click above to view more high-res pics of the 2008 Callaway Corvette

Callaway, the Connecticut-based Corvette tuner par excellence, has just announced that its 2008 Callaway Corvette will come with a new supercharger package that bumps power in the C6 Corvette to 580 horsepower. Buyers need only hand over $18,500 for the additional 150 horsepower over a stock 430-hp 6.2L LS3 V8, but will also get a host of engine improvements, a 3-year/36,000 mile warranty and still be able to meet California's strict emissions standards.

Callaway has also announced a new, more powerful supercharger for its super-Vette, the C16. The new spool increases output of the hand-built LS3 engine from 616 to 650 hp. It's also fitted with new cylinder heads and valvetrain, a custom cold-air intake, special free-flowing exhaust system and remapped ECU, in addition to the carbon-ceramic brakes, suspension and wheels. Callaway offers the C16 with its custom bodywork and leather interior in coupe and convertible forms for about $150k, or double that for the stunning Speedster. The extra 34 harnessed horses should help the updated C16 break its already-impressive 3.3-second 0-60 time, 11-second ¼ mile and 210 mph top end.

[Source: Callaway]

click above image for many high-res shots of the Callaway C16 Speedster

Twenty years ago, GM asked Reeves Callaway to infuse the Corvette with his particular brand of genius. The result was the most powerful production car ever sold in America. Twenty years later, the results are still coming, and this is the latest: the Callaway C16 Speedster, third in the C16 family introduced this year, joining the coupe and the cabriolet. For a large automaker to launch a car with three variants, in one year, is an achievement. For Callaway to do so, as a specialist producer, is nothing short of spectacular. Fittingly, the Speedster could be the most spectacular version yet. Click Read to get the full story, and check out the gallery to see hi-res images of the new Callaway C16 Speedster as well as the first Callaway Speedster made in 1990. Do you remember it on the cover of Motor Trend like it was yesterday? We do. Warning, though: it's still very green.

Click image for high-res photo gallery

Reeves Callaway will be in New York this week to officially unveil the convertible version of his latest monster Corvette creation, the C16. Unveiled in LA back in November, the C16 packs a mighty wallop underhood thanks to its blown LS2 V8, which pumps out 616 horsepower and 582 lb-ft of torque. Buyers who deem that powerplant too extreme can select a 560-horse "base" engine package instead. Tires may weep at the sight of the new Callaway, but we find smiles on our faces (the words "Callaway Corvette" have done this to us since our teenage years in the '80s). According to the automaker, 0-60 is just 3.5 seconds away, and the C16 Cabrio is apparently an 11-second quarter-mile car, to boot. Nasty.

Like its coupe brother, the Cabrio sports a distinctive familial visage with clear ties to past Callaway products. Around back, the Corvette's posterior has been replaced by a Callaway unit that incorporates single round taillamps that immediately call to mind Aston Martin's DB7 Zagato Roadster. Pricing for the C16 Cabrio starts at $128,765, and existing C6 Corvette owners can also choose from a variety of C16 upgrades to their cars as well. We'll have in-person impressions of the ragtop, as well as a chat with Reeves Callaway, from New York later this week.

[Source: Callaway Cars via Fast-Autos.net]

Click the image for a high res version, perfectly suited for your desktop.

The folks at Callaway figured that if their customers were willing to plunk down the cash for a fixed-roof bespoke coupe, they'd be even more smitten with a drop top version. So at next month's New York Auto Show, they'll be debuting the C16 convertible, another supercharged super-Vette creating either 560 or 616 HP from its blown V8.

Much like the hardtop version that debuted in Montreal, the open-air version will be able to reach 60 in three and half seconds and on to a top speed over 200 MPH. All that, while still leaving the factory with a five-year, 100k-mile warranty. If you've got the $128,765 entry fee, go on and read the full press release after the jump.

[Source: Wired's Autopia, Callaway]

Click on the image above for our 12-image high-resolution gallery from the Montreal launch.

Legendary Corvette tuner Callaway's latest creation, the C16, was unveiled in pre-production guise at the LA show back in November, but the final production version made its debut at the Montreal auto show, of all places. Why Montreal? Company founder Reeves Callaway, who was on hand together with designer Paul Deutschman to unveil the new car, explained that because Montreal is Deutschman's home town, it was only fitting. (If the C16 hadn't already made its big splash in LA, we're sure they wouldn't have shown it first at such a minor show as Montreal.)

There were only a few differences between the orange pre-production car shown in LA and the red, final version unveiled in Montreal. The LA car had a custom brake package, while the Montreal car's were stock; the orange car had a custom interior, while the red car's cabin was unmolested; and around back the distinctive chome-tipped "Double-D" exhaust outlets were enlarged on the Montreal car to what the boys from the factory jovially called the "Triple-D" exhaust. If it seems backwards that they left the brakes and interior stock; remember that each Callaway creation is built to order, and evidently this customer didn't want to spring for the upgraded stopping power and custom cabin.

Like the LA show car, this C16 features a supercharged six-liter Corvette V8 pumping out a whopping 616 horses, enough to propel this Callaway to sixty in less than three-and-a-half seconds. Apart from the roof, greenhouse glass and side mirrors, every body panel on the C16 is changed from the C6 Corvette on which it's based, and the result is a car that looks half Corvette, half Ferrari, but distinctively Callaway.

(We had a chance to talk with Reeves Callaway at the launch... watch this space for the highlights.)

Click here or on any of the images below for our 12-image high-resolution gallery from the Montreal launch.

Callaway Cars debuted the C16 today at the LA Auto Show, which garnered the relatively small coach builder a lot of attention. The 16th built-to-order Callaway model in the company's history, the C16 is based on the Chevy Corvette C6 platform and adds a supercharger to the Vette's 6.0-liter LS2 V8. The blower increases the engine's power to 616 bhp and 582 ft-lbs. of torque, which makes for some impressive numbers. 0-60mph in 3.3 seconds. The quarter mile in 10.9 seconds. A top speed of 206 mph. And considering the green theme of this year's LA Auto Show, we should also mention the C16 gets 18mpg city/28 mpg highway. It's also compliant with GM's 5-year/100,000-mile warranty and supplemented by Callaway's own 5-year/100,00-mile warranty that covers Callaway-installed hardware. The design is classic Callaway, which should be expected from designer Paul Deutschman who has spent twenty years with the company. From many angles, however, the C16 is the spitting image of a last-gen Camaro. Like we said, classic Callaway. The price for a coupe is bit steep at $119,865, but that's not so bad for a hand-crafted 3.3-second car that gets 28 mpg and is backed with a manufacturer's warranty.

More live shots and Calloway's press release can be found after the jump.