Details of Cars

Callaway Corvette: the twin-turbo Chevrolet sold through dealers

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Callaway Corvette ZR-1 Twin Turbo from 1994
Callaway Corvette ZR-1 Twin Turbo, 1994. Photo by Charles from Port Chester, New York, CC BY 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons.

The Callaway Corvette is the car that made Callaway Cars famous. From 1987 to 1991 the Twin Turbo conversion could be ordered as Regular Production Option B2K, the only time General Motors allowed a factory-orderable non-GM performance enhancement on the Corvette.

Callaway Corvette at a glance

Callaway Corvette key facts
Maker Callaway Cars, Old Lyme, Connecticut
Based on Chevrolet Corvette
Production 1987–1991 (Twin Turbo, RPO B2K)
Order code RPO B2K, through select Chevrolet dealers
Where converted Callaway Cars, Old Lyme, Connecticut
Shipped from Bowling Green assembly plant
Warranty standard GM 12 months / 12,000 miles; Callaway reimbursed dealers for its parts
Sold 510 over five years
Current packages SC757 on the Corvette Z06, SC627 on the Stingray
Other facilities Temecula, California; Leingarten, Germany

Callaway Corvettes are described in the section on project C4 of the English Wikipedia article on Callaway Cars; this page is based on that one source, so the figures could not be cross-checked.

History of the Callaway Corvette

From turbo kits to the Corvette

Rear view of a Callaway Corvette ZR-1 Twin Turbo
Callaway Corvette ZR-1 Twin Turbo. Photo by Charles from Port Chester, New York, CC BY 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons.

Callaway Cars was founded in 1977 by Reeves Callaway, who had started out as a driving instructor at Bob Bondurant’s racing school and built his first turbocharger system for a BMW 320i. Turbo kits for BMW, Volkswagen, Porsche, Audi and Mercedes-Benz followed, then an Alfa Romeo GTV6 twin turbo conversion that showed General Motors what the small Connecticut firm could do.

The B2K option

In 1987 Callaway adapted the twin turbo conversion to the Corvette. A Corvette ordered with option B2K left the Bowling Green assembly plant and was shipped to Old Lyme, where Callaway installed and tested the conversion before sending the car on to the ordering dealer. Dealer repairs of the added components were covered by the standard GM 12-month, 12,000-mile warranty, with Callaway reimbursing dealers for time and materials. Callaway sold 510 Twin Turbo Corvettes over five years.

The Corvette today

Callaway still builds its business on the Corvette. Its current projects include the Corvette Z06-based Callaway Corvette SC757 and the Stingray-based Callaway Corvette SC627, alongside packages for Cadillac, Chevrolet trucks and the Camaro.

Design and features

  • Factory-orderable: the only non-GM performance package GM ever let buyers order on a new Corvette.
  • Built in Old Lyme: conversion and testing at the Callaway works, not at the Chevrolet plant.
  • GM warranty: the added components were covered by the standard 12-month, 12,000-mile warranty.
  • Twin turbocharging: the conversion that turned the Corvette into a Callaway.

Callaway Corvette versions

  • Callaway Twin Turbo Corvette (1987–1991): the original RPO B2K car.
  • Later Callaway Corvettes: the company continued with Corvette-based packages after the B2K years.
  • Callaway Corvette SC757: the current package on the Corvette Z06.
  • Callaway Corvette SC627: the current package on the Stingray.

Other Callaway projects are the Callaway Camaro, the C16 and the C7R race car. More cars are in the Callaway collection.

Video: MotorWeek | Road Test: Callaway Z/28 and Corvette

Video by MotorWeek on YouTube.

Sources

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