Saleen announces their version of a Model S

[stopcrazypp]

Don't forget racing seats (or at least some with side support). I would welcome that as well as a sighter suspension.

Good suggestion. The seats have been one of the biggest complaints about the Tesla in terms of performance.

 

[Tommy]

The Achilles heel of the MS is its loss of power when pushed hard on the race track; enough loss of power to cripple the MS after only one or two laps on the track. The other specs of the MS make it a competitive race track car and any tinkering would only make the MS that more compelling. I think quite a few folks would be lining up to buy the MS if Saleen just figured out how to eliminate the MS power loss when pushed hard. Any cosmetic changes and other changes Saleen made would just be icing on the cake.

 

[GDH]

gag

 

[brianman]

The Achilles heel of the MS is its loss of power when pushed hard on the race track; enough loss of power to cripple the MS after only one or two laps on the track. The other specs of the MS make it a competitive race track car and any tinkering would only make the MS that more compelling. I think quite a few folks would be lining up to buy the MS if Saleen just figured out how to eliminate the MS power loss when pushed hard. Any cosmetic changes and other changes Saleen made would just be icing on the cake.

I must admit, if they solved it I might let Saleen touch my Sig.

 

[richkae]

I bet that Saleen can make huge improvements in the cooling for trackability. That just isn't a priority for a street car and Tesla struck the right balance for a street car but not for a track car.

Other things they could do besides the suspension/brakes/tires that would make it a much better track car:
- Put in fine/manual control of regen
- Improve/Provide more options for traction/stability control
- Improve the differential
- Lighten the car with lots of carbon fiber, less glass
- Ligthen the car by taking out extraneous things like the charging circuitry

 

[Clprenz]

What I expect:
200 Model S's a year
Price: $175,000-$200,000
what they Start with: Model S P85 with tech package = $98,500
Improvments:
Some Carbon fiber body panels (hood, etc parts, different side panels, different nose) (-100 lbs) = $8,000
Different wheels/tires= $8,000
Suspension upgrade (similar to P+ but much more race oriented and less road tuned) = $5,000
New seats in car carbon fiber etc. (-50 lbs) = $4,000
New spoiler (+10 lbs)
Cooling system improvements (-50lbs) = $5,000
More carbon fiber in chasis and in structure (-100lbs)= $9,000
Interior lightening (-50lbs) = $1,000
Total Saleen Package = $40,000
Spec Improvements:
3.8 0-60
Weight: -340 lbs
BHP: +30
Torque: +45
Performance seats & Body panel designs


These are just goals, I hope Saleen can do at least this. The new nose should be interesting.

 

[nrcooled]

I have to agree with others in this thread that are just excited to see aftermarket support of the Model S. I have never actually been a fan of Saleen due to their very...how to put this nicely..."old school" approach to tuning. With that said, I am hoping that they take a fresh approach to the Model S and not just slapping stickers, body-kit, and big wheels on the car and calling it improved.

I am going to be really excited to see if they come with some performance upgrades to the party.

If they support the S85 with upgrades they will have to

 

[yobigd20]

maybe they'll stick a nitrous oxide engine in the frunk.

 

[Dave EV]

maybe they'll stick a nitrous oxide engine in the frunk.

That's a good idea - could be used to keep the motor/batteries/inverter cool when on the track.

 

[JRP3]

 

[mark]

The Achilles heel of the MS is its loss of power when pushed hard on the race track; enough loss of power to cripple the MS after only one or two laps on the track. The other specs of the MS make it a competitive race track car and any tinkering would only make the MS that more compelling. I think quite a few folks would be lining up to buy the MS if Saleen just figured out how to eliminate the MS power loss when pushed hard. Any cosmetic changes and other changes Saleen made would just be icing on the cake.

I think they will find this to be much harder than with an ICE car. I spoke to Joost (former chief of Tesla service) at a Get Amped event in 2012 and he said that he had melted a bunch of drivetrains by removing the heat limiter. He indicated there were some small improvements to be made by risking more heat, but without a transmission to keep RPM down, it would be hard to solve.

 

[Clprenz]

Saleen Automotive: A play betting on Tesla

I did some research on SLNN, and yes it is correct if you look at the balance sheet. They have $13,000 in cash... that's all.
But I crunched some numbers and this is the potential I see in Saleen

Model S Saleen Sold 750/ yr. (based in similar vehicle sales, aston martin rapide and similar vehicle sales) Cost of Model S Saleen $110,000 Model S, $40,000 parts and add-ons ASP $170,000 Total Model S Revenue $127,500,000 Total Model S Profit $15,000,000 Other profit $1,600,000* modeled increase from Q3 2013 Total CapEx $11,000,000* increase from Model S Workers and Equipment Total Profit $5,600,000 EPS $.059 P/E 25 Share Price $1.475 (Current: $.34)

You can read more in my analysis on my blog post
Saleen Automotive: Rising from the Rubble with a Tesla Model S, UPDATE on EVTown and 2014 | Restore the Freedom: The Future of America One Idea at a Time

- - - Updated - - -

Don't know why this was moved.... it relates to investors not the model S interior

 

[mnx]

This is pretty exciting (unless it's mostly cosmetic).

I too like others would like Saleen to improve the trackability of the car. I think most of this has been mentioned already but here are some hopes of mine anyway.

Add another motor with a transmission to improve 0-60 1/4mile and top speed. Beef up cooling. Hopefully between the 2 that will solve power limiter at the track problem. Suspension upgrades for handling would be nice (esp. coming from the stock air setup on earlier VIN's). Tweaked TC and DSC modes.

Some more supportive seats would be nice as well.

My $0.02.

 

[darthvdr]

I would be most concerned about the warranty.

 

[JRP3]

Salleen talks a little bit more about the project: http://wallstcheatsheet.com/stocks/...ion-aerodynamics-are-in-order.html/?a=viewall

 

[palmer_md]

Seems like they should have kept this on the downLow until they at least built one prototype. Wonder why they are making these announcements so soon. Courting investors?

 

[Doug_G]

I'm skeptical. Unless they can solve the drive train heat problem, they're not going to be able to make the Model S perform better on the track.

 

[Dave EV]

I'm skeptical. Unless they can solve the drive train heat problem, they're not going to be able to make the Model S perform better on the track.

Drag strip maybe with a short boost of power under ideal conditions, but yeah, I agree, the race track is not likely to see significantly enhanced power levels without some significant engineering efforts.

I am not convinced that any aerodynamic efforts will be worthwhile - they will only increase drag on the street and the car can't support high speeds long enough on the track to warrant aerodynamic changes that might increase grip worthwhile. The Model S is just darn hard to improve without large engineering efforts.

Their other EV efforts do sound interesting, though...

 

[JRP3]

I don't see why the stock cooling system could not be upgraded to dump more heat more effectively. The chillers I've mentioned previously would be an easy place to start.

 

[tomas]

Salleen talks a little bit more about the project: http://wallstcheatsheet.com/stocks/...ion-aerodynamics-are-in-order.html/?a=viewall

Reading between lines this says weight/body parts, suspension, aero, seats, etc. power "hard to do" means they can't unless tesla lets them and I don't see it for a company whose mission is reinventing transport at volume and constantly has to prove safety reliability. They can't afford for a 3rd party to mess it up. Headlines would not say saleen blew up, they would say tesla.