This is a supercharged 1995 Ford Mustang Saleen S351 which was first used as a press vehicle for Saleen, it was then purchased by professional boxer (and businessman) George Foreman who kept it for decades.
The Saleen S351 was one of the quickest American-made cars money could buy in the mid-1990s. This example produces 510 bhp and 495 lb ft of torque, and it has an estimated top speed of 172 mph (277 km/h) – just 8 mph below the Ferrari Testarossa.
Fast Facts – The Ford Mustang Saleen S351
- The 1995 Saleen S351 Mustang was a high-performance version of the fourth-generation Ford Mustang, featuring a supercharged 351 cubic inch V8 producing up to 510 bhp and 495 lb ft of torque. It was one of the fastest American-made cars of its era, with a top speed of up to 172 mph.
- Steve Saleen, a former racing driver, founded Saleen Autosport in 1983, modifying Mustangs into high-performance vehicles. His company gained a reputation for working on Fords, leading to the development of the Saleen S351 and, later, the Saleen S7 supercar and upcoming electric production vehicles.
- The Saleen S351 was more powerful than Ford’s Mustang GT and Cobra, using a race-proven 351 Windsor V8 instead of Ford’s newer modular V8. It featured extensive upgrades, including a Vortech supercharger, high-performance suspension, larger brakes, and a reinforced chassis, making it one of the most capable Mustangs of the time.
- This specific Saleen S351 was originally a press car before being purchased by legendary boxer George Foreman, who kept it in his private collection for decades. Finished in Canary Yellow, it includes rare factory options and is now offered for sale in Washington with its original documentation and history intact.
Steve Saleen + Saleen Automotive
Steve Saleen’s first car as a teenager was a 1956 Porsche Type 356, this may sound unlikely given the current values of 356s however Steve got his car back in 1966 when they were actually relatively affordable secondhand, as everyone was more interested in the newer, faster 911.
Here we see George Foreman (in the car) and Steve Saleen (standing behind the car), presumably when the car was being delivered to Foreman.
In 1969 he upped the ante by buying a secondhand Shelby GT350, an SCCA championship winning model that was essentially a road-legal race car. Always chasing ever more performance he changed the wheels, suspension, exhaust, and by adding two four-barrel Weber carburetors, and a roll cage for safety.
He began racing the car, in hillclimbs at first, but before long he was lining up on the grid as a professional driver in the Southern California B Production Championship. Race wins and lap records would seemingly come easy for the young racing driver, he started competing in the Formula Atlantic series in 1977 and won the Southern California championship.
In 1983, still a competitive racing driver, he founded Saleen Autosport from the dinner table of his home in Santa Rosa, California. His first cars were highly-modified Mustangs that were offered for sale in 1984, many more Mustangs followed throughout the 1980s and beyond.
In the year 2000 the Saleen S7 was released, a supercar developed in house by Steve and his now sizable team. A number of other production cars would follow, and the company is now working on a new electric production car.
The Saleen S351 Mustang
Ford launched their fourth-generation Ford Mustang in 1994, it was a significant upgrade over the Fox Body Mustang it replaced, with far more futuristic styling and a series of major engineering changes under the new aerodynamic body.
This supercharged 5.8 liter Ford V8 was completely rebuilt from the ground up for the S351, and this example is capable of 510 bhp and 495 lb ft of torque.
Saleen had been modifying Mustangs since the mid-1980s and the company had a good name for creating cars that were significantly quicker than anything being rolled out of a Ford factory.
The Saleen S351 version of the Mustang was considerably quicker than any other production Mustang of the time, soundly beating Ford’s own Mustang GT and Mustang Cobra.
Unusually the S351 used the older 351 Ford V8 rather than the newer 4.6 modular Ford V8, but this was likely as the 351 was a well-understood engine with plenty of motorsport history. The lower-power Saleen S281 which was in concurrent production did use the newer V8 however.
Under the hood of the S351 you’ll find a Ford SVO iron-block 351 V8, built from the ground up with Saleen pistons and connecting rods, a new crankshaft, higher-flowing heads, an improved intake, and a performance cam.
This is then all put to the test by a Vortech supercharger. In the standard S351 this engine was good for 495 bhp and 490 lb ft of torque, but in the R Code 500 horsepower version the engine produced 510 bhp and 495 lb ft of torque.
This S351 is finished in Canary Yellow over Black leather upholstery, it has color-matched Speedline five-spoke magnesium wheels, a Speedster hard tonneau cover, and a rear wing.
A slew of other upgrades were made to the S351 including upgraded suspension and brakes, and an uprated interior. As you might expect they didn’t come cheap, selling for over $60,000 USD in 1990s money, the equivalent to over $123,000 USD today.
The 1995 Saleen S351 Mustang Shown Here
As mentioned higher up in the introduction, this 1995 Saleen S351 Mustang was originally the press car, before it was bought by George Foreman – one of the most famous boxers in US history and a man who went on to make close to a quarter billion dollars after retirement.
This car is finished in Canary Yellow over Black leather upholstery, it has color-matched Speedline five-spoke magnesium wheels, a Speedster hard tonneau cover, and a rear wing. It would spend decades in Foreman’s private collection, perhaps a sign of just how much it meant to him.
When it was built, this Saleen was fitted with the R Code 500 horsepower package, the Magnesium Wheel & Tire option, and it was given that optional color-matched Speedster hard tonneau cover.
The interior has a few upgrades, including Recaro front bucket seats and a rear bench seat upholstered in black leather with “Saleen by Recaro” embroidery accents on the front backrests.
The car is now being offered for sale out of Kirkland, Washington on Bring a Trailer with Ford and Saleen window stickers, initial purchase documents, press vehicle photos, manufacturer’s literature, and Texas title in Foreman’s name.
If you’d like to read more about it or register to bid you can visit the listing here.
Images courtesy of Bring a Trailer
Articles that Ben has written have been covered on CNN, Popular Mechanics, Smithsonian Magazine, Road & Track Magazine, the official Pinterest blog, the official eBay Motors blog, BuzzFeed, Autoweek Magazine, Wired Magazine, Autoblog, Gear Patrol, Jalopnik, The Verge, and many more.
Silodrome was founded by Ben back in 2010, in the years since the site has grown to become a world leader in the alternative and vintage motoring sector, with well over a million monthly readers from around the world and many hundreds of thousands of followers on social media.
