This 700-HP Lingenfelter Suburban Drove 787 Miles To Beat a Corvette in 13 Seconds

The Chevrolet Suburban has been around long enough to remember the aftermath of the Great Depression, having emerged in 1935. It also holds the unofficial title of the world’s first SUV, combining the underpinnings of a truck with the body of a station wagon. Over the course of twelve generations, the Suburban has evolved from a utilitarian-inclined vehicle to a luxury powerhouse that is not afraid of a quarter-mile brawl with another American legend.

That would be the Corvette, the most easily recognizable sportscar from Detroit in the past seven decades. The two are normally at opposite ends of the motoring spectrum, with the sleek two-seat ‘Vette getting the lion’s share in terms of downright speed and acceleration. Unless a genetic mutation occurs somewhere along the bloodline of the carryall-descending Suburban, and things don’t go well for sportscars anymore.

Enter Lingenfelter – a company that lives (and loves) to make life miserable for pompous, obnoxious nameplates by fitting performance parts to (almost) anything with wheels - short of shopping carts. If we were to take a stock Corvette – anything newer than 1996 would be fine – and line up next to a Chevrolet Suburban (pick a year), chances are slim to none for the Sport Utility Vehicle to score performance points against the sleek America’s Sportscar.

Not only does it outweigh the Corvette by about a ton, but it’s also as streamlined as a chicken coop. With a drag index of a brick, the Suburban is not the type of vehicle to bump into at the tree end of a quarter-mile debate on climate change and fossil fuels. In the words of the late great Enzo Ferrari, ‘Aerodynamics are for people who can’t build engines.’

Correct, with one amendment – you don’t need another engine to beat the power stroke out of aerodynamics. A simple displacement replacement would suffice, and that’s precisely what Lingenfelter has been doing since day one. This previous-generation Chevrolet Suburban featured in the video below is the perfect example of how to ruin a Corvette’s day in a dozen seconds or so.

With the help of a supercharger, a regular 6.2-liter V8 in a regular, everyday, normal Chevy Suburban puts down 700 hp and 665 lb-ft (710 PS, 902 Nm). That’s a major adjustment of the car’s factory-slated output of 420 hp (426 PS) and 460 lb-ft (624 Nm). With those specs, a 2.7-ton utilitarian will easily get in the low 12s at the far end of a 440-yard dash.

Don’t take my word for it – play the video below and watch it yourself. The Suburban charged ahead of the Corvette and finished the ordeal in 13.092 seconds at 105.31 mph (169.48 kph). Lingenfelter themselves uploaded the video on their YouTube channel, and they had the courtesy of not showing what the other Chevrolet faired in the sprint at the Hot Rod Power Tour 2024 at the Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park.