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Saleen S5S Raptor – Wikipedia
Saleen reveals all-American S5S Raptor supercar concept
BY BOB GRITZINGER
MAR 19, 2008

If the new guys running the shop at Saleen are worth their salt, an ethanol-powered Saleen race car will be tearing up the streets of America and the circuits of the American Le Mans Series in a few years.
At the New York auto show, Saleen on Thursday unveiled the S5S Raptor, a conceptual vision of an all-new, all-American sports car that its makers say will rival European exotics such as the Ferrari F430.
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Comparable in size to the F430, the S5S Raptor packs a hand-built Saleen 5.0-liter supercharged (hence “S5S”) three-valve V8 producing 650 hp at 6300 rpm and 630 lb-ft of torque at 4400 rpm, running on E85 ethanol. Why E85? Maybe because it’s the official fuel of the ALMS starting this season and the Saleen folks expect the Raptor to be in the thick of GT-class competition in the not-too-distant future. Or maybe just because ethanol produces a 5 percent horsepower boost over the same V8 fueled by gasoline.
Either way, the S5S opens a whole new chapter in the Saleen story, one that draws on the company’s racing roots–exemplified by the Saleen S7R–combined with a breath of fresh air from new ownership and new top management.
Gone from the front office is company founder and namesake Steve Saleen, who resigned in mid-2007, about three and a half years after his company was purchased by investment firm Hancock Park Associates. After adding Michigan-based American Specialty Cars to the portfolio in 2007, HPA merged the two specialty manufacturers. Saleen is now managed by a group of executives, some of whom have responsibilities in both companies, including Saleen and ASC president and CEO Paul Wilbur, Saleen and ASC vice chairman and chief technical officer Chris Theodore and Saleen general manager Marques McCammon.
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