The Saleen SA-30 Camaro and Challenger are Such Sweet Departure

The Saleen name has long been closely associated with the Ford Mustang so with the 30th anniversary edition Saleen Camaro and Challenger, the well known tuner might be treading on the border of departure to long time fans, but there is no question that these “other” Saleen muscle cars look every bit as awesome as the SA-30 Mustang.

Yesterday we brought you the news that Saleen Performance Vehicles has introduced a new SA-30 Saleen Mustang to help celebrate the company’s 30th anniversary in the tuning world but the Mustang isnt the only modern muscle car to get the SA-30 treatment. Flanking the SA-30 Mustang at the 2013 LA Auto Show are the Saleen 620 Camaro and the Saleen 570 Challenger – both of which wear the same striking white, yellow and black theme as the 30th anniversary Saleen Mustang.

Similar to the SA-30 Mustang, the 30th anniversary edition Saleen Camaro and Challenger will be offered in just 10 units a piece with the MSRP beginning at $95,000. As with the Mustang, the SA-30 Camaro and Challenger feature a new Tire Smoke Pearl White exterior paint with yellow and black trim, bright white wheels, yellow brake calipers and all of the standard features of the Saleen Camaro 620 and the Saleen Challenger 570. This includes powerplant options for the Saleen Camaro that offer 450, 575 or 620 horsepower while the Challenger 570 offers 400, 525 and 535 horsepower.

Also similar to the SA-30 Mustang, the SA-30 versions of the 2014 Camaro SS and 2014 Challenger R/T can be ordered with a race styled and leather wrapped rear seat delete package but unlike the Mustang – the Chevy and Dodge muscle cars offered by Saleen are not available with the high tech glass roof package.

Now, I should address the fact that there are Ford Mustang fans out there who hate that the Steve Saleen name is found on anything but the mighty Mustang. After all, Steve Saleen has gotten to where he is today based on his legendary experience racing and tuning Ford products so to see the Saleen name on a Camaro and/or Challenger to be borderline blasphemy.

However, in a constantly changing business environment, it makes good sense for the tuning experts at Saleen to turn their attention to the other Detroit muscle cars so the Saleen Mustang faithful shouldn’t have any gripe about the fact that a Saleen Camaro and Challenger exist. On the other hand, I can understand why these same devout Saleen Mustang fans would have a problem with a 30th anniversary edition version of the Chevrolet Camaro and Dodge Challenger. When Steve Saleen was making a name for himself in the 1980s, his cars and those that were sold in the 1990s bearing his last name were designed to destroy the competition – not share a stage with them. Because of this fact, I agree that it might seem a bit sacrilegious for Saleen to offer a 30th anniversary edition version of the Camaro and Challenger simply because these cars (unlike the Saleen Mustang) don’t have 30 years of performance heritage but I should point out that the SA-30 package is designed to celebrate 30 years of Saleen Performance – not 30 years of the Saleen Mustang.

If nothing else, those Saleen Mustang fans who are upset about the existence of an SA-30 package for the Camaro and Challenger can take comfort in the fact that the Saleen SA-30 Mustang packs more power than the Saleen versions of the Camaro or Challenger so even though the Mustang shares a stage with the Camaro and Challenger – the Mustang is still the most powerful pony in the Saleen stable. More importantly, these new models help expand the Saleen name and the enthusiasm around the high performance brand to more consumers around the country so with the introduction of the Saleen brand, the Saleen nation grows.

For a look at the SA-30 Mustang, Camaro and Challenger from Saleen, click any of the thumbnails above to check out our whole gallery of official Saleen images!

This story is upadted on May 11, 2018.