The Saleen S7 is an American hand-built, high-performance sports car designed and built by American automobile manufacturer Saleen Automotive Inc. Developed jointly by Steve Saleen for the initial concept, direction and engine, Hidden Creek Industries for resources and initial funding, Ray Mallock Ltd. (RML) for chassis, suspension and aerodynamics, and Phil Frank for the body and interior CAD design and development. It was the first fully proprietary car produced by Saleen and became America's sixth mid-engine production sports car coming after the Pontiac Fiero, Consulier GTP, Mosler Raptor, Vector W8, and M12. The S7 debuted on August 19, 2000, at the Monterey Historic Races. The all-aluminium engine is a proprietary unit developed and built in house, it is a bored-and-stroked derivative of Ford's 351 Windsor small block architecture with Cleveland-style canted valve heads which have been extensively reworked and modified. Having a large displacement of the engine is based on and has been developed around the more compact and lighter small-block architecture and is in fact not based on the FE big-block. It proved remarkably tractable and flexible for a high-output requirement— at 6,400 rpm. In 2005, the S7 gained a more powerful twin-turbocharged powerplant which boosted engine power to and estimated top speed of . Overview Exterior The body of the car, made entirely from carbon fiber, incorporates the use of scoops, spoilers, and other aerodynamic features to create Split Channel airflow throughout the car. At , the car creates its own weight in downforce. Interior Leather appears throughout the cabin, with aluminum accents. The S7 comes with a set of custom-fit luggage. Because of the car's mid-engine layout, it has two trunks at the front and rear. Other features include an LCD monitor, rear-view camera, quick-release steering wheel and a speedometer. The cabin is of an asymmetrical layout, and comes with fixed seats, with the driver's seat positioned toward the center to improve both the driver's visibility and center the driver's weight in the vehicle. Chassis The chassis uses a space frame-derived design consisting of 4130 lightweight steel and aluminium honeycomb composite reinforcing panels. It is divided into bolt-fastened sub-assemblies to allow for rapid access to critical subsystems. This design contributes to the car's light overall weight of . Performance The naturally aspirated version of the S7 is able to accelerate from 0– in an estimated 2.8 seconds, and to in an estimated 7.1 seconds. It completes a