Carlisle/Callaway Corvette C36 Part 7

Lance Miller had an epiphany at the '04 Corvettes at Carlisle show: He wanted to create a C6 that was not only comfortable and streetable, but capable of running 10s in the quarter and showing a winning hand on an autocross course. To this end, he took delivery of a black C6 from Kerbeck Chevrolet and turned to Callaway Cars to have it modified. Team VETTE was fortunate to be invited by Callaway to report on the development process for this "powerfully engineered" C6. The project was named the "Carlisle/Callaway C36," and it began in September 2004. During the months that followed, we shared with you the step-by-step transformation process in a six-part series.

Callaway first baselined the new car's performance by taking it to the dragstrip and testing its powerplant on an engine dynamometer. The Z51 C6's first trip to the drags netted a best run of 12.89 at 109.88, while the stock LS2 produced 399.0 hp and 395.5 lb-ft of torque at the crank.

One year later, we're pleased to report that Lance Miller's dream has become a reality. Callaway Cars turned over the C36 to its happy new owner at the '05 Corvettes at Carlisle show where the car made its public debut. Prior to the show, Callaway Managing Director Mike Zoner extracted a best quarter-mile time of 10.76 seconds at 128.59 mph on drag radials. Mike also won two autocrosses with the C36, grabbing fastest time of the day at both events. So when he presented the car to Lance, it had already developed an almost mythical performance reputation.

All weekend long, Lance showcased the black "SuperNatural" Vette at various Carlisle events, including two dyno tests and an autocross on Sunday. On Saturday, in front of a huge crowd, the C36 was wheeled onto the chassis dyno, where it delivered 475.3 hp and 455.8 lb-ft of torque-not bad for a normally aspirated engine.

As you might expect, the Callaway folks were not surprised by this performance. Back at Old Lyme, this 6.8L powerplant produced 568.7 hp and 539.7 lb-ft of torque on the Callaway engine dyno.

On Sunday, the C36 competed in the Carlisle autocross and set the fastest time of the day by a tenth of a second-on street tires. Later, Lance took Team VETTE for a ride, during which we found the C36 to be a civilized, wickedly fast Corvette. (And, yes, it even feels much faster than the new Z06s we've driven.) Now, as Lance likes to say, "life is good."