New Car Preview: Callaway C16 Speedster

Supercar builder and Corvette tuner Reeves Callaway is at it again. Just months after unveiling the C16 Cabrio this spring at the New York auto show, Callaway Cars said it will pull the wraps off a third model, the C16 Speedster, next month at the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance. The made-to-order C16 Speedster goes on sale this fall, priced starting at $305,000. The first production model will be delivered to an unnamed buyer at Pebble Beach.

The Speedster is even more potent than its hardtop and soft-top siblings. Its supercharged 6.2-liter V8 makes 700 horsepower and 660 pound-feet of torque, with 0-60-mph acceleration said to take a mere 3.2 seconds. Top speed is somewhere north of 210 mph, the company says. The C16 Cabrio and Coupe are a tad more tame. The standard supercharged 6.0-liter V8 makes "only" 560 hp and 520 lb-ft of torque. An optional performance package kicks things up a notch, to 616 hp and 582 lb-ft. Acceleration from zero to 60 mph is still mighty impressive at 3.5 seconds.

The C16 Speedster, however, may be the slickest yet of Paul Deutschman's designs, including the original 1990 Callaway Speedster. It gets a topless cockpit, twin wind deflectors, extended headrests and distinctive coachwork. Customers can tailor the car to taste, starting with a hand-tooled German leather interior. Says Reeves of his latest creation: "The C16 Speedster marks our 20th anniversary with Corvette and 30th year in business, and having this statement of our passion for the automobile featured on the concept lawn at Pebble Beach is a high-water mark for us."

Tech highlights includes a newly developed Callaway/Eibach coil-over suspension system, Callaway/StopTech disc brakes and Callaway/Dymag carbon-fiber and magnesium wheels (19-inch in front, 20-inch in the rear).

Can't afford 300 Gs for a new C16 Speedster? Or even the comparatively affordable $128,765 for a C16 Cabrio? Callaway makes C16 components for 2005-'07 Chevy Corvettes through a network of authorized dealers. Check out the Callaway Web site for more details.