Auto Car | Saleen S7R | After unveiling two new LMP2 prototypes last year, Team Enduracers has now revealed the first new GT car to make it into the Service Pack 1 for their popular Endurance Series mod for rFactor – The GT1-class Saleen S7R.
Build by Steve Saleen and Ray Mallock Ltd., the Saleen S7R is powered by a 7.0l Ford V8 engine. Fourteen S7R’s have been built and campaigned by notable teams such as Oreca, Konrad Motorsport, Zakspeed and RML. In total, S7Rs have raced in over 264 events, scoring 166 podiums and 105 wins in series like the ALMS, the FIA GT, the Le Mans Series and the Le Mans 24 Hours.
The first service pack will be introducing several new models to Endurance Series, including the Peugeot 908 and Audi R10 diesel sports cars, the Acura ARX-01, the Saleen S7R and the Ferrari F430.
Once in a while, a race team allows a magazine journalist to get behind the wheel of its thoroughbred machine. Typically, damage control dictates this happen at the end of the racing season, or with last year's car. This time, they called us in mid-season. My numbers came in, so it was off to the Streets of Willow Springs to drive Park Place Racing's Saleen S7R.
Saleen, the low-volume manufacturer named for proprietor Steve and known for its high-performance Mustangs, invited us to drive its new race car derived from the streetable, soon-to-be-released S7 supercar-and it ain't no Mustang. The Number 5 you see here is currently holding second place (as of this writing) in the GTS class of the Grand American Rolex Sports Car Series, in the hands of Chris Bingham and Ron Johnson. When you read this, three S7Rs (that qualified 1st, 2nd, and 6th) will have run in the LMGTS class at Le Mans. The S7R is a real race car, already with a winning track record, a big future, and a serious attitude.
The S7R makes angry, powerful, scary sounds seldom heard outside Winston Cup garages. During warmup, Bingham stabbed the throttle repeatedly. The 427cid engine (yes, that Ford-derived monument to big-cube horsepower), with lumpy cams, negligible flywheel, and nearly open headers, sent shock waves through the soft, fleshy parts of all onlookers. Blam! Blam! Blam! It sounded like it was trying to kill itself from the inside out. I knew this test drive was going to be one of the most memorable of the year, but unleashing this purpose-built race car on a tight little track like the Streets would be like taking a Navy destroyer to go bass fishing. Take my word for it, the Saleen S7R is the real deal.
"We've lowered the redline to 6400 rpm [from 7000]," I was told in a "do-this-don't-do-that" pre-lap briefing. "But don't shift at anything lower than 6000-the car won't like it, and neither will you. Even though it's a race transmission with straight-cut gears, please use the clutch on both up- and downshifts because we don't want to replace any pieces before next week's race at the Glen. We highly recommend heel-and-toeing, as you'll want to crack off downshifts while braking to keep the car settled. If you have any experience with racing slicks, you know they have lots of grip, but this car's engine can easily overpower them. Squeeze the throttle on, don't mash it because the back end will come around-and quickly. Finally, of course, there's no stability control or ABS, but you won't likely lock up the tires because they're so wide and sticky. Okay? You'll have five minutes for your session, we'll flag you in, then take one cool-down lap. Have a nice time, and please don't crash our car. It's the only one we have, and we're counting on it for the rest of the Grand Am season. Any questions?"
Contorting over the door sill and under the steel tube-framed roof header, I poured myself into the racing seat. Presented with a Spartan dashboard consisting of crude toggle switches, push buttons, and one large, red, cotter-pinned "FIRE" button, I again noted how purpose-built the S7R is. As an additional reminder, the naked interior reeked of glue and resins bonding the carbon-fiber body panels together. Six-point belt-check. Attach steering wheel-check. Flip the toggle marked "ignition"-check. Push the button marked "start"-Blam! The beast awoke.
The first challenge was trying to ease "over 600" horsepower off a race clutch onto tall gears (of undisclosed ratios) and racing slicks so debris-laden they looked like crumb donuts. Yes, I stalled it. But I'd earlier seen the guy who drives it for a living do the same thing. Once underway, the predrive jitters vanished when I found myself alone, in the car, on the track.
Source : www.motortrend.com
Build by Steve Saleen and Ray Mallock Ltd., the Saleen S7R is powered by a 7.0l Ford V8 engine. Fourteen S7R’s have been built and campaigned by notable teams such as Oreca, Konrad Motorsport, Zakspeed and RML. In total, S7Rs have raced in over 264 events, scoring 166 podiums and 105 wins in series like the ALMS, the FIA GT, the Le Mans Series and the Le Mans 24 Hours.
The first service pack will be introducing several new models to Endurance Series, including the Peugeot 908 and Audi R10 diesel sports cars, the Acura ARX-01, the Saleen S7R and the Ferrari F430.
Once in a while, a race team allows a magazine journalist to get behind the wheel of its thoroughbred machine. Typically, damage control dictates this happen at the end of the racing season, or with last year's car. This time, they called us in mid-season. My numbers came in, so it was off to the Streets of Willow Springs to drive Park Place Racing's Saleen S7R.
Saleen, the low-volume manufacturer named for proprietor Steve and known for its high-performance Mustangs, invited us to drive its new race car derived from the streetable, soon-to-be-released S7 supercar-and it ain't no Mustang. The Number 5 you see here is currently holding second place (as of this writing) in the GTS class of the Grand American Rolex Sports Car Series, in the hands of Chris Bingham and Ron Johnson. When you read this, three S7Rs (that qualified 1st, 2nd, and 6th) will have run in the LMGTS class at Le Mans. The S7R is a real race car, already with a winning track record, a big future, and a serious attitude.
The S7R makes angry, powerful, scary sounds seldom heard outside Winston Cup garages. During warmup, Bingham stabbed the throttle repeatedly. The 427cid engine (yes, that Ford-derived monument to big-cube horsepower), with lumpy cams, negligible flywheel, and nearly open headers, sent shock waves through the soft, fleshy parts of all onlookers. Blam! Blam! Blam! It sounded like it was trying to kill itself from the inside out. I knew this test drive was going to be one of the most memorable of the year, but unleashing this purpose-built race car on a tight little track like the Streets would be like taking a Navy destroyer to go bass fishing. Take my word for it, the Saleen S7R is the real deal.
"We've lowered the redline to 6400 rpm [from 7000]," I was told in a "do-this-don't-do-that" pre-lap briefing. "But don't shift at anything lower than 6000-the car won't like it, and neither will you. Even though it's a race transmission with straight-cut gears, please use the clutch on both up- and downshifts because we don't want to replace any pieces before next week's race at the Glen. We highly recommend heel-and-toeing, as you'll want to crack off downshifts while braking to keep the car settled. If you have any experience with racing slicks, you know they have lots of grip, but this car's engine can easily overpower them. Squeeze the throttle on, don't mash it because the back end will come around-and quickly. Finally, of course, there's no stability control or ABS, but you won't likely lock up the tires because they're so wide and sticky. Okay? You'll have five minutes for your session, we'll flag you in, then take one cool-down lap. Have a nice time, and please don't crash our car. It's the only one we have, and we're counting on it for the rest of the Grand Am season. Any questions?"
Contorting over the door sill and under the steel tube-framed roof header, I poured myself into the racing seat. Presented with a Spartan dashboard consisting of crude toggle switches, push buttons, and one large, red, cotter-pinned "FIRE" button, I again noted how purpose-built the S7R is. As an additional reminder, the naked interior reeked of glue and resins bonding the carbon-fiber body panels together. Six-point belt-check. Attach steering wheel-check. Flip the toggle marked "ignition"-check. Push the button marked "start"-Blam! The beast awoke.
The first challenge was trying to ease "over 600" horsepower off a race clutch onto tall gears (of undisclosed ratios) and racing slicks so debris-laden they looked like crumb donuts. Yes, I stalled it. But I'd earlier seen the guy who drives it for a living do the same thing. Once underway, the predrive jitters vanished when I found myself alone, in the car, on the track.
Source : www.motortrend.com
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