ON EXHIBIT

It all began at a dinner table in Santa Rosa, California, in 1983. In a pencil and paper sketch, Steve Saleen formed Saleen Autosport, a company that would eventually create America’s first supercar.

Thirty-eight years and many achievements later, Saleen’s decades of innovation from the raceway to the road were celebrated with the man himself in attendance at LeMay — America’s Car Museum. The retrospective, “Saleen — From the Heart of a Racer to America’s Supercar,” opened to record crowds of high-performance enthusiasts and racing fans alike, all looking to meet the man who remarkably shaped the automotive landscape.

Saleen’s love of automobiles started early with his first car, a Porsche 356. After a couple of short years of tinkering, Saleen moved on to the car that would lead to his name being known throughout the automotive world – a Shelby Mustang GT350. From there he would venture into motorsports, winning his first race at Riverside, California, in 1973, then turning professional in 1974. Saleen quickly gained notoriety on the racetrack. His nickname “Gas-Saleen” was garnered from his win at the 1978 Pacific Coast Championship in a March 76B Formula Atlantic, also on display at ACM. His racing efforts would vary from class to class, but it was his team’s top-three podium finishes at the 1992 24 Hours of Mosport in a Mustang that would catch the eye of Ford Motor Company executives. This led to a partnership and the debut of the Saleen Mustang in 1985 — a car rendered into reality from that early sketch at the dinner table, which launched a legendary brand of exciting sports cars.

America’s Automotive Trust is proud to welcome Steve Saleen as one of the newest members of its Board of Directors.