If you follow performance you know the name Lingenfelter Performance Engineering. LPE have tuned all manner of GM cars and add power primarily to most LS and LT-series GM engines, often backed by the same 3-year/36,000-mile warranty the car comes with. Since the Raptor was a hit, Lingenfelter had recently acquired GM veteran Mike Copeland and there are more pickups than Corvettes and Cadillacs combined, a Raptor-fighter became a priority.

Turns out GM authorized upfitter Southern Comfort Automotive/MCM in Alabama was having similar thoughts. So with Lingenfelter handling the mechanicals and engineering and Southern Comfort doing the cosmetics and assembly, the Reaper became a reality.

The Baseline
Reaper is based on the Silverado half-ton Double cab or Crew short-bed. The fenders are stock with ABS plastic flares over, with clearance lights added here and on the roof because width exceeds 80 inches. Every reaper needs a custom hoody, so this Reaper gets an elongated, more sculpted hood with non-functional Duramax-like louvers made with resin transfer molding. The custom grille with hidden secondary hood release is a cosmetic—extra cooling airflow was not required.

The powdercoated steel front bumper greatly improves approach angle and carries LED fog lights outboard, driving lights inboard and decent access to tow hooks. A 3/16-inch skidplate of the same material spans the gap between bumper and engine cradle crossmember, the only thing appearing remotely vulnerable is the aluminum transfer case if you’re rock-hopping big boulders and get it quite wrong. Wheel-to-wheel powdercoated steel rock guards save the sills, and steps that don’t hold mud or ice are removable with four screws each. Reaper badges are standard, the wallpaper decals optional.

Updates inside—and it’s available in any Silverado trim level—include auxiliary light switches overhead on production models, embroidered headrests, new instrument panel backgrounds—which on our prototype blocked out the “BRA” of the parking “BRAKE” illumination, and door panel accents.

Attention underneath centers on the suspension. Fox Racing remote-reservoir shocks with mechanically varied valving are designed for decent ride quality in the middle of the travel range and firmer damping at travel extremes; they also have internal jounce bumpers for more progressive feel at the end of stroke.

Up front the coilovers use a constant-rate spring slightly stiffer than stock; the extra travel and static three-inch lift required new steel upper A-arms fitted with long-travel ball joints. Mounting points, lower arms, steering linkage and alignment settings are all stock.

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