- Saleen lists the S1 Street at $160,000 with a refundable $1,000 deposit.
- Its 2017 launch announcement also offered reservations with a $1,000 deposit.
- Current model and reservation pages provide no firm customer delivery date.
Tesla doesn’t have a monopoly on sports cars that spend the better part of a decade coming soon. Saleen’s S1 is back in the spotlight with a $160,000 starting price and a refundable $1,000 reservation. It was supposed to reach buyers in summer 2018, two years before Tesla’s original target for its second Roadster. Nearly nine years after its unveiling, Saleen can tell you how much to send, but its website still doesn’t say when you’ll get the car.
According to Saleen’s current reservation page, buyers can put down $1,000 for the S1 Street, with the deposit described as fully refundable. The advertised $160,000 price excludes delivery and other fees, and Saleen hasn’t published a delivery charge on its model page. That’s $60,000, or 60 percent, above the original asking price.
More: Saleen Wants Your $500 To Build The Supercar It Promised In 2023
There’s a particularly awkward detail behind the latest reservation push. Saleen’s own December 2017 announcement already said a $1,000 deposit would secure an order. It also said production would begin soon in Corona, California, with a planned annual run of 1,500 cars. In other words, accepting money for an S1 isn’t a milestone Saleen just discovered.
It offered the same basic proposition when the car cost $100,000. Our coverage at the time reported a launch the following summer. The comparison to Roadster almost writes itself. Tesla unveiled the car in November of 2017, accepted $50,000 reservations, and promised production in 2020. Those buyers are still waiting, and Tesla recently reopened reservations. Saleen’s entry fee is much smaller, but the familiar arrangement remains.
Saleen currently claims 450 hp (336 kW), 425 lb-ft (576 Nm), a 0–60 mph (96 km/h) time of 3.2 seconds, and a 171 mph (275 km/h) top speed. The track-only S1 Race starts at $250,000, excluding delivery and other fees, with a refundable $2,000 deposit. Its claimed sprint drops to 2.9 seconds, while top speed rises to 180 mph (290 km/h). Much like the Roadster, some of the promised figures are somewhat out of date these days.
To Saleen’s credit, the S1 has done more than pose for promotional photos. Cup versions competed in its racing series in 2019. That gives the project some substance, but it doesn’t answer when a customer can expect a street car. Saleen’s current model and reservation pages provide no firm delivery date. Until that changes, the S1’s most convincing similarity to the Roadster is how easily both can take a deposit while keeping a delivery date of TBD.
