Project Car Ideas - Build It!

'10 Mustang By Lethal Performance
Our buddy Dustin Whipple at Whipple Super-chargers tipped us off to this psycho build at Lethal Performance of Wellington, Florida. Lethal's President, Jared Rosen, described his goal of building a 9-second street car that still retains creature comforts such as air conditioning and satellite radio. He and his crew started with a new, off-the-showroom-floor '10 GT500 Mustang, taking delivery in mid-August. They made a couple of dyno pulls and dragstrip passes to establish a baseline, and the car performed like a champ in stock form-hustling down the strip in 12.47 seconds at 116.37 mph. They eventually whittled that down to an 11.76-second, 117.63-mph pass on drag radials with a mild ECM reflash.

Since then, they tore into the car with abandon, building a wicked engine out of a Ford Racing Boss block, forged internals, custom-ported heads and cams, and Whipple's new 3.4L Crusher supercharger. They've also strengthened the drivetrain and chassis with a McLeod twin-disc clutch, a 3 1/2-inch aluminum driveshaft, a BMR K-member and adjustable control arms, Steeda rear suspension, and coilover shocks.

Jared expects to make 900 hp at the wheels, run 9s at the track, and cruise home in the humid Florida air with the A/C cranked.

New Camaros
Everything has already been written about the new '10 Camaro-except how to make one go faster. We spent a day at Lingenfelter Performance Engineering (LPE) to check out a parking lot littered with '10 Camaros, all there for superchargers. The Camaro trick of the week is a bolt-on Magnuson TVS2300 supercharger, the same blower the factory is using on the LS9-powered ZR1 Corvette. But in true LPE fashion, the company doesn't just offer a simple blower install. There are actually four stages of the install, with the killer deal being a ridiculous LS7 engine option with the blower. LPE takes a factory LS7, adds a lower-compression forged piston, bolts on the blower, adds a cam and some head mods, and sits back and watches it all make 750 flywheel horsepower. We also got a sneak peek at the drawings for a trick set of body panels that will convert a new Camaro to LPE's vision of a Super Duty Pontiac Trans Am plus a whole lot more.

Superchargers!
LPE tweaks the blower package a little differently than the other guys. Using a TVS2300, LPE specs its own software package and also moves the intercooler fill tank to the driver side of the engine compartment to leave room for a slick set of optional aluminum LPE engine covers. The first upgrade package is rated at 570 flywheel horsepower and 570 lb-ft. Stage II bumps the power to 650 hp and 630 lb-ft using CNC-ported LS3 heads, Mahle forged pistons, Oliver rods, and a ported LS3 throttle body. The big-dog option is the 750hp version pulling 685 lb-ft that uses a complete LS7 427ci long-block and rotating assembly complete with the titanium rods, forged crank, and LS7 heads. JE forged pistons reduce the compression so it will run on pump gas. LPE recommends a dual-disc clutch assembly with this much power and that you buy stock in a tire company since you will shred everything that's round and black in back.