It's also worth noting that the PJ doesn't use the otherwise-standard Saleen front and rear fascias, nor does it wear Saleen's trademark rear extension. Instead, it introduces its own front and rear fascias, rocker panels, and quarter-trim panels, along with able chrome trim around the rear lamps and a billet-fuel filler door.
The bodywork panels are referred to as special-edition parts in Saleen's press materials, leading us to believe we may see them on other limited editions from Saleens.
If it's Saleen or Parnelli Jones badging you want, the PJ doesn't fall short. We didn't count the number of "Saleen" or "PJ" badges or logos, but there's one on every hubcap, on the gas cap, atop the shift knob, the center of the steering wheel, the front floor mats, and the doorsills. Both men have signed the dashboard centersection of every car. That's a lot, but thankfully Saleen no longer shouts its name in 10-inch letters across the windshield, so what badging there is is relatively subdued. This is especially true of the dash plaque, which is now a bit of black plastic mounted unobtrusively on the far right of the panel.
Each Saleen/Parnelli Jones...
Each Saleen/Parnelli Jones comes with reusable number roundels and "Parnelli Jones" script. While not suitable for driving, the graphics are intended for an extra zing at car shows.
There are times to be overt, in which case the magnetic cling "15" roundels and "Parnelli Jones" script can be taken out of the trunk and pressed into show-car duty. Don't count on impressing the neighbors with your race-car look at speed, as the panels tend to fly off. They're for static or low-speed use only.
Inside, the orange and black seats dominate the initial impression, but the details pop out. The steering wheel is stock, but the center button is now a Saleen PJ medallion. It doesn't take long to see the PJ logo scribed on the weighty aluminum shift knob; the shifter it's mounted on is a short-throw unit. Peering into the instrument wells show that the instruments are recalibrated into PJ specials. Thankfully, they're black-faced. But they do retain the MyColor feature-something Parnelli Jones never dreamed of in 1970, we assure you. Saleen opted for all the bright faux chrome and silver dash upgrades Ford offers. Combined with the orange-seat inserts, this relieves what otherwise would've been a cave of an interior.
The PJ offers all the excellent upgrades Ford built into the S197 Mustang. Dual-stage airbags, a crash-severity sensor, powerful air conditioning, rear-window defroster, and the wonderful chassis rigidity are all present. Gee-whiz sound systems aren't part of the Parnelli heritage, however, so the car does fine with the stock Ford Mach 500 tunes on those rare occasions when the engine and exhaust aren't enough aural stimulation.
To avoid a trail of lost roundels,...
To avoid a trail of lost roundels, our press car had an adhesive number on the driver door and a clean passenger door so we could see the car both ways.
In many ways, the things that make the PJ so fun to drive aren't amplified in the spec box. Weight and balance are the two biggest examples. True, the specifications list the PJ's weight as 3,550 pounds and weight distribution at 53/47 front to rear, but it's not until you get behind the wheel and feel the big orange unit carve into the turns that you strongly recall that there's more to life than massive horsepower. The PJ is noticeably lighter on its feet than any other Mustang, short of heavily modified aftermarket specials. That's thanks to its aluminum block, cylinder heads, no supercharger perched on the engine's nose-bleed section or water-filled charge cooler, as well as the benefits brought by performance suspension tuning and rubber.
Furthermore, midcorner stability and controlled corner exits at full throttle are standard equipment, thanks to the Watts link and rigid chassis. Additionally, the 19-inch tire and wheel package isn't Saleen's more image-conscious 20-inch fitment. This returns some needed compliance to the Saleen suspension, letting the tires better conform to the road for increased grip. They also ride better than the locomotive wheels on standard Saleens, meaning bumps aren't as upsetting when maneuvering or cruising.
On that subject, the live axle was good enough for Parnelli and certainly fine with us. It's a simple, honest approach that fits the Mustang well, even one as refined as this. Sharply located by the Watts link, the rear axle provides ample traction, is tough as nails, cost effective, and doesn't introduce any of the motions so prevalent in stock Mustang suspensions that-we have to admit-we don't notice much any more. Until they're gone, that is.
And it's not like you're missing the supercharger. We didn't. Instead, we let the PJ's expressive exhaust goad us into holding the throttle down and letting the revs soar. The power swells and the exhaust wails in a song we haven't heard or felt in a long time. A revving V-8 is a thing of beauty, and kept on the boil, the PJ engine is a crisp and powerful motive force. By the way, the boiling point underhood is at 4,000 rpm. Below that, power is adequate but misses earning our "snappy" label; rev through the noticeable transition at 4,000, however, and the rip and tear are abundant.