Yahoo Autos This Callaway C12 Is the Coolest C5 Corvette You Can Buy
If you were a fan of the Chevrolet Corvette during the Radwood era, you’re certainly familiar with the name Callaway Cars. The American performance shop created some of the craziest GM-based products during that period, including the famous 255-mph Callaway Sledgehammer. Thanks to the folks over at DuPont Registry and BJ Motors, you now have a chance to own another unique piece of aftermarket history by way of this race-bred Callaway C12.
With the arrival of the C5 Corvette, Reeves Callaway and crew decided that they wanted to go racing at Le Mans in the GT2 class. At the 1997 Geneva Auto Show, Callaway unveiled the heavily-modified Corvette that they’d use to do that after just four months of development. Known as the C12.R, the car was designed as a collaborative project between Callaway and Germany’s IVM Engineering Group. The C12.R was easily identified by its unique carbon body, which measured a full two meters wide. An upgraded suspension system also came complete with coilovers, new control arms, and adjustable dampers. Under the hood sat a Le Mans-spec naturally-aspirated LS V-8 engine. The car was a serious bit of kit, with a C12.R taking pole position at Le Mans in 2001. Following this success, a series of 25 road-going customer cars were developed.
This particular example is one of those 25 road cars, with this being just one of two finished in yellow. This is also the only yellow Callaway C12 produced with a manual gearbox, which makes it even more unique among the already rare crowd. Mated to that transmission sits a SuperNatural 5.7-liter LS1 V-8, which has been massaged to produce 440 horsepower. BJ Motors confirmed to R&T that the car has had three owners over the course of its life, spending the vast majority of that time in the dry climate of Arizona. With just 5140 miles on the odometer since new, it seems the car never got much exercise from any of its owners. The vehicle’s original certificate of authenticity had been misplaced by a previous owner, but the dealership noted that a new one is on its way from Callaway Cars.
“It’s kind of got the concept car look to it,” said BJ Motors salesman Chris Siebenaler. “If you think about cars like the Ford GT90 or the Chrysler Firepower, the C12 has a similar concept feel. If some gentleman is lucky enough to have a C12.R, it’d be hard not to put this one next to it."
With a price tag of $174,995, the buyer will certainly need to appreciate the story behind this machine. That said, there are a lot of less interesting vehicles that you can buy for that sort of money. Whether you’re a die-hard Callaway nut or a Corvette fanatic, this C12 might just be too cool to pass up.
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