Someone asked on the bottom of page 1 about what a C7 Corvette was. Everyone knows of Lingenfelter (LPE), but not so many people this side of the 80s and 90s remember Callaway. Reeves Callaway is a guy who has put together some interesting Corvettes over the years. In the 80s his company offered a Twin Turbo Corvette that you could actually special order through GM. I believe that that engine made.......what, 350hp? 450hp? Nothing insane, but remember that this was designed around a basic GM 350 with not-so-great heads. I am unsure whether Callaway modded the engines or to what extent. I only remember that for the cost they seemed ridiculous.
Each new "generation" of Callaway Corvettes have been designated C1 through the current C12. I don't know the cars by heart, but I know the C12 a bit. They stuff in a basic 382 LS1 that makes 440hp, replace the whole interior with soft leather, and put on a whole new body kit and larger rims/tires/brakes. As for price.......I'm fuzzy here, but I HAD thought they ran $125,000 for the kit until I visisted a local exotic dealer who said the one on his floor was listed for $200,000.
I think the C5s (97-04) are nice, but honestly.....a $200,000 Corvette? That will get passed by a Camaro with a 150 shot of juice?
Most of the Callaway body kits for C4 corvettes were just UGLY. Their C7 was smooth and ok, but the C12 is the first one that looks nice to me (except for the back end).
Their main Corvette shop is right here in Ct and I've been down there a few times. It is a nice shop. I priced out work for an LT1 and later an LS1 through them and both times was ASTONISHED by the prices they demanded for the performance offered. I did the math and I could have had ARE (who were JUST getting attention at the time) build me THREE stroker motors. They would have outclassed anything Callaway offered. The feel I get from them is that they have been focusing more on their German companies and race design. I know I sound down on them, but I'm not. They offer a unique product that looks great. I just have a higher demand for performance per dollar spent.