy court battle. On Tuesday, he detailed some of the plans for the company.

Remember the S5S Raptor concept car revealed at the New York auto show in 2008? That is apparently still on the books. While there is no immediate announcement coming, Saleen said he is confident that the S5S, or a car similar to it, will be coming out, though maybe with a different name.

"We're still planning on doing something like that," Saleen said. "That's still a part of our plan. The S5S is still in our planning."

It's just not in the immediate planning. Details of the new car are not out, but the original S5S Raptor was to be powered by a 5.0-liter supercharged Ford V8 making 650 hp. That sounds like a good starting point.

While a new supercar is a ways off, Saleen said you can look for a major new-vehicle announcement in the next 90 days.

"It'll be somewhat of a different direction," Saleen said of the new car.

What does that mean? We'll have to wait.

In the four or five years since Saleen left (or was pushed out of) the company that bore his name, he founded SMS (for Steven Mark Saleen) Supercars and set up shop in Corona, Calif. That operation has produced about 400 Dodge Challengers and Ford Mustangs with the SMS name and various levels of tuning. Now that the legal problems of the brand have been resolved, Saleen says he will begin production of a long-planned Camaro version, too. All three will now carry the Saleen name and be offered in three trim levels:

-- The "White Label" will be for normally aspirated cars with unique suspension, tire and 20-inch wheel combinations, unique intake and engine calibration, exhaust, interiors with unique gauges, embroidery on the seats, floor mats, door sills and aerodynamic trim. Power output is listed at 450 hp at the flywheel, Saleen says. The White Label cars all sticker for less than $40,000 and are available at Saleen dealerships across the country.

-- The "Yellow Label" adds a supercharger to increase output to 600 hp at the flywheel.

-- "Black Label" cars get full aerodynamics and a sports suspension and will produce between 625 hp and 650 hp, Saleen said.

The SMS badging will be history, replaced across the board by Saleen nomenclature.

Among the changes at the company will be that parts distribution will continue through the Michigan facility used by the previous Saleen owners. Car assembly and research and development will continue at the Corona facility formerly known as SMS.

"You have to recognize this: It's going to take me a while to rebuild the company," Saleen said. "It's going to take a while to get things restructured and put back into where we were five or six years ago. So people need to be a little bit patient because there's a fair amount of restructuring to go in place. The name is just kind of the starting point. My hope is it won't take 30 years like it did the first time."

Saleen was founded in 1984 when it released its first Mustang.

"Next year we'll have our 30th-anniversary model," Saleen said. "That really makes you feel old, doesn't it?"

By Mark Vaughn