Lingenfelter Perfecting The Art Of Performance For 28 Years

Lingenfelter Commemorative Edition C6 2008 Corvette click picture for more information.

 

Lingenfelter C5 Corvette Body Package

The name John Lingenfelter has become a legend in the world of performance engineering. The ambitions and aspirations of many engineers and enthusiasts, the world over, were represented almost casually in his daily life and actions. For over 28 years, Lingenfelter has been synonymous with world-class performance, taking great cars and trucks and reinventing them with legendary precision.

Today this legendary record of precision engineering continues, as the Lingenfelter production team continues to target design excellence in engine packages and aftermarket components.  The Lingenfelter legend remains with us in every detail, and is reflected in our vehicles with refined power, speed and control.

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John Lingenfelter the racer:

John Lingenfelter won 13 NHRA national event titles - 9 in Comp, 3 in Super Stock, and 1 in Pro Stock Truck.

 

John’s racing career spanned more than four decades where John raced everything from Super Stock and Comp door cars to Econo dragsters, Pro Stock Trucks & Sport Compact.  John was the first Comp driver to break the six-second quarter-mile barrier. 

In 1997 John Lingenfelter returned to NHRA drag racing, competing in exhibition races in NHRA's fledgling Pro Stock Truck class.  He finished second in the Pro Stock Truck point’s standings in 1998, which was the first official year of competition for the new class.  John’s Pro Stock Truck was powered by a normally aspirated Chevrolet V8 that was capable of 7.617 @ 175.91 MPH in the quarter mile.

In 2002, John took on a new challenge: sport compact racing. He fielded a GM ECOTEC four-cylinder-powered GMC Sonoma and later a Chevy Cavalier in the NHRA Summit Sport Compact Drag Racing Series.  In his first year racing in this series he won one national event and had two runner-up finishes.  The Cavalier was powered by a turbo charged Ecotec 2.2 L 4-cylinder engine that was capable of quarter mile speeds in excess of 187 MPH.  

At the October 2002 Mazda NHRA Sport Compact World Finals in Pomona, California during the semifinals, John lost control of his Cavalier and crashed into the concrete retaining wall.  John sustained serious injuries in the accident and passed away as a result of complications from subsequent surgeries on December 25, 2003 at age 58.

Interesting Past Lingenfelter Projects

Somewhat of an urban legend was the 2001 427 CID twin turbo Sonoma all wheel drive pickup.  This truck was originally a GMC display vehicle that would run 9 second quarter mile with street tires.  The truck was very original and featured a front mount charge cooler that took the place of the radiator, which was moved to the bed of the truck.  Air reached the rear mount radiator via electric fans, which pulled air up into the bed through the radiator and back down out of the rear of the bed.  All of this was concealed under an unsuspecting carbon fiber bed cover.  This truck made exhibition runs at Pro Stock Truck races back in 1998.  This truck was also featured in the Car & Driver shoot out in September 2002.

 

Lingenfelter 2001 Corvette ZO6 427 Twin Turbo Corvette tested by Motor Trend with record for quickest accelerating tuner Corvette.  Pitted against a Blue Angels F/A-18 this Corvette ran 9.24 @ 150.27 MPH, 0-60 1.97 seconds -June 2002.  Later runs produced the fastest time of 8.95 @ 153.6 MPH -Dec 2002

Lingenfelter 1999 650 Twin Turbo Corvette tested by Motor Trend with record for fastest tuner Corvette at an amazing 226 MPH at Transportation Research Center 7 1/2 Mile high bank oval test track.  Pump gas and street tires - March 2000.

In 2001 Lingenfelter started offering a C5 Body Package that could be combined with our 427 CID Twin Turbo 725 HP engine package.  A total of six of these cars where built with two of them being convertibles. 

In 1997 Lingenfelter Teamed up with Hurst to offer a limited edition production run of the Hurst Pontiac Trans Am by Lingenfelter.  The Hurst Pontiac’s were produced for the 1997 LT1 & 1998 LS1 model years with 11 being built for 1997 and only 9 built for the 1998 model. 

 

In 1989 John moved on to help set another record, this time at the Bonneville Salt Flats.  Lingenfelter built a 355 CID Chevy V8 engine for the SE Racecraft 1989 Firebird Trans Am.  This twin turbocharged fuel injected small block produced 1,400 horsepower and had six nitrous bottles for intercooler cooling only, not for induction.  During several attempts to break the 300 MPH barrier the Trans Am that was piloted by Gary Eaker, fell short of the goal but still hit an amazing 298 MPH, which set a record for full body sedan at that time.

 

After the record run by the SE Racecraft Trans Am LPE built our own Pontiac Firebird in 1996 to run at the Bonneville Salt Flats. This car was to be featured in Car & Driver Magazine and driven by Csaba Csere the editor and friend of John Lingenfelter. This car met a fateful end when the car went out of control and became airborne at 200 MPH then did a back flip and a spin before finally skidding to a stop on its roof. Fortunately, Csaba was not injured in this accident but the car was a complete loss. More Pictures Click Here

 

In 1988, Reeves Callaway contracted John Lingenfelter to design and build the engine for the Callaway Sledgehammer Corvette project. Lingenfelter built a 355 CID twin-turbocharged EFI Chevy that produced more than 900 horsepower. Reeves team assembled the car and drove this very streetable Corvette to Ohio for the testing. During the testing John Lingenfelter piloted the Lingenfelter powered Callaway Sledgehammer to a record holding pass of 254.76 mph on the 7.5-mile oval at the Transportation Research Center in East Liberty, Ohio.

Commentary from a article that originally appeared in the June 1998 issue of Vette Magazine © 1998 TOM BENFORD

Question to John: 
Your corporate web site states that Lingenfelter Performance Engineering built the 1,200 HP engine that powered the Callaway Sledgehammer, but Reeves Callaway said your engine wasn't’t the one used in the car on its over-254 mph run. Would you care to provide a rebuttal?

Response from John:
"Well, the only thing I’d say is that the people that were there and the people that were involved know the real answers and what the truth is. That will suffice for me."
John Lingenfelter 1998

 

And the Legendary Lingenfelter Legend Continues      May 2007 - CLICK HERE

1990 Corvette 383 CID SuperRam L98

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