Lingenfelter Once Transformed A Suburban Into A 9.9-liter V8 Super Suv At Gmc's Behest

Founded successful nan 1970s, Lingenfelter Performance Engineering (LPE) is simply a turner shop known for a wide scope of capacity applications, from pioneering cylinder deactivation tech for Chevrolet's mini artifact V8, to building 1,400-horsepower Corvettes. Interestingly, nan existent proprietor of Lingenfelter Performance has a car postulation ample capable to beryllium counted among nan 10 largest backstage car collections successful nan world. And successful nan mid-90s, GMC approached LPE pinch a petition to toggle shape nan family-hauling Suburban into a genuine capacity instrumentality pinch monolithic sheer cubic displacement.

GMC officially commissioned nan Suburban prototype arsenic a feasibility study for a imaginable high-performance powertrain, but immoderate stories show of a deeper information — that float that GMC planned to make this prototype for Saudi officials, who wanted armored Suburbans that could move astatine precocious speeds crossed nan godforsaken successful spite of nan added weight of ballistic armor plating. The task began pinch a 2500-series GMC Suburban, primitively equipped to grip nan already-large 7.4-liter (454 cubic-inch) Vortec V8. For astir enthusiasts, a 454 is each nan motor they would ever need. For Lingenfelter, it was simply a starting point.

Lingenfelter decided to ditch nan modular artifact successful favour of a heavy-duty motor artifact usually reserved for marine applications. By nan clip they were done pinch it, via boring and stroking nan block, nan V8 displaced a staggering 602 cubic inches, aliases 9.9 liters. To provender this monolithic engine, Lingenfelter utilized a civilization intake manifold besides developed by Mercury Marine. The consequence was 550 horsepower and a monumental 705 lb-ft of torque sent to each 4 wheels via a 4-speed automatic transmission. In an era wherever nan Ferrari F355 made 375 horsepower, this Suburban was a horsepower beast.

With nan astonishing powerfulness figures, nan Suburban was people tin of beautiful awesome acceleration, too. From a dormant stop, nan Lingenfelter was apt to embarrass a Porsche 911 Carrera from nan aforesaid era. At that time, Car & Driver's capacity tests had nan Lingenfelter Suburban deed 60 mph from a standstill successful conscionable 4.6 seconds compared to nan Porsche's 6.0-second sprint time. For a spot much comparison, a C5 Corvette of nan clip took 4.9 seconds to do nan aforesaid acceleration run. Heck, nan large family SUV was speedy capable that it would've earned a spot successful the fastest 90s cars resistance race. It moreover dispatched nan quarter-mile successful 13.3 seconds at 103 mph. Don't forget, we are talking astir a adjacent to 6,300-pound SUV pinch nary turbochargers, nary supercharger, and 1990s technology. 

According to Tedward, who drove a Chevy type of nan Lingenfelter Suburban past year, "This genuinely feels for illustration it was built by Chevrolet successful nan factory." From down nan wheel, nan Lingenfelter Suburban must beryllium a surreal experience. Sitting precocious up, for illustration you would successful immoderate large 2500-series SUV, you don't expect specified earthy and awesome acceleration to beryllium paired pinch specified functionality. Yet, for each its modifications, it remains a Suburban done and through. You could still fresh 7 group successful it, you could still spell to Home Depot and capable nan backmost pinch plywood. It was nan eventual sleeper SUV erstwhile it was built, and could astir apt beryllium among your database of favourite sleeper cars today.

So why don't we spot galore of these today? Probably because nan costs for this translator was very high. The conversion unsocial costs astir $38,000 back successful nan 1990s (that's astir $85,000 successful 2026 money), and that's importantly higher than nan value of a caller Suburban 2500 backmost then, without including nan value of nan SUV itself. For a high-performance SUV for illustration that today, you'll salary apical dollar. The Cadillac Escalade V, for example, starts astatine complete $170,000 — and it only shaves 0.2 seconds disconnected nan Lingenfelter's zero-to-60 time.