saleen have revealed a new super car called the raptor. i quite like it.

Quote :

Msn news


Revealed: 650bhp Saleen Raptor



By Dan Trent
April 04 2008
Global economic meltdown might be round the corner but it's business as usual in supercar world.
And while the likes of Ferrari, Lamborghini and Porsche haven't usually had much to worry about in terms of Stateside rivals it looks like American tuner, racer and sometime supercar builder Saleen has aspirations to join the party.

• GALLERY: Saleen's Ferrari-rivalling new supercar

Saleen's bread and butter is hot Mustangs and Ford F150 pick-ups - true blue Yank muscle in other words. But this is underpinned with genuine race nous, honed at Le Mans and in the ALMS and FIA GT race series with the competition variant of the fearsome S7 supercar. A true big hitter, the 750bhp twin-turbo version ranks as one of the fastest cars ever made but its looks were never going to trouble the European supercar hierarchy of Ferrari, Lamborghini, Pagani et al. That could be about to change though, with an all-new concept wrapping hard hitting performance in stunning bodywork and aimed directly at cars like the R8, F430 and Gallardo.




Called the S5S Raptor, Saleen is promising a crushing 650bhp from the mid-mounted, supercharged 5.0-litre V8. Like the Koenigsegg CCXR, the Raptor will be configured to run on E85 bio-ethanol. Saleen can claim this is eco awareness as much as it likes but the real reason is that this higher octane fuel means ramping up the boost pressure and compression ratio for more power is a straightforward route to even more explosive performance. As a result Saleen is aiming for 0-62 in little over three seconds and a 200mph-plus top speed, all for $185,000. No coincidence when you realise the US price for a Gallardo is just $5,000 less, while F430s start at around $175,000.


The stunning looks certainly move Saleen's game on from the dramatic but strictly functional aesthetics of the S7 and with the firm's proven engineering track record the Italians would do well to sit up and take notice of this new American contender.

Revealed: 650bhp Saleen Raptor

Click on an image to enlarge it

The design looks like a Hot Wheels version of the F430, a bit over the top if you'd ask me.

It's really cheap too:$185000. That's cheaper than a BMW M3 costs here.

Has anyone found out how much it weighs? 650bhp may be a lot, but if it's as heavy as a Veyron it won't be that fast.

Quote from hrtburnout :

It's really cheap too:$185000. That's cheaper than a BMW M3 costs here.

excuse me, but there's absolutely no way a German 75k Euro car would cost over $185k ANYWHERE

Quote from squidhead :

excuse me, but there's absolutely no way a German 75k Euro car would cost over $185k ANYWHERE

Unless you were a mug and knew no different.

Anyway, that car is pretty ugly. I'd take a S7 over that anyday.

Quote from squidhead :

excuse me, but there's absolutely no way a German 75k Euro car would cost over $185k ANYWHERE

Krhm... recommended prise for an M3 in Finland is 113k euros, which is about 177k US dollars. Mmmm mmm, got to love taxes.

Quote from Blackout :

Krhm... recommended prise for an M3 in Finland is 113k euros, which is about 177k US dollars. Mmmm mmm, got to love taxes.

It's time like this I actually am happy to be living in Latvia

Quote from Blackout :

Krhm... recommended prise for an M3 in Finland is 113k euros, which is about 177k US dollars. Mmmm mmm, got to love taxes.

and they just LOWERED the taxes. Wonder how much it cost before

To the point...that car looks damn ugly.

Well we know what will be in next seasons Top Gear now, that thing racing against a real Raptor.

Quote from Blackout :

Krhm... recommended prise for an M3 in Finland is 113k euros, which is about 177k US dollars. Mmmm mmm, got to love taxes.

An M3 costs €120000 here, sadly . They only cost $50000 or so, in the US of A.

Quote from hrtburnout :

An M3 costs €120000 here, sadly . They only cost $50000 or so, in the US of A.

50000 USD (USD) = 31775 EUR (EUR)

That's darn cheap.. Why would anyone buy a M3 here then? It's cheaper to import it.

Quote from sgt.flippy :

50000 USD (USD) = 31775 EUR (EUR)

That's darn cheap.. Why would anyone buy a M3 here then? It's cheaper to import it.

I think that if you'd import one, the government would add taxes anyway. It might not save you as much as you'd think. It might be worth the effort though.

A good way to calculate the US car prices is to take the Dutch price, and then divide it by 2.5 or 3. It's that bad

Quote from hrtburnout :

I think that if you'd import one, the government would add taxes anyway. It might not save you as much as you'd think. It might be worth the effort though.

A good way to calculate the US car prices is to take the Dutch price, and then divide it by 2.5 or 3. It's that bad

Dutch cars are more expensive anyways because road taxes are included. Here in Belgium it's seperate, so it seems our cars are cheaper while they aren't.
That's what you get for keeping a licence plate with your car

Quote from sgt.flippy :

Dutch cars are more expensive anyways because road taxes are included. Here in Belgium it's seperate, so it seems our cars are cheaper while they aren't.
That's what you get for keeping a licence plate with your car

Road taxes aren't included in the price

Or taxes is like .7 on ever 100 or something like that....But when you go and buy a car you can talk the price down quite a lot...

We went and bought a car about a week and a half ago and the starting price was about $26,500 and we talked them down to $18,000.

But that car is quite nice looking I like the headlights.

You can haggle in all countries, but the US (for whatever reason) gets stuff (i.e. cars) a LOT cheaper than Europe.

A Mustang is exactly half the price in the US than the UK. (£13,000 vs £26,000) I'm willing to bet that in the rest of Europe it's even worse.

Thats because the US has good trading with other country's...And some car's are made here so that's why some are cheaper.

Quote from scoobyrbac :

Thats because the US has good trading with other country's...And some car's are made here so that's why some are cheaper.

That's not the reason at all.

Quote from hrtburnout :

Road taxes aren't included in the price

Well, I wasn't sure, there is some tax included in the Netherlands, which we have to pay seperately. And it has something to do with the licence plates which come with the car.

Quote from Jakg :

That's not the reason at all.

And even though their dollar is worth a lot less, their cars a lot cheaper than ours, even excluding the local taxes here.

Quote from Jakg :

You can haggle in all countries, but the US (for whatever reason) gets stuff (i.e. cars) a LOT cheaper than Europe.

A Mustang is exactly half the price in the US than the UK. (£13,000 vs £26,000) I'm willing to bet that in the rest of Europe it's even worse.

They don't change the number, just the symbol in front of the number.

Quote from hrtburnout :

And even though their dollar is worth a lot less

Doesn't mean anything - It's the rate of change that's the issue.

Quote from Jakg :

Doesn't mean anything - It's the rate of change that's the issue.

That's what I meant to say

Looks like a cross between a Gallardo and an R8. It's nowhere near as cool as the S7 though - I love the way that car looks.

And on the price issue, it's actually way cheaper to buy a US model and import it. Stupid UK taxes. I did some research a few months ago and found out that it only costs about £450 to get a car delivered from the US to the UK. Obviously you'll have some tax to add to that to register it here, but I'm guessing it won't be half the price of the car itself

we have a M3 E92 driving around in mah hood, manager from a concrete company...

Quote from Jakg :

You can haggle in all countries, but the US (for whatever reason) gets stuff (i.e. cars) a LOT cheaper than Europe.

A Mustang is exactly half the price in the US than the UK. (£13,000 vs £26,000) I'm willing to bet that in the rest of Europe it's even worse.

That's an unofficial import though so you're not comparing the same thing. Autocar quoted just under £20k for a Shelby one recently.