We’re Crushing Over This Saleen XP8 Ford Explorer

This worked-over Explorer oozes supercharged 1990s cool, and we totally want it.

We take joy in finding weird and wonderful automotive oddities for sale all over the country. At the end of each story is a poll, asking readers whether the vehicle in question is worth the price, or if the seller was likely binge drinking when they made the “for sale” posting.

If you grew up as a Ford enthusiast in the ’90s, there’s simply nothing cooler than the stuff Steve Saleen was putting out. Supercharged Mustangs with wild bodykits and equally wild stripes found their way onto notebooks, subject folders, book covers, and bedroom wall posters of many young Ford enthusiasts.

Years before developing their own supercar, the Saleen S7, and handling paint and bodywork for the Ford GT project, Steve Saleen was working together with Tim Allen on a variety of non-Mustang projects, such as the XP8 Explorer.

Roughly 125 of these supercharged Explorers were produced in the late 1990s, utilizing a similar recipe for success that the S281 Mustangs used. A lowered suspension with upgraded brakes, exotic aluminum Alcon calipers, and ultra-lightweight Speedlab wheels complemented a body kit and graphics package equally as dynamic as the one you’d find on a contemporary Saleen Mustang.

Inside, custom-upholstered Recaro seats separate the XP8 from more plebeian Explorers, and apparently Steve Saleen himself signed the inside of the rear hatch.

Under the hood, the 5.0L V8 was augmented with a Powerdyne centrifugal supercharger. Considering the Explorers already came with some of the most potent 302s available in a stock Ford, it was a great performance platform. This Saleen was good for 286 horsepower!

This truck is said to be well-maintained with under 90,000 miles on the clock, and it’s currently for sale for $11,000. We don’t know how to feel about that price, but we can certainly appreciate the awesomeness that the 1990s had to offer.

What about you?

Chime in with your thoughts on the forum. >>

Story via: [Jalopnik]

Cameron Vanderhorst

Cam VanDerHorst has been a contributor to Internet Brands' Auto Group sites for over three years, with his byline appearing on Ford Truck Enthusiasts, Corvette Forum, JK Forum, and Harley-Davidson Forums, among others. In that time, he's also contributed to Autoweek, The Drive, and Scale Auto Magazine.

He bought his first car at age 14 -- a 1978 Ford Mustang II -- and since then he’s amassed an impressive and diverse collection of cars, trucks, and motorcycles, including a 1996 Ford Mustang SVT Mystic Cobra (#683) and a classic air-cooled Porsche 911.

In addition to writing about cars and wrenching on them in his spare time, he enjoys playing music (drums and ukulele), building model cars, and tending to his chickens.

You can follow Cam, his cars, his bikes, and his chickens at @camvanderhorst on Instagram.

Instagram