Exotic Corvette: Callaway C16 - a powerfully engineered work of art - Arlington Corvette

Luis Suau's Callaway C16

Each C16 begins life as a new Corvette C6 and is then custom manufactured by Callaway Cars to meet the most exacting expectations of its owner. The magic performed by the Callaway staff takes the Corvette’s body, interior, engine and suspension to the ultimate level of style, fit, comfort and performance.

New Body
Callaway Cars replaces the entire Corvette body, except for the roof panel and the rear hatch, with a new body penned by renowned designer Paul Deutschman. The new C16 body retains the standard cut lines of the doors, hood and rear hatch, yet gives the car a unique appearance that is, at the same time, graceful and aggressive. The C16 body is a work of art—there just is no other way to adequately describe it.

Powerful Engineering
Callaway also works its magic on the engine and suspension. The 6.2 liter LS3 engine receives upgraded internal components before the Magnuson TVS2300 supercharger is mounted. The completed engine, rated at 650 hp with 600 lb-ft of torque, and a redline of 6,500 rpm, will propel the C16 from 0 to 60 mph in 3.3 seconds, to a top speed of 216 mph and will cover the ¼ mile in 11.0 seconds

A Callaway/Eibach adjustable coil-over suspension supplements the standard Corvette suspension and Callaway substitutes its LeMans brake package for the factory brakes. Callaway/Dymag wheels having magnesium centers and carbon fiber rims are added to reduce unsprung weight. Add Michelin PS2 tires and you have a car capable of 1.05G lateral acceleration and a stopping distance of 195 ft. from 80 mph.

Stunning Interior
The entire Corvette interior is replaced with a bespoke Callaway design featuring full German leather appointments with Alcantara accents and contrasting stitching. The owner may select the color of the leather, the Alcantara and stitching from over 400 choices. Wool carpeting in the owner’s choice of colors is included. The completed Deutschleder leather interior is truly stunning. Doug Kott of Road & Track said it best, “The smell alone is worth about $30,000!”

C16-008
Luis Suau, president of TV4Autos.com and technical director of the Callaway Owners Group, lives in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida and is the owner of Callaway C16 number 008 shown above and in our slideshow. Luis’ C16 is finished in a deep Crystal Red Metallic with a black leather interior having gray Alcantara accents and red stitching, which brings the exterior color into the car. The hood bulge is painted gray to match the interior Alcantara accents. He’s had the C16 since October of 2008 and has put about 3,500 miles on the odometer since then—yes, he actually does drive it!

Luis is a relatively new convert to Corvette ownership, having purchased his first one in 2001. Although he had an interest in Vettes ever since he was a child in south Florida, he was reluctant to become an owner because of their two seat capacity. Instead, his performance cravings were satisfied by other American iron, the Buick GNX. He bought two 1987 GNXs in 2000, one with 26 miles to keep as a collector and one to drive and enjoy. However, after some persuasion from his significant other, who referred to the Buicks as, “ugly boxy cars of the 80’s …” Luis decided to sell the garage queen GNX and look around for another American car with similar performance.

Callaway Discovered
Luis’ research led to the Callaway B2K twin-turbo as having performance equivalent to the GNX, and after further inquiry he concluded that a 1991 B2K was what he wanted. 1991 was the last year of the B2K, it offered more performance than previous years and some had the uniquely styled Callaway Aerobody.

On a business trip to Los Angeles in 2001 Luis stopped by Corvette Mike’s showroom and found two 1991 B2Ks for sale—a black coupe and a Turquoise Metallic convertible, both with Aerobodies. He took the convertible for a test drive and that was all it took—Luis was now a Callaway Corvette owner.

In 2007 he ordered his 2008 Callaway C16 to, in his words, “… augment my Callaway Twin Turbo Corvette with the latest and greatest that Callaway builds.” Little did he realize then just how memorable the C16 experience would be.

Ultimate New Car Delivery
Taking delivery of a new Corvette ranks pretty high on anyone’s list. If you’re lucky enough to take delivery of your new Corvette at the National Corvette Museum through the Museum Delivery program (option R8C on your order sheet) it certainly would be extra-special. The delivery of Luis’ C16 was a once in a lifetime experience.

In October, 2008 an exhibit entitled Art and the Automobile was held in Ogden, Quebec to honor noted designer Paul Deutschman, a native of Arvida, Quebec. The four day exhibit included a car rally, a photo rally, an automobile show and an art show, all held at the historic Davis-Kell farm in Ogden. The art show featured such artistic luminaries as Jesse Alexander, Alain Levesque, Stephen Brathwaite, Louise Abbott and Niels Jensen.

The automobile show highlighted the vehicles designed by Paul Deutschman who designed many of Callaway’s cars, including the C16. Many Callaways were exhibited and Reeves Callaway, founder and owner of Callaway Cars, was an honored guest.

Following the reception dinner, Reeves Callaway spoke about the history of Paul Deutschman with Callaway Cars, then invited the 200 or so artists and guests to join them in presenting a new C16 to its owner—Luis Suau! The car had been delivered and stored in a refurbished barn on the farm grounds without Luis’ participation.

Everyone walked out to the barn in which the covered C16 was stored. The barn was dimly lit and cloaked in smoke-filled mystery. On cue, the lights were brought up, and the designer, Paul Deutschman, along with the car builder, Reeves Callaway, pulled back the cover to show Luis his car for the first time. Luis was overwhelmed. “It was truly the most spectacular experience that I have ever had and one which I will never forget.”

Callaway Line-Up
You can get your C16 in a coupe, convertible, or the Speedster, an utterly topless variant that comes equipped with a pair of matching helmets, in any color combination imaginable. All C16s are built to order and are sold only through Callaway Cars.

Callaway also offers models SC580, SC606 and SC652. All are based on the Corvette C6 and all are supercharged. The number in the model designation indicates the horsepower of that particular model. These are available at Callaway’s authorized dealers throughout the country. The local dealer for the Washington, DC area is Criswell Chevrolet in Gaithersburg, Maryland. Please check the Callaway Cars web site for the dealer nearest you.

Living with the C16
It is not possible to drive the Callaway C16 without being noticed. Having owned his C16 since October, 2008, Luis says he now has a better understanding of what it’s like to be a celebrity, “Everywhere I go with the Callaway C16, it is admired and photographed. People ask questions when I’m at a gas station, or just stopped at a traffic light.”

Is Luis happy he took the plunge for the C16? “The Callaway C16 has exceeded my wildest dreams in terms of performance, luxury and drivability. It is a distinguished work of rolling art with a great temperament for luxury cruising or spirited driving, and in the 1.5 years since delivery, it still brings on a huge grin whenever I get behind the wheel.”

Sounds like a happy owner to us!

Related articles:

Callaway Twin Turbo Speedster.

Callaway twin turbo Aerobody convertible - an exotic collectible Corvette classic

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