2008 Callaway Corvette - The Gift

There are Corvettes...there are factory-built limited edition Corvettes...and then there are the Callaway Corvettes. If you're looking to add Callaway Cars' upgrades to a not-yet-built C6, it's a fairly easy matter to order one through Chevrolet and Callaway's dealer network. But, if you're looking at one that's already been built, and you'd like one finished in the same exterior/interior color scheme, you might have to wait. That's because Callaway only does one of each color combo per year. So says Erie, Colorado's Jayna Martin.

Jayna and her husband, Scott, are definitely Corvette devotees, as evidenced by the collection in their Erie, Colorado Garage. At this writing, it includes a modified '53, a restored '60, a modified '63, a restored '67, plus an original '73 and '2003 along with an original '87 Callaway with just 10,000 miles on it. That's along with a steel-bodied Bow Tie collection that includes two '55 Bel Airs, a '67 Camaro Rally Sport and a '55 First Series pickup.

Last year, Scott took Jayna to Purifoy Chevrolet in nearby Fort Lupton, Colorado, to do a little window-shopping, when a Wil Cooksey-autographed, limited-edition Corvette was at that dealership. "Scott took me to see the new limited edition Z06 that was signed by the Corvette plant manager Will Cooksey," she says. "When we walked into the showroom,I walked right past the car that Scott wanted to show me to the whiteCallaway Edition Corvette with the red scoop on the hood."

Jayna had an eye for an eye-catching C6, alright. This one was equipped with a polished MagnaCharger supercharger and "Honker" cold-air system under the hood, and other Callaway upgrades that included a C16 hood and "Double D" exhaust system. Jayna says, "I said, 'That is the prettiest car I have ever seen!' Scott asked me if I would trade in my Mercedes for the car. I said I would have to think about it, as it is a whole different type of vehicle."

The next day--disappointment. "Scott left for Arizona the next day, and then told me that Jay the sales manager at Purifoy Chevrolet called,and thatthe car had been sold," Jayna says. "I was sad, as Callaway only makes one of these color combos per year. I knew that if I wanted that color combo, I would have to wait another year to see it"

Move ahead to the annual Vettes on the Rockies show in Breckenridge the following weekend, where--among the show rides and displays was...the white/red '08 Callaway. "Scott and I went to lunch and then walked around town, then he suggested that we go over to the 'showroom' area for the car show to seethe new ZR1 that was on display," says Jayna. "So we walked over to the parking area where all the 'show' cars were roped off for viewing...and I saw THE CALLAWAY Vette." She told Scott, that it was her guess that it was there to be shown off, and 'rubbed in' that it was sold.

Except there was one thing that Jayna hadn't noticed about the Callaway...yet.

"As we were walking around the car...I saw theregistration tag for the car show in the window, and it said, 'Jayna Martin.' "Scott leaned over and said, 'Happy Anniversary!'"

It was right about then, that Jayna--realizing that there was no mistake, that this Callaway was hers--that our Jerry Heasley came by to take a good look at it. She picks up the story from there. "As I was standing there crying, and all the dealership people clapping at my surprise, Jerry came over to say he had heard what was going on and he wanted to shoot the car and put my story into Corvette Fever!"

Off they went to a location near Breckenridge that Jerry had scouted, and that's where the pictures you see here were taken. You'll see that the Callaway had less than 500 miles on it at the time--mainly testing and delivery miles starting at Bowling Green, then routed through Old Lyme before delivery to Purifoy Chevrolet.

During the shoot, Jayna and Jerry chatted, and Jayna had a couple of those "Small-world-isn't-it?" moments. "As we are talking...I asked him where he was from, and he said, 'Pampa, Texas.'" Seems that's Scott Martin's hometown, too. Jayna continues: "He had also asked another couple to bring their car over for a photo shoot--a silver-with-red interior 1963 split-window. They were from Breckenridge, and as we got to talking, the older gentleman told me that he had been stationed in Amarillo, Texas in 1963, and he'd bought that car from Plaines Chevrolet in Amarillo. Wow! What a small world!" So says the Amarillo-born-and-raised Jayna, whose parents had owned a white split-window with a red leather interior, and who (according to Reeves Callaway) is only the tenth female driver listed as the primary owner/driver of a Callaway Corvette.

It's possible that this 2008 Callaway may see the same kind of driving that put just 10,000 miles on the 1987-vintage Callaway that it now shares a garage with. Then again, the roads leading to and from that Colorado garage will always be "improved," once this '08, or any of its stablemates, is taken out for a drive.

Data File: '08 Callaway Corvette Coupe
Owned by Jayna and Scott Martin, Erie, Colorado

Body
Modified 2008 Corvette
Modifications: Callaway C16 hood, Z06 fin, Victory Red door handles and Callaway badges
Modifications By: Callaway Cars, Old Lyme, Connecticut
Paint: Arctic White/Victory Red; Paint applied by GM-Bowling Green Assembly and Callaway Cars

Chassis
Frame: Production 2008 Corvette
Suspension: Production 2008 Corvette
Steering: Production 2008 Corvette, magnetic power-assisted with fluid cooler
Brakes: RPO J55 heavy-duty brakes with 13.4-inch cross-drilled front rotors and 13-inch cross-drilled rear rotors
Wheels: 5-spoke Callaway polished aluminum wheels, 18 x 8.5-inch (front), 19 x 10- inch (rear)
Tires: Goodyear Eagle F1, P245/40ZR18 (front), P285/35ZR19 (rear)

Engine
Modified GM Powertrain V8 (RPO LS3) with cast aluminum block and cross-bolted main caps
Modifications: Polished Eaton Magnuson MagnaCharger (7 psi boost) with air/liquid intercooler integral to intake manifold, high-flow (53 lb./hr.) injectors and Callaway-logo injector covers
Displacement: 378 cubic inches (6.2 liters)
Compression Ratio: 10.7:1
Cylinder Heads:Production LS3 cast aluminum
Ignition: Production LS3 coil-on-plug
Induction: Callaway "Honker" cold-air induction system
Exhaust: Callaway "Double D" exhaust system
Horsepower: 580 @ 6200 rpm (Advertised)
Torque: 515 ft. /lbs. @ 4750 rpm (Advertised)

Transmission
OEM 2008 Corvette 6-speed automatic, with paddle shifter
Built By: GM Powertrain

Interior
Production 2008 Corvette with RPO 3LT package
Modifications: Callaway serial-number dash plaque
Seats: Red/black sport seats
Upholstery: Leather
Carpets: Black nylon cut-pile
Instrumentation: OEM 2008 Corvette (0-200 mph speedometer, 0-7500 rpm tachometer with 6500 rpm redline, plus fuel level, oil pressure, ammeter, coolant temperature gauges) augmented with OEM head-up display gauges
Sound System: OEM GM-Bose AM/FM/CD sound system
HVAC: OEM GM heater/defroster/air conditioner