FIND OF THE DAY: 1988 CHEVROLET CORVETTE CALLAWAY TWIN TURBO CONVERTIBLE

Reeves Callaway (1947-2023) cemented his eponymous firm’s steadily growing reputation by turbocharging naturally aspirated cars like the BMW 320i, Volkswagen Rabbit GTI, and the Alfa Romeo GTV 6. But it was Callaway Engineering’s thorough reworking of the fourth-generation Corvette into the Callaway Twin Turbo Corvette that really put his company on the map with enthusiasts. If you ticked the “RPO B2K” box on your neighborhood Chevy dealer’s Corvette order form and coughed up an additional $26,995 (about $68,500 in today’s dollars), you’d receive a car with a full warrantee whose 5.7-liter V-8 was topped with two turbochargers and two intercoolers; for another $6,500 ($16,500) or so, your spicy Chevrolet could wear the Aerobody styling kit that lowered wind resistance and raised the car’s visual profile.

Outside and In

This 1988 Callaway Twin Turbo Corvette being sold as a Make Offer Listing is highly unusual for numerous reasons, the primary being that it uses the convertible body style, here capped with the removable factory hard top. The sub-16,000-mile Dark Red Metallic car wears a head-turning Aerobody styling kit that is complemented by Callaway’s trademark 17-inch Dymag five-spoke magnesium alloy wheels. This fourth-generation Corvette is also fitted with a four-speed automatic transmission, and its digital-instrumentation dashboard contains an analog boost gauge.

High-Pressure Motivation

It’s what’s under the forward-tilting hood that is most important to this car’s fans. The 350-cu.in. L98 V-8 made 240 horsepower and 345 lb-ft of torque in standard form, but after it spent time in the Callaway shop in Connecticut, it was rated at 382 horsepower and 562 lb-ft of torque. Helping it achieve those figures were a forged crankshaft, connecting rods, and pistons; four-bolt main-bearing caps; stainless-steel intake valves actuated by strengthened valve springs; a high-output oil pump; a high-flow radiator; a Callaway Micro-fueler auxiliary fuel-injection system; two Rotomaster T04 turbochargers; and two air-to-air intercoolers. According to a 1989 Car and Driver article, a Twin Turbo coupe with manual transmission was said to be capable of 4.4 seconds to 60 mph, a 12.9-second quarter mile, and a top speed of 191 mph.

Still Factory Supported

Maintaining this ultra-low-mileage Eighties speed demon is made easier since Callaway Cars still stocks some parts for this model; the firm also offers a Certificate of Authenticity that spells out exactly how and when the car was built.

From the seller:

“1988 Chevrolet Corvette C4 Callaway Twin-Turbo with 15,660 miles in dark red metallic (74U) with tan/red leather interior (#94 of only 400 Callaway made in 1988). Original 5.7L twin-turbo L98 V8 engine and 700R4 4-speed automatic transmission. 17×9.5 Callaway/Dymag racing wheels. Net power rating of 382 horsepower and 562 ft-lbs of torque. Z52 suspension upgrade and 4-wheel power disc brakes. Original radio included. Purchased from RK Motors (Charlotte, NC) in 2014 for $26,500 ($35,200 in 2024 dollars).”

While a mid-engine C8 can run rings around this 36-year-old Callaway, the new car has nothing on it in terms of style or rarity. Can you see yourself behind the wheel?

The post Find of the Day: 1988 Chevrolet Corvette Callaway Twin Turbo Convertible appeared first on The Online Automotive Marketplace.

2024-09-12T13:06:37Z dg43tfdfdgfd