- A Saleen S7 LM is headed to an RM Sotheby’s auction later this month
- Saleen originally planned to build seven of the cars but only completed three
- The S7 LM was built using the chassis of existing S7s and could deliver up to 1,300 hp on high-octane fuel
A rare chance to own one of the three examples of the Saleen S7 LM built is coming up shortly.
The 1,300-hp S7 LM supercar was announced in 2016 to celebrate the 20th anniversary of Saleen’s seven-year consecutive run of championships in various motorsport competitions that started in 1996. The “LM” in the name is also a nod to the participation of the S7-R race car in the 2010 24 Hours of Le Mans, where an example fielded by Larbre Compétition took home a class win.
Saleen had intended to build seven examples of the S7 LM by converting earlier examples of the S7 supercar, of which there are thought to have been 78 units built. However, in the end, only three existing S7 owners took up the offer.
The version up for sale is the third and final one to be built, though its build plaque numbers it as “LM-007.” It’s set to go under the hammer on Jan. 24 at an RM Sotheby’s auction in Phoenix, Arizona. Listed as lot 174, the car is claimed to have 3,688 miles on the clock, and its current estimate is between $900,000 and $1.1 million.
Saleen S7 LM bearing a chassis no. ending in 107 – Photo via RM Sotheby’s
Power in the S7 LM comes from a twin-turbocharged 7.0-liter V-8 that featured in the original S7 Twin Turbo model. Here, its output matches the 1,000 hp that Saleen originally offered to S7 customers in 2006 via a Competition package. That rating is on pump gas. Use higher-octane racing fuel, and the output rises to a hypercar-worthy 1,300 hp.
Saleen is still in the tuning scene here in the U.S. Most recently, the company unveiled its new S302 Mustang based on the seventh generation of Ford’s pony car.
The company had attempted to crack the Chinese market in the last decade, teaming up in 2019 with local player Jiangsu Secco Automobile Technology Corporation and announcing plans for a 1,500-hp S7. However, things turned sour the following year, with Saleen founder Steve Saleen, in a Wall Street Journal op-ed published in 2020, making claims of intellectual property theft.