Manoli Katakis 
The 2019 Lingenfelter Collection Fall Open House has come and gone, with attendees getting up close and personal with rooms full of rare, exotic and near priceless automobiles owned by renown tuning company owner Ken Lingenfelter. While he has rows of extreme exotics such as a Lamborghini Reventon and a LaFerrari, the collection is mostly known for its array of GM collectables spanning from Callaway Speedster Corvettes to one-off Camaro SEMA builds. MC&T was on the scene, camera in hand, to capture what it’s like to walk through the rows and rows of these rare vehicles. Particularly, these Camaros.
Our favorite has to be the red 1992 Chevrolet Camaro Z/28 1LE, with just 9,000 original miles. These third-gen Camaros have truly started to come into their own, with their values beginning to spike over the past couple of years. Especially when it comes to a collectible such as this Camaro 1LE – which was factory-built for SCCA Showroom Stock racing. If you peep the interior, you will notice eccentric red leather seats and red accents throughout the cabin. This was a factory option, and this Camaro is the only known example with both a red interior and exterior. 1992 was also the last year for the third-generation Camaro, and only one of 116 1LE models produced that year. Making things even more collectable is AC/Radio delete option (just like you could do with the fifth-generation Camaro Z/28). Under the hood is a 5.0L V8 producing 230 horsepower mated to a 5-speed manual transmission with a .74 final overdrive gear ratio and a 3.43 rear axle ratio.
Then theres the 1998 Camaro Drag Car, which was once held at the GM Heritage Center but now holds a place in the Lingenfelter Collection. It’s a one-of-one, and features a naturally aspirated 427 cubic-inch aluminum V8 from none other than the Corvette C5.R racecar, which eventually made its way into road cars as the legendary LS7. It features dual throttle bodies and a 15:1 compression, helping deliver an incredible 723 horsepower at 7,400 rpm. That power is sent to a Bruno’s G-Force 3-speed transmission, to a 5:13 12-bolt rear. It stands as the first nine-second LS-powered car, with a quarter-mile time of 9.33 seconds at 144 mph.
Then there’s something that’s both a Camaro and a Corvette: the 1968 Camaro “C5” resto rod, which features a widened C5 Corvette frame affixed to a 1968 Camaro RS body. Under the hood is a supercharged LS7 tuned by Lingenfelter with L92 CNC ported cylinder heads, and Harrop TVS MP2300 blower, which produces 640 horsepower. The interior is all C6 Corvette with a custom floor to adapt for the C5 frame assembly.
Let us know your favorite Lingenfelter Collection Camaro by viewing the gallery, and posting in the comments below.
