CarCrazy.com assistant editor John Breaux discussed with Steve Saleen many things while at the 2006 Cruisin the Coast Auto Show in Biloxi, Mississippi, one of which was whether or not that the 2009 Saleen Mustang would get additional power to match the horsepower increase that Ford plans to give the 2009 Mustang. Saleen replied, “Yes we are, I just talked to Alan Mulally (Ford Motor Co. Chief Executive) about the 2009 facelift year and what kind of added power the GT and Cobra will get.”

So what kind of power are we looking at stock from the Mustang GT and Shelby GT500 in 2009? Saleen hints at it not being extreme stating that it is “only a facelift year” but that we can expect to see 350 Horsepower out of the V8 in the Mustang GT and an additional 15 Horsepower out of the Shelby GT500 engine. I don’t know about you but a 50 horsepower increase from the stock 300 that it is now is a big deal to most. Though the 15 Horsepower increase for the Shelby GT500 is a bit disappointing one can still hope that a “facelift” means reduced weight for both cars.

So what does Saleen have in mind for the 2009 Mustang year? Well they aren’t exactly sure but they are aiming to get around 385 horsepower out of the S281 3 Valve with around 390 lb-ft of torque. The S281 Supercharged model will get 500 horses even with around 460 lb-ft of torque, and expect about a fifteen horsepower increase on the (S281) Extreme Mustang over the 2007 model (that’s 565 horsepower and 535 lb-ft of torque).

So how much more is this increase going to cost you? Saleen says the prices will stay the same for each respective model.

This is the closest to an official statement on the 2009 Mustang we have received so far. A 350 Horsepower GT and 515 Horsepower Shelby GT500….. with a nice weight reduction. One can only hope.

[Source: CarCrazy.com]