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Official Release dates = 23rd Oct Au/Eu/Nz/UK – 27th Nth America

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©2009 Grant Smythe – OXCGN

Forza 3 Update 13th October #9

OXCGN Forza 3 October Update #9 – Daily Vehicle News

Saleen S331 Supercharged Supercab

With just TEN DAYS TO GO, here we have more hot cars from Forza 3. While we know all 400 of the cars that will ship on launch day, I’m wondering just how many we will eventually see over the course of the next 18 months in Forza 3.

Forza 2 had Car Packs being release upp to 12 months after its release, and Forza 3 seems to be following that trend, right from the get-go, with the Launch DLC pack that supplys a total of 20 new tracks to the already 100 on off out off the box, and also around 20 cars that get added to the current 400.

Using some basic math, one would assume Forza 3 will top the 500 – 600 mark by the time the DLC finish in about 12 months time. That is of course, if Turn 10 stop the packs.

But come release day, we do get to get all dirty with Saleen’s S331 F-150 4 door Supercab. Saleen are well known for their ability to turn just about any vehicle into something quite remarkable, not only visually, but performance wise as well.

Never underestimate the sedate looks of any of the Saleen conversions. If you do, you’ll be the one in the rear-view mirror looking forward, not back.

Ford fans are going to go bannannas over this one, as Saleen have been doing the F-100′s since 1988 which at the time was a Ford Ranger. It won the 1991 SCCA Race Truck Championship and from then on, have not looked back with their range of Saleen kitted Ford Trucks, not to mention their Mustangs which began life in 1983/4.

It all began when racing driver Steve Saleen decided to change a few things and turn from your average race driver, to a Driver come manufacturer, starting a world of great new vehicles specially build for specific purposes – to win.

Steve started out racing the Mustangs in early 1980′s, winning various events including the Escort Endurance Championships. Saleen Autosports was then created in 1983 and produced its very first production Saleen, the Saleen 1984 Mustang.

An odd mix then occurred when tinkerer extrordinare, and comedian Tim Allen joined forces to form what is now known as the Saleen/Allen ‘RRR’ Speedlab Team.

We can all remember the images of Tim’s Hot Rod sitting in the Home Improvements garage and him tinkering away either under or inside it.

One of Tim's Tinkering oys

Merging his real world love of cars into his comedian life and work. They looked great and he actually knew what he was doing, so teaming up with Steve Saleen seemed like a logical and fortuitous idea, especially since they knew each other so well, and shared such a passion for cars as well as comedy. Car enthusiasts often ribald each other, so these two probably felt right at home.

Establishing a relationship that has obviously worked well for both of them. ALthough, Steve has now branched out and creates his new company SMS, which debut’s it’s frist toy, the 2010 Dodge Challenger soon. We’ll do a feature on that in a special Saleen GameBanter article in the near future, so stay tuned for that.

They won the very final race in a tricked out S281 ‘Stang. It pushed onward through 96, 97 taking out the SCCA World Challenge manufacturers championship in the S2 class and the Le Mans in 97, the secure the SCCA World Challenge T1 prize.

Here we are in the 21st century, and the winning has not stopped. They have worked on several of the Ford line of cars and trucks while continuing the evolve the S281 Mustang line of vehicles. The fleet included cars such as the Ford Explorer and Ford Focus Sports Coupe.

What many might not know is, that we saw several of Steve and ALlen’s handy work in the Transformer movie/s, as they lent their combined talents to create the now infamous Bumblebee Camaro and the Barricade Car characters which stared in the shows.

In 2007 the Saleen Truck racing scene saw the birth of the 1000 bhp twin turbo’d S331 and sales rocketed during 2006/07 boosted by the appearance of the aforementioned cars in the Transformer movie.

Click for specs

This time, Saleen takes the shape of the four-door F-150 pickup which is loaded up with the typical Saleen powerplant and body changes to create something quite distinctive, and exceptionally quick.

Designed to work well on the street racing raw horsepower had to make way for sensiblity, with this beast being powered by one of Ford’s 5.4 ltr V8′s.

This time has Saleen’s twin VI Superchargers residing ontop of the huge 5.4 ltr block which churns out a solid 450 bhp, which is a solid 150-horsepower boost over the standard F150 Crew-Cab (US Supercab) that you’ll nab of any Ford local car lot.

It has all the other trappings going for it as well of course.

Such as highly performance enhanced and tuned suspension, 15-inch brakes (you have to make sure this dog stops once you get it going) and rides on a set of huge 23-inch wheels and tyres (yes, that’s how we spell it here in English speaking countries).

Now just picture this. Just the image on someones face as this thing flys off from the lights while your backside is firmly stuck in the seat of you labouring sports car  wondering WTF was that picture – priceless. One thing is for sure, the Saleen moto whhich has always been – “Power in the Hands of a Few” makes sense now, and it has never been so appropriate as in this case.

Real World Counterparts

More Forza 3 news

Make sure you check out the great Fantec Sports Wheels and the set that OXCGN will have up for grabs later on when Forza 3 arrives in October 23rd (Aust Release date) . . . as well as other OXCGN Forza 3 pages of info on the game.

• Forza 3 October Info #11 Curvaceous Chevy Camaro SS
• Forza 3 250 Gig Xbox 360 Bundle Official – OXCGN News & Special Offer
• Forza 3 October Info #10 Classic American Muscle ’79 Z28
  
• Forza 3 October Info #9 Saleen S331 Supercharged Supercab
• Forza 3 October Info #8 Build Your Own Chevy-Dodge-Ford
• Forza 3 October Info #7 Sleek, Sexy & Swift 2009 Scriocco GT
  
• Forza 3 October Info #6 – Complete car listing
  
• Forza 3 October Info #5 Primetimes’s #11 Vioer R3 Class
  
• Forza 3 October Info #4 2006 Slippery Evo & HKS Time-Attack Mitshubishi
  
• Forza 3 October Info #3 Black Beast – #41 Gulf F1 Mc Laren GTR
  
• Forza October Info #2 Mad Mazda Lola #16 Comin’ Through
  
• Forza October Info #1 Here Comes The BMW E34 Z4 Coupe
• Forza 3 September Info #12 Bell Motor’s #11 DB9 Aston Martin R2 Coupe
• Forza 3 September Info #11 Presenting The Koenigsegg CGT
• Forza 3 September Info #10 Skyline Driftin’ Madness
• Forza 3 September Info #9 Fugimi Kaido Returns
• Forza 3 September Info #8 2nd DLC Pack – Ferrari’s & 2010 Italia 458
  
• Forza 3 September Info #7 More Ferrari Mayhem
  
• Forza 3 September Info #6 250 gig Forza 360? & Farrari Madness
  
• Forza 3 September Info #5 Forza Dyno Tunes Ford GT400
  
• Forza 3 September Info #4 Bugatti Veyron & Avatar Cloths
  
• Forza 3 September Info #3 Media Update – V8 Supercars Event Slideshows
• Forza 3 September Info #1 & 2 V8 Supercars Officially Announced
  
• Forza 3’s V8 Supercars In-game screen & info V8 Supercar Image found
  
• Forza 3 August Info #5 Video Walkthroughs
  
• Forza 3 August Info #4 Forza Dreams, Gadget Show & Puma
  
• Forza 3 August Info #3 LE Information
• Forza 3 August Info #1 & 2 Cars, cars & more cars & Le Mans
  
• Forza 3 coming in 2009 OXCGN’s Official Major Forza 3 Page
  
• Forza 3 June info E3 Video Interviewwith Developer
  
• Forza 3 June-July Info screens & vids
• Official Australian Xbox Forza 3 site game info
• Fantec Porsche 911 Turbo Wheel for Forza 3
• Fantec Wheel Stand and Turbo Wheel kit up for grabs – info
• OXCGN’s Forza 3 on its way in 2009
• OXCGN confirms Aussie cars in Forza 3
• Fantec Prosche 911 Wheel for Forza 3
• Forza 3 Official – Gentlemen, Start Your Engines

©2009 Grant Smythe – OXCGN

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