A 1-of-3 Saleen S7 LM Heads to Auction
Are you in the market for some rare American muscle for your collection? Here’s one auction you’ll want to keep tabs on.
Later this month, RM Sotheby’s will take bids for an ultra-rare 2007 Saleen S7 at its upcoming Phoenix sale. The supercar is one of just three examples that were retrofitted to LM specification late last decade.
In 2000, Steven Saleen, fresh off having spent the previous two decades taking American-made sports cars (and a couple of trucks) to new performance heights, decided it was time to build one of his own. That vehicle would turn out to be the S7, a supercar with an attractive carbon-fiber body and potent twin-turbocharged V-8 developed specifically to go head-to-head with the best coming out of Italy at the time. And just like its Continental peers it was rare, with less than 100 examples—including variants and racing versions—rolling off the line during the first decade of the century.
2007 Saleen S7 LM
Jeremy Cliff/RM Sotheby’s
Among the rarest S7s is the LM-spec model. In 2017, Saleen announced plans to celebrate the success of the S7-R race car by retrofitting seven hand-selected examples of the road version with an upgraded powertrain and an even more aerodynamic body kit. Only three S7 LMs would be completed, including this example, LM-007, which was finished in 2018.
The big changes between the standard S7 and LM can be found in the engine bay. The Ford Windsor-based 7.0-liter twin-turbocharged V-8 has been equipped with new turbos that dramatically boost output up to 1,300 hp with the right tune and fuel type. That power, and 850 ft lbs of torque, are routed to the rear axle via a six-speed manual transaxle gearbox, thanks to which the car can rocket to over 240 mph.
Inside the S7 LM
Jeremy Cliff/RM Sotheby’s
The silver-and-black LM-007 has also been outfitted in a new body kit that improves the low-slung speed machine’s already impressive aerodynamic performance. The package includes new side skirts, an enclosed underbody, and an adjustable, bi-plane rear wing. Other add-ons include a revised double-wishbone suspension, six-piston “monoblock” brake calipers, and staggered center-locking alloy wheels wrapped in Michelin Pilot Super Sport tires. The car has totaled 3,688 miles since the retrofit and changed hands twice in that time, but it appears to have been kept in great shape.
If you’re interest has been piqued, prepare to fork out around seven figures for this S7 LM. RM Sotheby’s expects it to sell for between $900,000 and $1.1 million, the top end of which is slightly less than it sold for in 2020, but more than it went for in 2021.
Click here for more photos of the rare 2007 Saleen S7 LM.
Jeremy Cliff/RM Sotheby’s
