Lingenfelter Spring Open House: charity, classic cars, electric El Camino

Posted by Talbot Payne on April 20, 2023

One of Michigan’s great charitable events revs up this weekend in Brighton.

The Lingenfelter Collection opens its doors — and wallet — from 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday to the American Cancer Society. Admission is free and attendees are asked to give a donation in return for seeing one of the country’s most acclaimed car collections. This year, the 200-car-strong collection not only celebrates the past but gives a peek at future, electrified endeavors from Lingenfelter’s famed mod shop.

“General Motors chose us to pilot a program called the GM eCrate certification program,” Ken Lingenfelter, Lingenfelter Engineering CEO, said in an interview. “Electric motors are a lot different than gas engines. It’s not as easy as bringing home an electric motor and putting it in your car. It can be a dangerous thing to do and you’ll probably kill yourself because of the electric components. So (GM) certificated us for this program, and I bought a 1972 El Camino. We swapped out the gas engine for a GM electric motor and it’s getting a lot of attention.”

Lingenfelter’s core business is modifying GM sportscars and trucks. And as the General pushes electrification, the veteran businessman sees more customers wanting to take advantage of electric muscle.

The El Camino — complete with electric components stuffed under the hood where an engine used to be — sits cheek-to-jowl with gas-fired classics like the 1954 Chevrolet Corvette EX-87 “Duntov Mule” (the first V8-powered ‘Vette) and the latest addition to the collection: a 2023 Ferrari Roma.

“I’ve got a sweet tooth for Ferraris,” Lingenfelter said with a smile.

Lingenfelter Collection: Ken Lingenfelter

There are other exotics too, including Porsches, a Maserati and a Lamborghini. And some unusual creatures like a 1984 Bitter SC Coupe, 1974 AMC Gremlin, 1973 Opel GT, and ‘81 DeLorean. But GM muscle is the meat and potatoes of the collection: Red meat like a split-window 1963 Corvette.

“I saw the 1963 split window as a 10-year old at the GM Proving Grounds and fell in love,” said Lingenfelter, whose father was a GM executive. “So there is a full room of Corvettes. And some of the latest Lingenfelter productions — GM cars we’ve built for road racing, drag racing.”

Ken’s passion is shared by his wife, Kristen, who is the hot shoe in the family these days. She competes in SCCA in a mid-engine Corvette C8.

“We’re really focused on the new C8 Corvette,” said Lingenfelter. “We’re the only company that has successfully supercharged the C8 Corvette with over 700 horsepower. We’ll have one of those there and I’ll be starting that up for the group.”

Lingenfelter Collection: 2023 Ferrari Roma

The deafening sound of a small block V-8 shaking the walls of the 40,000-square-foot Collection is a highlight of the day.

“The C8 Corvette makes a great noise, and the whine of the supercharger further enhances that sound,” Lingenfelter said.

Corner him long enough and he’ll regale you with tales of his misspent youth terrorizing the streets of Detroit. While the split-window Corvette was his first love, a ‘69 Camaro was one of his first rides.

Lingenfelter Collection: the Corvette room.

“That thing was just so fast. I was in high school at Dearborn High, and it was the only Chevy in the parking lot — probably because everyone worked for Ford,” he remembers. “There was a guy in a 302 Mustang who kept bugging me and bugging me, trying to trip me up in the hallways. We almost came to blows, so we were gonna solve all our issues with a drag race out on Outer Drive in front of school — which was terrible judgment.”

He continued: “Everybody knew we were gonna drag. Half the school was out there, and I smoked this guy so bad in the Camaro it was embarrassing. Got my self in a lot of trouble with the Dearborn Police at school so, as a result, I got expelled for awhile. Got back to school and used a lot better judgment from that day forward.”

All kinds of car fans in all kinds of cars come out for the Lingenfelter Spring Open House for the American Cancer Society.

That better judgment included a successful career in the real estate industry and then the purchase of Lingenfelter Performance Engineering, a company founded by cousin John Lingenfelter. The mission of the Lingenfelter Collection has always been charity fundraisers (the collection hosts about 60 throughout the year), of which the cancer society benefit is one of the biggest.

“I lost my mother, father, and sister to cancer, so I’m focused on making sure others don’t suffer like they did,” he said.

Henry Payne is auto critic for The Detroit News. Find him at hpayne@detroitnews.com or Twitter @HenryEPayne.

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