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Here's the story...
lllustrated Corvette Series No. 89 - 1991 Callaway Speedster
"Going Out With A Bang!"
Reeves
Callaway carved out an impressive spot in Corvette history. His
Callaway Twin-Turbo (RPO B2K) had a five year run from 1987 to 1991.
Chevrolet wanted to move the Corvette in a different direction, so
Callaway decided to go out with a bang.
The
Callaway Corvettes were as fast as nearly anything on the planet at
twice the cost of a regular Corvette. Having the Callaway option on the
Corvette order sheet was great, but with so much attention given to the
ZR-1 and the new C5 being worked out, Chevrolet decided to end the run
of turbo Corvettes.
Reeves
unleashed a "hail Mary" pass at the '91 Los Angeles Car Show with his
final Twin-Turbo Corvette, the Callaway Speedster. The car was designed
for Southern California where it almost never rains, so there was no
hard top available. Between the speedster top, the body panels, racing
wheels, and over-the-top paint, the car was in "super car" territory.
Since this was to be his last BK2 Corvette, more juice was needed.
Compression was bumped from 7.5:1 to 8.2:1. Airflow was improved 190
percent with new hood scoops. But he biggest challenge was the
additional set of injectors and computer management system. The net
result was 450 horsepower and 600 lbs/ft torque. Plenty! To top it all
off, the engine was emissions certified for California.
The
Speedster's stunning looks almost made what was under the hood
irrelevant. Reeves had designer Paul Deutschman use his existing
Sledgehammer nose and side panels as a base for the new speedster
design. The most complicated part was the structural integrity after
cutting down the windshield. Chevrolet assisted calculating the
resonate frequency of the windshield posts at half height. A thin steel
band across the top edge of the glass ties the two a-pillars together.
A .75--inch rubber lip along the top edge of the windshield kicks
airflow up by 5-inches. The glass is from a Corvette convertible and
was modified by Libby-Owens-Ford, the supplier for the solar reflective
windshield on the ZR-1.
Callaway
explored several very loud paint colors, but was happy to coordinate
the $7,500 paint option with the $12,000 German-made Connolly leather
interior and wool carpeting.
During
the 5-year Callaway run, there were 445 B2K option cars built, but
Callaway made 510 Twin-Turbo Corvettes. The cost of the total Speedster
package was $113,500! With 0-to-60 times of 4.4-seconds and a top speed
of 185 mph, just don't stick your head up.
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