by Jonathon Klein as republished from Bold Ride
Dateline October 2015: With 650 horsepower and 650lb-ft of torque on tap, Chevrolet’s engineers did their damndest to build the ultimate track-focused weapon in the new Corvette Z06. However, in reality, the LT4 motor that powers the new Corvette isn’t exactly getting praise for its reliability, and the price is astronomical when considering the nameplate.
To bridge the gap between ultimate performance and relatively low cost, Lingenfelter Performance Engineering thinks it’s come up with a solution their C7 Wide Body Styling and Performance Package. According to Ken Lingenfelter, the car is “a special edition for Corvette owners that desire a unique look with more power than the factory C7, while remaining well under the Z06 price point.”
The main change from the stock C7 Corvette is the addition of a Edelbrock E-Force TVS2300 supercharger, a set of Kooks headers, and a CORSA Performance cat-back exhaust system. This takes the Corvette’s stock LT1 V8 to 624 horsepower and 600lb-ft of torque, which is within spitting distance of the Z06’s performance figures. However, as stated above, Lingenfelter hasn’t just boosted the engine’s power.
To offset the massive increase in horsepower, Lingenfelter swapped out the original Corvette wheels and tires for a set of 335/25ZR20’s from Continental. The drastic increase in the size of the tire allows the Corvette to hook up to the road instead of just endlessly spinning its wheels.
Additionally, the Lingenfelter C7 Corvette receives a host of exterior changes including, a carbon fiber hood extractor, new front splitter, and a wide body kit in the rear to compensate for the wider tires. Owners also get Lingenfelter badges all around the car, and an official certificate of authenticity.
However, to give owners a peace of mind that isn’t normally associated with modifying a new car, the package from Lingenfelter comes with a one year/12,000 mile warranty on all the added components. To get your own Lingenfelter tuned C7 Corvette, you’ll have to spend $10,995, which isn’t bad considering the Z06 is still almost $20,000 more.
