How to start it
Step on the brake, press the engine start button on the console or steering column; wait for the cluster to confirm ready before shifting out of P.
7.0L Twin-Turbo V8 supplies 1,500 hp through RWD. The S7 LM weighs 2,750 lb, starts around $1.50M, and is listed at 2024 model-year specification. The catalog lists 0–60 mph in 2.2 seconds and a 290 mph top speed.
Tap a trim to open its full page — specs, features, build configurator and a maintenance schedule tailored to that trim.
Performance, build, and ownership-cost composite.
The S7 is the only American car of its era that could genuinely be compared to a Le Mans prototype, because it more or less was one. Steve Saleen — a racer and Mustang tuner — designed and built it from scratch in 2000 as America's first mid-engined supercar with a carbon body and a steel-and-aluminium honeycomb spaceframe, and then went racing with it, taking the S7R to class wins at Le Mans and in the FIA GT championship.
The engine is a 7.0-litre naturally aspirated V8 in the original — Ford-derived but so heavily reworked by Saleen that it shares little — later twin-turbocharged for around 750 hp in the S7 Twin Turbo. The LM specification pushes it much further still, to around 1,500 hp.
The aerodynamics were the real story. The S7 produces its own weight in downforce at 160 mph, using enormous underbody tunnels and a ground-effect floor rather than a huge wing, which was extremely advanced thinking for a road car in 2000.
Everything about it is hand-built and slightly uncompromising: the cabin is offset to the right for the engine's induction, the doors are enormous, and visibility is limited.
Fewer than 100 exist across all variants. It remains the most serious American supercar attempt of the 2000s, and the direct ancestor of the argument the Corvette ZR1 is making today.
Practical guide for everything a new owner asks on day one — starting the car, finding the gear selector, drive modes, infotainment, driver aids, and easy-to-miss features.
Step on the brake, press the engine start button on the console or steering column; wait for the cluster to confirm ready before shifting out of P.
Console-mounted shifter with R-N-D-S notches; paddles behind the wheel for manual gear control. If you ordered the manual, the gate is dog-leg first-down on most performance variants — read the shift-knob diagram before you pull away cold.
Drive modes are accessed via the drive-mode selector on the console. Available modes typically include Normal, Sport, Eco. Each mode reshuffles throttle mapping, steering weight, adaptive dampers (if equipped), exhaust valves, and stability-control thresholds. On performance trims, an 'Individual' or 'Custom' slot lets you save your favorite combination so you can recall it with one click instead of nesting through menus.
The driver display is a Digital cluster. Use the steering-wheel left thumb-pad to cycle layouts (Classic, Sport, Navigation, Minimal). When in Sport / Track mode the cluster automatically swaps to a wide tach with gear indicator and tire-temperature readout. The head-up display brightness, height, and content are configured from Settings → Displays → HUD.
Infotainment runs on Central touchscreen with smartphone mirroring. Wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are standard; pair from Settings → Connections the first time, then it auto-connects whenever your phone is in range. Steering-wheel push-to-talk wakes the in-car assistant for nav, climate, calls, and messaging without touching the screen. The main display also hosts vehicle-specific apps: tire pressures, performance data recorder (where fitted), drive-mode customizer, and the camera views.
Standard driver aids include adaptive cruise control, lane-keeping assist, automatic emergency braking, blind-spot monitoring, and rear cross-traffic alert. Toggle each system individually from the driver-assist menu (steering-wheel left-pad → Assistance). Highway-driving assist (hands-off in marked lanes on supported roads), automatic lane-change on indicator tap, traffic-jam assist for stop-and-go, and a 360° surround camera with transparent-hood mode are all available and worth enabling for the first time before driving in heavy traffic.
Premium unleaded (91 or 93 octane) is required on Saleen performance models — the engine timing is set for it and lower octane causes audible knock and reduced power. Fuel-cap release is a button on the driver door panel; the cap is capless (just push the nozzle in).
Beyond the physical key, this car supports Smart key. Set up phone-as-key from the Manufacturer app app: it provisions a secure credential to your phone's wallet so a tap on the door handle unlocks the car and placing the phone on the wireless charging pad authorizes ignition. You can also share temporary keys to family members (with optional speed and area limits on performance trims) directly from the app.
A few things every new owner tells us they wish they'd known on day one: