{"id":34454,"date":"2025-05-06T08:35:55","date_gmt":"2025-05-06T12:35:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/?p=34454"},"modified":"2025-05-06T08:35:55","modified_gmt":"2025-05-06T12:35:55","slug":"spring-split-windows-and-supercars-lingenfelter-collection-opens-doors-for-charity","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/2025\/05\/spring-split-windows-and-supercars-lingenfelter-collection-opens-doors-for-charity","title":{"rendered":"Spring, split windows and supercars: Lingenfelter Collection opens doors for charity"},"content":{"rendered":"

April flowers bring May flowers and May flowers bring the Spring Open House at the Lingenfelter Collection in Brighton.<\/p>\n

One of Michigan\u2019s premier auto collections opens to the public from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday to benefit the American Cancer Society. Donations are encouraged at the door, and in return visitors can ogle a cornucopia of rare automobiles from dragsters to Ferraris to historic Corvettes to the modified General Motors monsters that are the product of Lingenfelter Engineering.<\/p>\n

\u201cIts springtime here in Michigan (when) we get our cars out and really start enjoying them,\u201d smiled collector Ken Lingenfelter, who is also CEO of Lingenfelter Engineering. \u201cThe American Cancer Society is a great charity, all the money goes where it\u2019s supposed to go. We want people to come and get a look at the Lingenfelter Collection; we have about 160 cars.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Ken<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n
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Ken Lingenfelter is opening his collection of 160 rare cars to the public to support a cancer charity on Saturday.<\/em><\/div>\n

Henry Payne, The Detroit News<\/em><\/div>\n

Lingenfelter has been impacted personally by cancer, losing his father and sister to the disease.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think cancer has touched just about everybody. This is one way to help out,\u201d he said in an interview. \u201cThe collection is not open to the public, so we just do charity fundraisers and corporate meetings and that keeps it special.\u201d<\/p>\n

One of the collection\u2019s jewels is a so-called \u201csplit window\u201d 1963 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray, a rare car in the Chevrolet model\u2019s 72-year history that was only produced for one model year. The split window is so prized by collectors that a pair was the centerpiece of the New York Auto Show\u2019s 125th<\/sup>\u00a0anniversary display this April.<\/p>\n

\u201c(Chevy) only did it one year, and the next year they got rid of split in the window. It wasn\u2019t looked on positively by the top of GM,\u201d said Lingenfelter. \u201cThe designers and engineers really wanted it so they did it for a year, but that was it. So they are rare \u2014 but in addition to that, it\u2019s just such a cool look. I saw my first one when I was 10 years old, and it turned me into a Corvette guy for life.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Lingenfelter<\/figure>\n
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Lingenfelter Collection: 1963 Chevy Corvette split window<\/em><\/div>\n

Henry Payne, The Detroit News<\/em><\/div>\n

Both the Stingray badge and split window have become, over the years, a signature Corvette feature and are highlighted in the current, eighth-generation, mid-engine supercar. The base model is called a Stingray and the top-shelf, 1,064-horsepower ZR1 track beast has a split rear window.<\/p>\n

The split window is also featured in the first electric Corvette concept tht was penned by Chevrolet\u2019s London studio earlier this year. All in memory of the \u201863 OG.<\/p>\n

Kept in a 40,00 square-foot warehouse, the Lingenfelter collection sprawls across three bays and 40,000 square feet. There\u2019s an eclectic assortment of rare toys, including a re-creation of the first-generation 1954 Corvette Corvair Motorama Showcar, a juiced 2010 Pontiac Trans Am, two-door Nomad wagon, 215-mph Greenwood Corvette GTO, V8-powered 1974 AMC Gremlin (complete with Levi\u2019s jeans interior), and nitrous-fed 2007 NHRA Nationals-winning Dodge Charger Funny Car dragster.<\/p>\n

\"Lingenfelter<\/figure>\n
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Lingenfelter Collection: This Pontiac Solstice appeared in the 2007 movie “Transformers.”<\/em><\/div>\n

Henry Payne, The Detroit News<\/em><\/div>\n

Want a little Hollywood? Lingenfelter\u2019s 2006 Pontiac Solstice sports car played the character \u201cJazz\u201d in the 2007 sci-fi movie “Transformers.”<\/p>\n

But in his heart, Lingenfelter is a Corvette fan with some 60 models of GM\u2019s famed sports car in his collection. His passion was rewarded this year with a seat on the board of the National Corvette Museum in Bowling Green, Kentucky.<\/p>\n