This Fox-Body Mustang Just Goes To Show How Long Saleen’s Been At It

Of all the tuners out their specializing in Mustangs, Saleen is surely among the most prominent. And what’s more is that it has been for some time. Decades, in fact.

Case in point: this 1989 Saleen SSC. It’s one of just 161 made, and it’s coming up for auction.

The SSC was based on the Ford’s third-generation pony car – known as the Fox-body after the platform on which it was based. It wasn’t exactly the most beloved of Mustangs in the model’s half-century of history, but it was the longest running, remaining in production from 1979 through 1993. And that’s when Saleen got its start.

Steve Saleen started the company that bears his name in 1983 and started churning out its signature tuned Mustangs the following year. This one was made just a few years after that. Shorthand for Saleen Super Car, the SSC was based on the Mustang LX and fitted with a modified 5.0-liter Windsor V8 tuned to deliver 292 horsepower – not a small amount for its time, considering that the Ferrari 308 GTB of its time only made 252 hp in European spec, and 237 hp in US tune.

It was the first time that Saleen toyed with the engine on its custom Mustangs, fitting it with a larger throttle body stainless-steel headers, Walker Dynomax mufflers, and a heavy-duty Borg Warner five-speed manual transmission.

Nearly thirty years now since it was made, this example remains in what looks like rather immaculate (and original) condition, never having needed restoration. It has 11,076 miles on the clock, and bears Steve Saleen’s signature on the dashboard.

There’s no telling how much it will sell for later this month in Chicago, where Mecum will auction it off to the highest bidder. But when it was new, the SSC commanded a rather startling retail price of $36,500 – which works out to nearly $75k in today’s money.