Lingenfelter's 1,100hp Twin Turbo C5 America's Fastest

Reputations can be bought. Throw enough bucks into a slick ad campaign, hire top-flight PR flacks, and bribe those journalists who are bribable (not that we know any) and you too can have a worldwide reputation as a genius, raconteur, and lothario. You'll be invited to great parties, date anorexic actresses, and be named one of the "Sexiest People Alive" by a celebrity magazine. But deep down, you'll know that you really suck.

John Lingenfelter didn't buy his reputation. His company, Lingenfelter Performance Engineering (LPE), barely takes out any ads at all. The guy in charge of his PR has been known to sweep the floors and screw together cylinder heads. He's impressed journalists by consistently delivering to road tests vehicles that deliver overwhelming, absolutely verifiable and utterly reliable performance. He earned his reputation with countless hours in the dyno room, a winning record on the dragstrip, and a forthright, self-deprecating manner that under-promises and over- delivers. But we've never thought of him as a raconteur or a lothario, never seen him at a great party or with an anorexic of any sort, and doubt that celebrity magazines even know who he is. Deep down, we all know he's a genius. More...