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Here's the story:
lllustrated Corvette Series No. 75 - 1987 - Callaway Corvette
"Chevy's Back-Door Supercar"
After
13 years of Corvette buyers only having one engine choice, Dave
McLellan determined that it was time to start working on a new engine.
But an exotic turbo-Vette would be an excellent offering to put the
Corvette into supercar territory, while
waiting for exotic LT5.
Not long after the C4 was released, work began on a new powerplant for
the Corvette. All sorts of combinations were considered, with a
turbocharged V-8 finally winning out. Dave McLellan was aware of Reeves
Callaway's turbo work on quality European and certain Japanese engines.
McLellan thought it made sense to forge a relationship with Callaway
and let the Connecticut firm develop a turbo-Vette for quick release.
After several prototype Turbo Corvettes were built, a deal was struck
in June '86 that created the official 1987 Corvette option number "RPO
B2K" as the "Callaway Twin Turbo" option. Cost? A hefty $19,995 on top
of the $27,999 base price, plus the mandatory Z51 Handling Package for
an additional $795. A completed Callaway Twin Turbo Corvette could be
yours for only $48,785! However, if you wanted 345 net horsepower with
465 ft-lb of torque at 2,200 rpm, that was the price of the party. The
car ran 0-60 in just 4.5 seconds and the quarter-mile in 13.2!
Performance like that far surpassed the old 427 and 454 days, but it
wasn't easy. The L98 350 engine received a complete blueprint - and -
balance rebuild, Roto Master 1H1 RHB52 twin turbos nested on both sides
of the engine, and an air-to-air intercooling system was used. Special
parts to accomodate the demands of the turbo instalation replaced many
stock parts, including; Cosworth 7.5:1 forged pistons, a high-output
Melling oil pump, an auxiliary solid-state fuel enrichment system, and
a heavy-duty brass and copper radiator. Hood mounted NACA ducts were
considered, but it was found that ducting from under the front of the
car worked better. The only visual change on the car was the
elimination of the heavy stock wheels and the use of 17-inch, 9.5-inch
wide light-alloy Dymag wheels and 275/40ZR Goodyear Eagle tires.
All of the extra hardware added up to 100 pounds, making the Callaway
Corvette weigh in at 3,600 pounds. But it really didn't matter, because
the extra 105 hp turned the Corvette into a genuine stump-puller!
Only 184 Callaway Corvettes were built for '87. Despite the outsourcing
of the car, Corvette buffs considered it a "real" Corvette because it
was on the order sheet. The ZR-1 was a full two years away, so the
Callaway was the perfect interim exotic Corvette.
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