NCM Salutes 750-HP Roofless Callaway Super Speedster

This Corvette ZR1-Based Super Speedster Has Been Made Ever Greater With Callaway Aerodynamics

If you think about C4 Corvette performance, your mind immediately goes to the world-class, heavy-hitting dual-overhead cam ZR1. But in 1990, if the ZR1 wasn’t enough for you, you could have called up Callaway and had them make you this crazy machine. It’s a no-top monster with a turbocharged, 750-horsepower DOHC engine. Only two of these Super Speedsters were built, but that’s enough for Callaway to have won our hearts. If you need further proof of this car’s awesome quotient, just check out that phenomenal blue leather interior. The exterior paint color is called “Cherry Smash,” and the interior color is dubbed “My Favorite Blue.”

The LT5 engine was already pretty awesome, producing 375 horsepower straight from Mercury Marine. But Callaway added a pair of turbochargers and a pair of intercoolers to pump that power up to a supercar-beating 750 hp. Unlike prior Series 1 Callaway models, the intercoolers were mounted at the front of the engine compartment. Forced air goes through the twin “nostrils” in the front bumper, and exits through the central hood vents.

CHECK OUT: What Forum Members Are Saying About This Cool Callaway

Callaway did a lot with the bodywork on the Super Speedster, giving it a traditional Callaway Sledgehammer-inspired aero-kit. Outside of the front and rear bumpers, obviously, the Super Speedster sports a coupe roof that was cut off to produce the open-top, wrap-around glass. At the rear of the car, Callaway decided they needed more tire, so they crafted a new rear quarter panel that incorporates a wide fender flare. It’s a unique look that really works on this body style.

This is one of 15 Callaway-built cars currently on display at the National Corvette Museum. The exhibit commemorates the company’s 30-year relationship with the Corvette brand. This is the fifth video in a series highlighting each individual car. But this one is by far the coolest.