Saleen has enjoyed a long-standing relationship with Ford Motor Company, producing some of the most desirable modified variants of any muscle car on the market. Beginning in the late 1980s, Saleen’s interest in road course racing and improving cars like the Mustang through thoughtful aerodynamic and suspension improvements made the company a household name for fast Fords. This particular 1996 Saleen S-281 listed here on eBay shows just under 20,000 original miles and features a Vortech supercharger with an asking price of $25,000.
Like the first generation Saleen, the S-281 was mostly an exercise in aerodynamic improvements and track-tested Racecraft suspension components. The body is easily recognized as being non-standard with the front and rear valences, side skirts, rear spoiler, color-matched wheels, and decals. While the lack of actual horsepower upgrades in standard form may seem disappointing, it didn’t faze muscle car fans as this was easily one of the Saleen’s most popular models. The S-281 enabled Saleen to begin producing more high performance models like the S-351.
But if you purchased an S-281 and felt like you were the only guy in town with a performance car lacking actual additional performance, the aftermarket was still there to save you. This Saleen features a Vortech V-1 supercharger, which was hardly unusual once the S-281 hit the market. One could even argue this was the smarter was to play it, allowing owners to save significant dollars over the 5.8L S-351 while greatly enhancing the performance of the more affordable S-281. The Vortech kit pushes the naturally aspirated 4.6L 2V SOHC V-8 to around 330 b.h.p.
The interior didn’t showcase much Saleen gear aside from the floor mats and the white-faced gauges. Otherwise, it remained a sea of black plastic and cloth upholstery. This was in keeping with Saleen’s emphasis on true chassis and performance improvements rather than a lot of cosmetic chutzpah. The seller doesn’t say much about the car’s upgraded drivetrain, just noting he’s owned it for 10 years and driven it to the occasional car show. For a rare specimen like an S-281 with desirable performance upgrades already done, this seems like terrific bang for the buck.
Thanks Jeff. I agree with the theme of your write-up. These Saleens were performance-oriented but had just enough visual changes to make them distinct. Overall I always thought they were a well-done package. This one looks to be in very good condition. It indeed could provide excellent “bang for the buck.”