First Drive: 2009 Saleen Dark Horse Mustang

Well, first drive may not be totally accurate. The folks over at Autoblog had more of a "first ride" in the 2009 Saleen Dark Horse Mustang, as they were relegated to the passenger seat.

You can't blame Saleen for wanting to be cautious with their new marque ride. The horse that they rode in was the very first one off the assembly line, and the only one built so far.

The "ride" occurred at Willow Springs Raceway outside of Los Angeles. The car was given an official introduction by CEO Chris Theodore, followed by a ride along with Derek Hartland, Saleen's chassis engineer.

The Dark Horse is a brutally fast version of the Mustang. The supercharged V8 pins you to your seat during acceleration while massive 15-inch cross-drilled rotors with 6-piston calipers pitch you forward just as hard.

The car handles as well as it accelerates, biting corners with ferocious grip thanks to Saleen shocks, springs, and their second generation watts-link system. The combination of supercharger whine and deep V8 rumble sounds great, backing up the Dark Horse's menacing appearance.

All of this performance and exclusivity comes at a price, of course. And the price of entry is steep, right around $90,000. Only 25 will be built, with production beginning in November.

The Saleen Dark Horse is obviously one of the best performing Mustangs you can buy, and the rarity of the car makes it a fabulous collectible. Unfortunately this will also mean that most, if not all of them will be locked up and not driven or enjoyed. Such is the way with ultra low production special edition vehicles.

Dodge developing Challenger SXT

The Dodge Challenger is a good looking car that is selling very well so far. The base Challenger SE carries most of the styling cues of it's more expensive brother, the SRT8 but with a much more reasonable price.

Not surprisingly, Dodge is looking to add more of a visual punch to the lower powered V-6 Charger with the SXT package trim package. Chrysler of Canada is experimenting with what an SXT should look like by recently displayed a mock-up of the coupe at the Georgian College Autoshow in Barrie, Ontario, Canada to gauge interest.

Chrysler surveyed Canadians regarding whether the SXT Challenger should receive a racing stripe, and also gave onlookers a choice of an 18-inch Mopar rim, or some played-out chrome rims.

Chrysler also asked how much the SXT package should cost, and we're hoping our northern neighbors checked the "Less than $500" box, if only because the other choices were more expensive. Keep it reasonable, eh?

2009 Saleen Dark Horse Extreme Edition

If it takes you more than five seconds to say the name of a car, it has to be good. The baddest and meanest Saleen Mustang to date has arrived, and it's officially called the Dark Horse Extreme Edition.

The Dark Horse is basically an extreme edition Mustang with a few added options including the new Speedlab SuperShaker option. The horse pumps out 620 horsepower and 600 lb ft of torque utilizing the Saleen Port Matched Series VI Integrated Screw type supercharger.

Other features include a unique Flat Black exterior graphics package, fender identification badge, Saleen serialized engine plaque, Navigation System and sport leather seating with Alcantara inserts.

According to Ceo Chris Theodore, the “Dark Horse is the meanest, darkest and fastest Saleen yet."