Should you buy a Saleen S281, even if it’s a 2001 model?

In the video below we take a look at a 2001 S281 Mustang, and yes, I understand this is a 20-year-old car by now, even a little more, but you can’t disregard the fact this two-decade-old Mustang came with a supercharged 4.6L V8, and more importantly, also came with a manual 5-speed gearbox, this is a modern muscle car with 350 hp, compared to the 285 hp of the base Mustang GT, and while Saleen built a total of 466 S281SC models, only 243 were coupes, with 223 Convertibles, so almost a 50-50 split on these bespoke cars with unique bodywork, wheels, and interior touches.

Adding more aggressive bumpers to the front and rear, a set of lower side skirts and a wing at the rear together with a set of Saleen five-spoke wheels already make it stand out from a regular 2001 Ford Mustang GT, but let’s not forget the special interior with a Saleen only shifter knob, a 200-mph speedometer and most importantly, each and every Saleen came with a serialized plaque on the dashboard, but that’s all cosmetic, the real benefit of a genuine Saleen over a normal Mustang were the performance and handling updates.

But is a 20-year-old Saleen S281 Mustang a MUST-buy Ford Muscle Car? Let’s take a look at the video below to get some insight into this question: