Saleen raises hopes with 450hp S1

The Chinese-backed American brand used the LA show to launch the S1 - an oddly familiar mid-engined Cayman rival

Interesting firm, Saleen. The path from race team to tuner to low volume manufacturer could hardly be more familiar, but not every such business manages to launch a mid-engined supercar (as Saleen did in 2000 with the S7) or receive a contract from a major car company to help them build their own (as it did from Ford in 2004 when it needed assistance with the first generation GT).

Of course none of that ensures a firm's health over the longer term, and with founder Steve Saleen resigning in 2007, the end of the decade saw the brand floundering. Now though, it seems health is restored. Not only is its former boss back on board, but the company now has Chinese investment capital rolling into it - in sufficient quantities for Saleen to have unveiled an all-new model at the LA show this week.

The car is dubbed the S1, and the eagle-eyed among you might have noticed that it looks a little like the Henrik Fisker-designed Artega GT - a German sports car discontinued in 2012. Well, congratulations, because Jiangsu Saleen Automotive Technology Group (as the Chinese/American partnership is called) bought the model's tooling from Artega in 2015.

Certainly that blueprint has been to the S1's advantage, because rather than turning out too, ahem, 'American' in its ethos or proportions, the new car is impressively svelte - being around the same size as a Porsche Cayman. Thanks to its aluminum tub and carbon fibre bodywork, it ought to be light as well; Saleen claiming a kerbweight of 1,218kg.

There's even the promise of an interesting (and appropriately sized) engine: Saleen having built its own 2.5-litre turbocharged four-pot from the ground up. Word is that it produces around 450hp and 350lb ft of torque - good for 3.5 seconds to 60mph via a standard manual six-speed gearbox.

That all sounds rather hopeful, and if the reports from China are to be believed, JSATG has already committed to building a factory in the Jiangsu Province. The plan, clearly, is to eventually move production there and then produce the S1 for international markets - including Europe.

Naturally that's all for future (and therefore not entirely set in stone) but the word from LA is that the S1 looks impressively well finished, with an interior to match. With the continuing dearth of genuine rivals for the Cayman - the imminent Alpine A110 notwithstanding - we await further news of Saleen's ambitious plans with crossed digits.