img_0426.jpgBefore each S331 leaves Saleen’s assembly line, the company paints a serial number on the bumper below the left headlight. My tester, number 138, sported [optional] blingy seven-spoke chromed wheels, a tow package and 15” brakes. The Sport Truck actually sits two inches higher than a stock F-150 to accommodate its 23” low-profile High Performance BF Goodrich KDW 305/40 series tires.Saleen replaces the F-150’s bright work with a flat black grille. The customized, low-hanging front fascia channels the air flow to cool the big rig’s brakes, ventilates the intercooler and improves aerodynamics. A bulging vented hood distinguishes the supercharged version of the Sport Truck from its less powerful S331 three-valve siblings, and disburses the enormous engine heat created by the mas macho mondo motor.
Just in case observers mistook Saleen’s Frankensteinian Ford for their plumber’s pickup, Saleen-fitted exhaust ports interrupt the Sport Truck’s side skirting just ahead of the rear wheels. Lower body cladding, crisply defined wheel wells, a spoiler and a black tailgate appliqué complete the roadster look.interior.jpgInside the donor truck’s “tough luxury” cabin, Saleen supplants the F-150’s instrumentation with custom gauges (including boost) in the binnacle and on top of the dash. The only other indications of customized hotness: brushed aluminum panels, silver bezels and new seat cushions (reinforced for greater lateral support) swathed in racy two-tone leather. An optional Rockford Fosgate “Punch” sound system looks enticing on paper, but 150 watts of tuneage is hardly enough oomph to compete with the muscle car symphony playing through the truck’s side pipes. While obnoxious to many, the V8’s Wagnerian cacophony is easily the S331’s most distinctive feature. The S331 is nicknamed “Thunder” (to Ford’s old Lightning) for good reason; it's guaranteed to wake neighbors, terrorize pets and rattle glass. Passing a Dodge dealership I gave a WOT hello to the Hemis waiting for new homes. They seemed to shrink back in deferential horror. img_.jpgThe Sport Truck is not all bluster and no muster. Saleen tops the -liter block with a high-performance three-valve SOHC head and a patented twin-screw water-to-air supercharger. The set-up serves-up hp at and 500 lb-ft torque at 4000rpm. It’s enough boost to launch this 2.5 ton pickup to 60mph in
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Saleen truck cars