Callaway C6 Corvette Le Mans

Since 1994, Callaway Cars has produced 9 C6 Corvette LMs. Four of them were used for endurance racing, and five were sold for road general use.

In 1994, for the first time in 18 years, Corvettes, or more precisely Callaway SuperNatural Corvette Le Mans (also known as Callaway LMs), entered the 24 Hours of Le Mans race. These cars were the first project of the European branch of Callaway Competition, headquartered in Germany, specifically created to support the company's racing programs.

The naturally aspirated 6.3-liter engine was developed by Callaway from an aluminum version of the first-generation small-block Chevy, using port injection and proprietary control electronics. Despite similar parameters, this engine had very little in common with the SuperNatural 383 on civilian cars from Callaway.

The engine was assembled in the Callaway Advanced Technologies engine shop. Had an aluminum cylinder block, GM Motorsport (NASCAR) heads, remanufactured Bosch injection system, Carillo forged rods, JE pistons, titanium valves, dry sump, Callaway EFI engine management with Bosch injectors. Power output was 470 hp and torque was 610 Nm, which was transmitted to the rear wheels by a ZF 6-speed manual gearbox.

The design and specifications of the car have also been significantly redesigned to meet the requirements of GT2 racing cars. At the first race at Le Mans, the Callaway LM (in keeping with German tradition, the car was given its own name "Frieda") took pole position in its class and led for 13 hours before being disqualified for accepting assistance on the track. The following year, Frieda returned with a different crew, successfully finishing the race in second place in class and 9th overall. The same car from the Agusta Racing team finished next (3rd in GT2 and 11th overall). A year later, Agusta Racing started again on the French track, but could not finish. It wasn't just Le Mans, though, as the four Callaway-built LMs had several wins and podium finishes in other GT2 races, including the 1996 Daytona 24 Hours, as well as the SCCA World Challenge S2 championship.

The sports car had a Brembo braking system, which included 4-piston calipers and 356 mm discs at the front and 312 at the rear. Suspension with adjustable shock absorbers at the front on A-arms, at the rear – multi-link.

Externally, the main difference from both the production Corvette and the CR-1 was the unique one-piece front part with optimal aerodynamics and open headlights under transparent caps. From the rear, the car resembled the already familiar Aerobody, but with a huge wing on top and an integrated diffuser on the bottom. The design of the new Le Mans Body was developed by Paul Deutschman, and the carbon panels were produced in Germany by VWS.

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