Saleen S1 Reservations Finally Open at $160,000 with a $1,000 Deposit

Saleen is offering reservations for the S1 Street at a starting price of $160,000, with a fully refundable $1,000 payment. The track-only S1 Race is listed from $250,000 with a refundable $2,000 reservation. For enthusiasts who have followed the project since its 2017 unveiling, the immediate opportunity is to reserve a car; the public information reviewed by RAREREG does not establish a guaranteed build slot or delivery date.^[3]

That distinction matters for a specialty car with a long development history. A deposit is a concrete step toward buying an S1, but the benefits attached to that step need to be understood before treating it as an allocation.

The online process collects contact details before payment and references a separate reservation agreement. Saleen says a confirmation email should follow within 24 hours. On October 7, the agreement’s linked destination displayed a page-not-found message, leaving queue priority, refund procedures and price protection unverified. Buyers should obtain those terms directly from Saleen before paying.^[4]

There is more certainty about the advertised performance. Saleen lists the Street at 450 horsepower and 425 lb-ft of torque, with a claimed 3.2-second sprint to 60 mph and a 171-mph top track speed. Its starting MSRP excludes options, taxes, delivery and other listed charges, and remains subject to change.^[5]

The Race carries the same advertised output, with a claimed 2.9-second 0–60 time and 180-mph top track speed. Its separate reservation offer gives buyers two distinct versions to consider, although a complete current equipment and options schedule was not verified.^[6]

The original engineering brief helps explain the S1’s appeal: a compact two-seat sports car with its engine behind the cabin, an aluminum structure and a carbon-fiber body. Saleen’s 2017 announcement also specified independent wishbone suspension and a 42 percent front, 58 percent rear weight distribution. These are launch-era descriptions, not a verified build sheet for the current reservation offer.^[7]

The same announcement made a six-speed manual standard and described a paddle-shift automatic as a future option. Transmission choice is therefore a detail to confirm in writing today. Neither an early equipment promise nor a prototype specification establishes what will be installed in an individual customer car.^[7]

Some technical details need more care. The familiar descriptions of a 2.5-liter turbocharged four-cylinder, aluminum tub, carbon-fiber body, 2,685-pound weight and six-speed manual come from earlier S1 material. The original price was $100,000, and the original torque claim was 350 lb-ft.^[7]

September investor material also describes S1 hardware, but its specification summary differs from the current model pages. Those descriptions should not be presented as a settled specification for cars reserved today without clarification. The reservation news therefore marks a new commercial offer within an existing program. It does not, by itself, document every engineering change made since the first announcement.^[8]

The intervening years included real competition. Saleen’s inaugural Cup series used Saleen 1 race cars in 2019, with its season finale held at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in October. The company also announced a GT4 Concept that month. That gives the program a documented racing chapter between its 2017 debut and the 2026 reservation offer; it does not demonstrate that today’s Street version is ready for customer delivery.^[1]

Production is the larger unanswered question. October 2026 reporting identifies Saleen’s original annual production ambition as historical and says the company has not announced a current quantity or delivery date. Buyers should avoid treating a frequently repeated production target as a promise attached to their reservation.^[9]

Saleen’s September 28 SEC filing adds a material caveat: its offering statement still describes the S1 program as paused and says finished inventory remains held for possible future sale. A separate business-plan exhibit in the same filing says Founder Edition reservations have started. Together, those disclosures establish a reservation offer, but do not verify a production restart or customer-delivery schedule.^[10][8]

The filed growth projections assume financing is completed. They are plans for future execution, rather than delivery commitments attached to an individual reservation.^[8]

The price has moved substantially since launch: today’s $160,000 Street starting figure is $60,000, or 60 percent, above the $100,000 advertised in December 2017. That is a nominal comparison across nine years, not an inflation-adjusted calculation or a comparison of identical equipment. It makes the final specification and included equipment especially relevant to the buying decision.^[7]

The Lotus Emira provides useful shopping context for a buyer considering a mid-engine sports car. Lotus’s current US model page describes the Emira V6 SE with a supercharged 3.5-liter V6 and six-speed manual. A fair value comparison needs dated quotes for comparable equipment, delivery charges and warranty coverage. Horsepower alone cannot settle that comparison, particularly while the S1’s final customer specification and delivery timing remain unresolved.^[2]

For collectors, the S1’s appeal extends beyond its horsepower figure. Saleen places it in its Original vehicle family, describing that range as designed from the ground up. It represents a different ownership proposition from a specialty conversion of an existing manufacturer’s car—and one where factory documentation, final specifications and individual build identity deserve particular attention.^[11]

A prospective owner should ask for a written specification, the reservation agreement, the allocation policy and a delivery estimate tied to the intended version. Any Founder Edition designation should come with documented equipment and numbering terms.

For a registry record, retain the factory invoice, specification sheet, correspondence confirming the version and any certificate linking a build number to the car. Record later changes separately from its delivered configuration. An early build or Founder Edition label may interest collectors, but neither guarantees rarity or future value. Before committing beyond a reservation, also ask who will handle warranty work, routine servicing and replacement parts.

The S1 is available to reserve. The next meaningful evidence will be a defined customer build and a delivery commitment.