On the rollers at Pro Dyno, the RENNTech V-12 produced a peak 404 rear-wheel horsepower and 425 pound-feet of torque. With 12 cylinders firing away, it isn't surprising that the torque curve more resembles the topography of the Death Valley floor than the Sierra Nevadas. There's 346 pound-feet of torque available at 2750 rpm, and it doesn't drop below that mark until the car is past its 6000 redline. But it isn't just the quantity of torque, it's the nature of it: supremely smooth and engaging.
Start with a $133,300 S600 coupe and RENNTech will build it up to what's featured here for a mere $57,720 more. Of course, if you want an SL or S-Class sedan, the RENNTech engine slots right in. Or you can always step up to the massive new 7.4-liter V-12 that RENNTech has developed.
Engine: 7.0-liter DOHC V-12Major engine modifications: Increased displacement, modified heads, custom camsHorsepower @ rpm: 485 @ 5600 (est.)Torque, lb-ft @ rpm: 510 @ 4100 (est.)Transmission: Modified 4-speed auto.Brakes, f/r: Alcon discs/discs, ABSWheels: 18 x 8.5-inch, SpeedlineTires: 265/40ZR18, Pirelli P-Zero AsimmetricoOther mods: RENNTech front anti-roll bar and lowering kitModifications and labor: $57,720 (est.)
Lingenfelter Corvette 383 - 470HPA 470hp, Street-Legal, Race Engine UnleashedThe basic design of the small-block Chevrolet V-8 powering this car was introduced in September 1954, and the platform of Corvette it sits in first appeared back in 1983. A 42-year-old engine in a 13-year-old car, and...it's spectacular. Why? It's a combination of great continuing GM engineering and outstanding modifications by John Lingenfelter.
Lingenfelter has built almost infinite variations on the small-block theme at his Lingenfelter Performance Engineering (LPE) Shop in Decatur, Indiana, but it's the 383-cubic-inch LT1 for which he is famed: an approximately 470-horsepower savage built around the Corvette's four-bolt main bearing block. It's essentially the same engine that powered Lingenfelter's F-car representative in our December '94 "Natural Born Killers" roundup of Camaros and Firebirds.
Any garage hound worth his Hot Rod subscription can build a 383 small-block; it's simply the 350-cubic-inch (5.7-liter) block with its cylinder bores honed 0.030-inch larger in diameter and the 3.75-inch stroked crankshaft (from the early-'70s 400-cubic-inch V-8) replacing the original 3.48-inch-stroke part. But Lingenfelter isn't just any mutt mechanic, and his experience with painstaking assembly and high-quality parts makes this 50-state-legal modified LT1 worth its $13,320 price (installed).
The cylinder heads are ported on a CNC milling machine, and the stock intake manifold is ported with experienced hands, grabbing air through an oversize 58-millimeter throttle body and K&N air filter while taking fuel from large-capacity Bosch injectors. Oversize stainless-steel valves are operated by 1.6:1 stainless-steel roller rockers, and the compression ratio is bounced up to 11.0:1 by forged aluminum pistons on billet steel connecting rods and a brand-new forged steel crankshaft. While Lingenfelter retains the factory intake manifold for six-speed manual-transmission Corvettes, he uses an intake of his own design for better low-end torque on automatics. Outside it looks pretty much like a normal LT1, but inside it's a work of art.
Exploiting the extra power is a subtly tweaked '93 Corvette. Giant 13-inch-diameter Alcon four-piston front disc brakes replace the standard Corvette units, while Bilstein shocks controlled by Chevy's FX-3 cockpit-adjustable suspension system-incorporating a custom LPE computer chip and a 30-millimeter front anti-roll bar-temper ride motions. Adhesion is provided by DOT-legal BFGoodrich Comp T/A R1 showroom stock racing radials in 275/40ZR17 front and 315/35ZR17 rear sizes on absolutely gorgeous, $800 apiece Fikse wheels. A Power Effects adjustable exhaust replaces the Borla system Lingenfelter usually installs, while a set of 3.92:1 final drive gears improve acceleration.
...
>>next page