The 2004 Saleen S7-R Announced for Project Motor Racing

There are a small number of iconic American GT race cars, and the 2004 Saleen S7-R announced for Project Motor Racing is definitely one of them.

Launched in 2000 as a completely original production car, the racing version of the S7 featured a 7.0 litre V8 putting out 600bhp in class, with 746 Nm of torque. But it’s not purely about power, with the mid-engine layout and 1,150kg weight balanced with the aerodyamics of the front splitter, rear wing and air vents.

It was recognisable at the time due to the muscular appearance, and success on track, with ten GT championships and one class win at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. That includes British GT, Spanish GT, and the European Le Mans Series, along with a famous 2004 FIA GT victory at Ferrari’s home track at Imola. The final win was in LMGT1 at the 2010 Le Mans race with Larbe Competition.

In racing games and sims, it’s most prominently appeared in the Forza Motorsport series, with production and race versions featured in every Forza Motorsport titles, and almost every Forza Horizon game so far. In sims, the Saleen S7R has been available as one of the free cars drivable when you first download RaceRoom for many years. But it’s been quite a while since it was released or last updated, so the Project Motor Racing version is likely to look a lot more graphically impressive, especially judging from the Work in Progress screenshots.

And it will be a good rival for the previously announced Lister Storm GT, the first car announced when the sim was previously named GTRevival.

Given the current car list featuring a number of classic and iconic cars, and the news earlier in 2004 that Project Motor Racing will use the GIANTS game engine, it’s definitely an upcoming racing sim worth keeping an eye on, with a potential release still possibly scheduled for 2025. Especially for console sim racers, given the relative lack of more serious racing titles on those platforms.

Keep up with the latest Project Motor Racing news and updates here, along with the Project Motor Racing car list and track list so far.