Originally I was thinking of getting a 2005,2006 Mustang GT with some steeda gear and gt500 wheels. Then today I saw a 2001 yellow Saleen S281 n/a, non Super Charger. What is the deal with this car, what exactly is different in this car compared to same year GT? Does it have subframe connectors, shocks, lowering springs, etc? Car has 77,000 miles engine rebuild with new parts due to having slight engine tick at one point. All originally and looks new. Has Saleen named pulleys. Good as mainly daily driver and some tracking? If the newer gts are substantially better I will try to save up for one with upgrades. They are asking $12,500 for the Saleen. Is this Saleen just cosmetic? I want it to handle better than a basic GT. Thanks, Ger.

 

The S281 N/A had a tune, under drive pulleys and exhaust. Besides the body kit, I believe they had tuned shocks and struts, maybe bigger sway bars. Even though I am partial to the SN95 chassis, you can get more performance from the S197 platform.
http://www.maximum-cars.com/Cars/Car.php?carnumber=73

 

Saleens have shocks/struts/springs/sway bars that are a step beyond the stock GT suspenion. Some of them have the upgraded brake package, too (which makes for a far better track day exeperince).
The SN95 platform is great for a DD with some fun track duty. I've had two SN95 cars as track cars. They are friend good cars to learn on, and there is more aftermarket support than you can ever use for handling parts out there. The sky is the limit if you really want to dive in and push the car (and yourself).