DriveTech

2006 Saleen Mustang S281

I have two of the best weeks ever, last week a 2006 Corvette Z06 (Sorry the story didn't hit this section, it was a direct loan from Chevrolet, but its coming!) and now this week the 2006 Mustang Saleen S281 from Ken Grody Ford. Do you want me to choose? Nope not on your life, those two cars are on different platforms and all I'm going to write about today is the Saleen. Black in color splashes of chrome on the wheels, exhaust tips and that was just about it, a big whale tail, ground effects a little badgeing, lower the beast, put on a set of low profile Pirelli 20X9 P-Zero Rosso up front and 20X10 on the rears and you have one bad Mustang.
Before I continue I must give out my heart filled thanks to the management of Ken Grody Ford for allowing me to take the Saleen for this road test. I have tested Saleen Mustangs in the past and they were great looking Mustangs but this monster was all performance and as an added bonus you got "the look" as well. Let's start by saying this Saleen was custom built from the ground up with Saleen performance designed components, yes Saleen starts off with a Ford Mustang but the rest is all race proven Saleen products. I have already mentioned the tire and wheel package then we will go to the suspension which comes from Racecraft built to Saleen specifications, linear rate front and rear springs, Saleen front struts and rear shocks, boxed front lower control arms, three link live rear axle with a panhard bar, Saleen front sway bar and pivot bushings, Saleen 15-inch slotted and vented front disc brake system and a six piston calipers and ABS. That is what keeps the Mustang on the road and in the corners. Yes it is a little rough on ruff roads but if you're like me I like to feel the road when I'm driving and I loved the feel especially in the corners.
Going inside the Saleen you will see special stitched seating front and rear with Saleen logo's in the head rests front and rear and yes the rear seat will fold down for added storage, your front seats have electrical adjustments the steering wheel is Saleen and your cruise controls are embedded in the wheel as well. A nice center console with an arm rest and storage and straight up shifter is connected to a short shifting six speed manual that is also Saleen. The instrumentation pod has been replaced with a 200 mile-per hour speedo and a tach the same size as the speedo, nestled in between the two larger gauges you will find fuel, water, oil and amp gauges and then on the top of the dash in the center you will find two more gauges matching the rest of the gauges telling you what your supercharger boost is and air temperature, neat clean, typical Saleen. Going outside for a minute Saleen has not just added some ground effects, his outside treatment is truly an Air Management System which includes an aluminum hood with heat ventilation vents, front fascia and side skirts, door cladding and rear fascia, Saleen front carbon splitter, (be careful it is really low) Saleen carbon rear diffuser, Saleen rear spoiler and end caps all designed in a wind tunnel for those times you head out to the Bonneville Salt Flats just to see how fast you can go and Saleen wants to keep you on the road and the Air Management System is designed to do just that.
Now let's go under the hood where the heart beats a tremendous thump! Saleen starts with a 4.6-liter V8, takes the engine apart and adds Saleen parts, forged aluminum pistons, forged steel connecting rods, forged steel crankshaft, ported aluminum cylinder heads, and tops off the engine package with a Saleen Series VI integrated screw type supercharger and this will give you 550 horsepower and 500 foot pounds of torque, WOW! To protect this investment Saleen adds a dual stage water to air intercooled system a Saleen dual core radiator and high flow cooling system. To get this all to the ground you need a Saleen six speed manual transmission hooking up to a light weight aluminum flywheel and a competition clutch pack, balanced drive shaft and Saleen Maxgrip differential with 4.10:1 gear ratio. Since this Mustang still needs to meet California emission standards Saleen put in a Powerflash Calibration computer and also added a cleanable air filtration system and. You will also get 12 miles per gallon in the city and 21 on the open road if you keep your foot out of it!
This isn't all you get, there are a lot more goodies that come in this package and all I can tell you is you need to take a drive up to Car Country Carlsbad and check out a Saleen for yourself at Ken Grody Ford and if I didn't mention it Ken Grody has a complete performance center and these guys know their stuff. Just so you know this is the Monster of the Saleen's and if this one is too much for you they have an array of Saleen's that will meet your adrenalin limits. When you buy a Saleen your buying a collector car and this baby will indeed increase in value probably better than you bank portfolio and a lot more fun! I hate giving this one back, but oh well on to the next ride!