Steve Saleen
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Stephen Mark Saleen (born April 2, 1949) is an American businessman and former racing driver. He is well known for being the founder and former vice chairman of Saleen, Inc., originally named Saleen Autosport, an OEM manufacturer of specialty vehicles including the Saleen S7 and highly modified Ford Mustangs.
[edit] Biography
Born in Inglewood, California, Saleen (pronounced suh-lean) worked at his father's manufacturing business before attending the University of Southern California and graduating with a degree in business.
With an interest in fast cars sparked by his father's purchase of a Porsche, Steve joined the Porsche Owners Club and worked his way up through the ranks of club racing, which led to a career in professional racing. He entered the Formula Atlantic series where, in 1980, he finished third in the final standings behind eventual champion Jacques Villeneuve. He progressed on to the SCCA Trans-Am Series in 1982, driving a Ford Mustang. From here, a passion for one of Ford's most famous automobiles begin to manifest itself. Saleen had the dubious honor of being featured in automotive journalist Robin Miller's list of the "20 Worst Champ Car Drivers" in the December 1999-January 2000 issue of Champ Car magazine. Saleen was #15 on the list for his largely unsuccessful attempt at racing in the then-CART series in 1989, including not making the field for the 1989 Indianapolis 500[citation needed].
Saleen formed Saleen Autosport in 1983 and set to building the first Saleen Mustang, equipped with special aerodynamic, suspension and handling packages and a completely redesigned interior. The car was completed in 1984 and was immediately tested against the world’s top sports cars with great success, finishing first in its class at the Mosport 24-hour race that year.
In 1995, Saleen formed a race team with comedian Tim Allen and fellow race driver Bob Bondurant, called Saleen/Allen "RRR" Speedlab (the name "RRR" was a play on Allen's "arr arr arr" grunt which had become his trademark in both stand-up comedy and on his television show, Home Improvement). The team raced Saleen Mustangs in the SCCA World Challenge, with Saleen and Allen themselves as the drivers.
In 1996, Saleen was (along with Carroll Shelby) inducted into the Mustang Hall of Fame.
On May 14, 2007, Steve Saleen announced his resignation from his position as Vice Chairman of Saleen, Inc. On June 6, 2007, Saleen was appointed CEO of ZX Automobile Company of North America (ZXNA), a subsidiary of CHAMCO.
On March 13 2008 Steve Saleen announced the formation of “SMS Limited”, Lifestyle Performance Automobiles, the most recent brand in the portfolio of companies he has founded. In the years of building each of his many brands, Saleen oversaw and participated in every aspect of the business, product development, sales and marketing. His latest endeavor will focus on the expansion into the high-end of the diverse American Muscle Car and Global Supercar markets.
[edit] Personal life
Saleen lives in Coto de Caza, California, with his wife Elizabeth ("Liz"). He has 3 adult children - daughter Molly and sons, Clint and Sean - all of whom also work for ZXNA. Saleen's three adult children also worked for him at Saleen, Inc prior to his departure from that company.
