Saleen 1 GT4 Car Unveiled

Photo: Brian Cleary/SRO

Saleen has taken the wraps off its GT4 car, ahead of its planned race debut in 2020.

Unveiled Thursday evening at the Bellagio Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, the Saleen 1 GT4 ‘Concept’ is largely based off the manufacturer’s new-for-2019 Saleen 1 Cup car, featuring a 2.2-liter four-cylinder turbo that produces 450 horsepower.

Updates have been made to the car’s front splitter and fenders, plus a new “advanced” rear diffuser, rear wing and anti-lock braking system to comply with SRO’s GT4 regulations.

The cars will be built at Saleen’s Corona, Calif.-based facilities starting in November, ahead of a planned debut in Pirelli GT4 America competition next year pending homologation by the SRO.

“We developed the Saleen 1 to be fully capable on the track and easily adapt to racing applications,” said Steve Saleen, CEO and founder of Saleen Automotive.

“Our company was founded on racing DNA and the track is where we prove our reputation.

“We look forward to completing the homologation process with SRO and seeing these cars compete at GT4 events around the world.”

According to Saleen’s director of motorsports Gabriele Cadringher, a number of elements have been taken from the manufacturer’s experience in its single-make series, which launched earlier this year.

“We found during the inaugural Saleen Cup season, our test session lap times were already competitive with the top GT4 times, regardless of the track,” said Cadringher.

“The performance of the Saleen 1 has exceeded even our high expectations and we expect this car to be very competitive in GT4 next year.”

The car will will be priced at $225,000, making it one of the more competitively priced options in the GT4 platform.

Photo: Saleen

Image: Saleen

Image: Saleen

John Dagys

John Dagys is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of Sportscar365. Dagys spent eight years as a motorsports correspondent for FOXSports.com and SPEED Channel and has contributed to numerous other motorsports publications worldwide. Contact John