Welcome to Hoo Garage! The dumbest Automotive channel in all of YouTube And this is the March 1995 issue of Rodent Track Magazine. and the only way to get me into the library at school when I was a kid was to read these magazines. In the '90s such amazing cars were coming out, but never did I Imagine that I would own one of the cars on the magazine cover of the period and let alone own one for a very affordable price. But I actually do now.

Holy crap. Callaway is diversifying in that it is doing design work for companies in many different areas. But basically we specialize in increasing the performance, reliability, and efficiency of internal combustion engines. And the diversification is coming because we're now doing them not only for cars, but also for airplanes, boats, stationary power plants.

Whatever has has an internal combustion engine in it is a product that we might be able to enhance to create a product that you can bring to Market and meets all the requirements that a market demands. It demands the performance, but it also demands reliability, efficiency, and we over time have built the ability to do that. This is a 1995 Callaway C8 Camaro not to be confused with the eighth generation Corvette the C8 This was the name given by Reeves Callaway for this heavily modified version of the Z28 Camaro. Only 18 were authorized to be made, but there's probably less than that out there since less than 10 were built at the Cway factory and the rest were just body kits that were sent off.

Or maybe some engines, but not the full. C8 Supernatural Which is what this is and not only that, is one of two magazine cover cars. Yes, this was the one that was on the cover of Rodent Track and heavily tested back in the day. and I Bought it at auction for a little over $30,000 Beautifully preserved, only a little over 30,000 miles on the odometer, which for this huge piece of history that is really, really cheap.

One of the reasons for this is Callaway as a tuner company, isn't as well known as some of the other big boys. And for those of you not familiar with the Callaway tuning company, no, not the golf company. I'll let the founder the man speak for himself only back in 1985. From all aspects of the automobile, you know the quality of its construction, its handling ability, its ability to put power to the ground, and it's sort of, uh, fun quotient.

It's a good statement about what the company does. It takes a fine quality product um, suits it to a particular Marketplace and makes us and the product look good in the end. So that's a clip from a very, very 80s video made by Callaway where he made quite an entrance Landing in a helicopter in his parking lot and walking into work. I'm sure he didn't do that every day, but it certainly looks very 80s.

Gordon Gecko Trumpy boss basically, but he had very humble beginnings. he started with tuning cars basically anything he wanted. he was a racing Enthusiast and actually for his senior thesis He restored a very famous vintage Ferrari that won the 24 Hours of Lal back in the ' 50s Callaway new cars obviously and all of his tuning in his builds caught the attention of Alfa Romeo first who asked him to build a turbo setup for their GTV to compete with Maserati and other Italian brands that were playing with turbos. Now that only led to two or three dozen cars before Alfa Romeo abandoned the project but that caught the attention of Chevrolet who had just come out with the C4 Corvette an amazing platform that didn't have that amazing performance at the time, but they wanted to show its capability and asked Callaway to develop a twin turbo kit for the C4 Corvette and actually made him an authorized retailer at Corvette dealerships where he could build cars or send the parts for dealers to build cars.

and from 1985 to 1991 they built about 500 Callaway twin turbo Corvettes Now he had one personal Corvette a 1988 that he set a speed record with 254 milph. but it wasn't just a crazy oneoff racer, he wanted this to be completely 50-state street legal still with air conditioning still with all the Comforts of a C4 Corvette And to prove it, he actually drove the car over 1,000 mil roundt trip from his headquarters to the track where they went 254 mph and then drove it in the rain back home over 1,000 miles and that record stood for the fastest street legal car 254 milph insane in 1988 until about 2010 or 11 that's faster than a McLaren F1 the fastest production car in the world at the time which went 240 or so milph the Bugatti Fon a little bit faster. but keep in mind this is 1988 which is absolutely insane. So these Corvettes they were very expensive, but if you look at them nowadays, they're not that expensive considering how special of a car they are considering the pedigree.

You can buy them for under $50,000 some sell for 30 35 40 in the last couple of years compare that to an AMG Hammer which 10 15 years ago I saw one sell for like 50 Grand and recent sales have been knocking on the door for those cars for almost a million dollar. So for people saying that Enthusiast cars are really hard to buy right now because all the rich people are buying up anything that's cool and there's nothing left for normal guys. Well, the callaways still exist. This Camaro came after the twin turbo Corvettes They wanted to make something a little bit more reasonably priced than the twin turbo Corvettes which were very expensive.

They wanted to build something faster than a Dodge Viper or a ZR1 Corvette but have the practicality of a Camaro a back seat something a little more comfortable and that's what they did right here. So for additional $30,000 and the base Camaro Z28 a little over $20,000 for 50 grand, less than a Viper or a ZR1 you got something that could wipe the pavement with it, but it wasn't just a lot more horsepower. There were other refinements in the handling and the braking and then the visuals. I mean just look at this thing.

it looks so different than a Z28. It looks more like a Vint Ferrari and it is absolutely amazing to look at and drive. And with that, well, let's start the tour. Now for the last year or so I've been on an fbody kick trying to find one thinking the best one to buy would be a 2002 Pontiac Trans Am since the last of the Trans Am before they went out of production and then Pontiac went away out as a company and an early LS and a really cool look.

Never imagined a Callaway C8 would ever end up in my garage and honestly I barely remember the Callaway version of this I know one still don't bring it trailer a few years ago the Silver version that was the other magazine cover car but really it wasn't on my radar and while that last Trans Ams a little bit on the ugly side with the ram air but kind of cool, this is very different. Paul Dechman was the designer for all of Callaway's cars of this era and he's the one that pinned this nose which they called the Honker moving the air intake to the front right here which feeds into a larger throttle body, but the nose swoops way low than a factory. Z28 Now the rest of the production cars I believe didn't have these covers on them, only the two magazine cars I believe, which gives it that Ferrari sort of look, but if you took those off, it would look a lot more like an early Camaro which I thought was a lot more attractive than the later ones with the catfish eyes, but the catfish eyes are the more desirable ones. And the Trans Am with the LS1 the LT1 it really didn't have the performance of the Ls's this one obviously being the exception now from the factory, the Camaro was already very aerodynamic and very cool.

For example this Fender here this is Factory going into the mirrors a really cool look that Callaway sort of accentuated with their design, the ground effects basically slimmed up and other than this venting for the brakes, it looks very subtle. The period Oz Wheels certainly look sharp. There's brake venting on the rear bumper as well, which is made a lot Slimmer and works really well with the factory. spoiler.

just looks so good, but it bumps out in the back a little bit where you see the Callaway lettering here molded into the bumpers and that dual exhaust. Such a cool upgrade from a factory. Z28 Camaro Subtle enough that from far away you can't really tell the difference. but then up close it is so darn rad looking now.

The fourth generation Camaro premiered a few years prior to this, replacing the Night Rider era of Firebird and Camaro and really took it into the Modern Age and brought back some performance that was sorely lost on the previous generation of cars. Even the original LT1 250 horsepower was actually a lot in the 90s, but Callaway would take this engine and do so. So much more. So let's take a look and here it is the Supernatural 400 LT1 They started with a 350 V8 but stroked it out to 383 so a longer stroke with the Pistons, but there's really nothing Factory about this.

LT1 maybe a little bit Factory looking the intake, but it's actually wider. You can see that Honker intake as well, which without any modifications, you could bolt this up to an LT1 And it had about 30 horsepower, but there was a lot more done with this engine. Each one comes with its own Dino sheet when it's built from Callaway and this one was about 430 horsepower. Huge horsepower! In 1995, a Dodge Viper was 400 horsepower a ZR1 Corvette in the 300 so this thing smoked them all and it retained all of its Factory drivability and Comforts and reliability.

Callaway Would sell these with a three-year warranty, which is actually a funny worded warranty, but pretty fair. I'll get to that in a little bit, but that was the big thing about Callaway The goal is to make the cars just as practical as when they left the factory, but obviously insane performance. You can see the strut brace as well there and braking was upgraded as well so you could handle and stop a little better with the Callaway as well. Now the factory headlights now are easily seen here.

everything else looking pretty Factory with the cooling system with the braking, all of that stuff and very well preserved. This car only 33,000 miles on it, so just in itself, that is very special. To find a low mileage Z28 would probably be worth 20 or 25 Grand on its own. The premium for the Callaway which was a $30,000 over the MSRP was only about $10,000 more probably than what a really, really nice Z28 like this would bring.

It just makes absolutely no sense and I'm so thrilled to be able to buy it. And while that was very expensive in 1995, there was a lot of work that went into this and it still was cheaper like I said than a Viper or a ZR1 Corvette the engine basically nothing stock like I said and the nose even though it is modified, it's not some cheap fiberglass thing. They made it as OEM as possible and the fitment is very OEM very sharp. and the Driving Experience Well, it feels like a Camaro in all the good ways, but not like an LT1 Camaro in all the bad ways now.

I Actually bought this on the same day? well actually not at the same day, but at the same auction as the ELO which came with no history. no documentation at all. We're still trying to figure all of that out, but this thing. well it came with all of it.

So the second owner owned this from 2000 until I bought it in 2023. and while I did drive and enjoy it 33,000 mil unlike the other magazine car which only has like 2,000 mil on it, he did definitely document the provenance. He knew how special it was. He showed the car a lot and really enjoyed it.

This is what I was talking about earlier with the dino sheet on the car. so a little over 400 horsepower and a little over 400 lb feet of torque. This is a letter from Reeves Callaway himself congratulating the new owner who eventually bought this car from Callaway after all the magazine tests were done, but he sold it and this is when it was getting taken delivery of in 2000. Now here is the warranty for the Callaway which this is where it gets kind of funny 3 years are 36,000 mil.

but there's one part where he talks about abuse of the car and he worded it in a very plain spoken but also pretty funny way. In this paragraph where it starts, if you wind up with a connecting rod hanging out through the side of the block with the English call putting a leg out of bed I'd never heard that before then we would expect to fix it under warranty. There are several assumptions at work here. simple things that go with maintaining and using a fine piece of Machinery in a respectful manner.

such as there is oil in the engine, the rod bearings are not blue, and the Callaway Eom has not changed. This is where the rev limiter resides Or another example, if the head drops off and embeds itself in the Piston or otherwise makes a cylinder looks like a party cigar, then we would cover it. what would not be covered. Let's say a valve spring breaks and it can be shown that other Pistons bear clear evidence of having contacted their valves.

We would call that an over rev and it's not covered under warranty. So if you're stupid and drive it like an idiot we're not covering out our warranty. you can send the engine to us to fix and if we find that it's your fault, then you have to pay for it, which is a pretty fair warranty and pretty darn reasonable. The Oems have a similar warranty, except they word it in a lot better legales to sort of hide it and back in the day like Mopars 426 Hemi only had a one-ear warranty because they knew people were going to race them and blow up the engines.

But here is all the magazines that this car was in like I said. that's the other one, the silver one that sold on bring a Trailer a few years ago, but in Oto week and rodent track. Here is my Callaway SE Camaro fully reviewed here along with its certificate of authenticity. And then here is a letter from the Program Marketing Director of Callaway saying this is indeed the magazine cover car.

It's just so dang cool. and I'm so excited to have it in the garage and unlike a lot of cars from this era, it doesn't drive like an old Camaro it drives like something much much newer and much more modern. and still it's very practical. So with that let's take it for a spin.

Inter wise this Callaway Camaro is very stock in the magazine. It had a wild interior with different seats and a wood center console. For some reason all that got taken out and put back to stock before it was sold. but you see stock climate control all working normal factory radio.

But the only difference is you have this little badge here Callaway Supernatural signed by Callaway himself, the shifter here with the Cool Callaway logo and the floor mats. otherwise you would not know from sitting inside that it is totally different from a stock. Z28 Camaro Now as far as issues, the only one is the ABS light does pop on quite a bit. it's on more than off.

but otherwise this thing drives great. Like I said, only 33,000 mil on it I believe yeah 33282 and looks every bit of it. Normally the door panels are starting to crack up the plastic and these things a big issue with Chevrolet in the 9s it didn't age very well, didn't look very well when new and there's still a lot of that hard plastic. but at least this one it all looks fresh new the wrapper.

unlike the Corvettes, you have a full-size back seat here, a lot more room, a lot more. Comfort But since it's a Callaway the performance is absolutely insane. Now the El Dorado I bought at the same sale. this is all the driving.

I did slow a few little pulls here on the taxi way, but this Callaway showed up very sorted. very ready to go for the road And what a surprise it is driving this thing, but not just how fast it is. We'll do that on the open road, but here going down the taxi way. how refined this thing feels.

You forget how good a fourth generation Camaro feels when they're nice and fresh because a lot of them are just clapped out and ruined by. Now this one. well, only 30,000 Mi so it feels really tight and Nice and if you can look past sort of the cheapish looking interior, it does feel like a refined, good quality car, which a lot of domestics in this area simply didn't. The Dodge Viper here we go, that was already to 60 right there.

The 0 to 60 on this thing back in the day about 4 and 1/2 seconds. Very impressive for 1995. Faster than most performance cars of that era in what was a Z28 Camaro. But not only is it the feeling of acceleration, but also the noise of this.

Just listen to how they refine the exhaust here. it sounds more like an LS than an LT1. It sounds a lot like that, but there's a little bit more going on with the nose that intake. You can hear that larger intake just sucking in air, almost like it's supercharged, but it's not.

The Hearst short throw shifter is a nice touch as well. This does not feel like a 1995 Camaro Oh well, there's the ABS light, so there is something for the car wizard to look at on this thing and it hasn't been used that much in the last 10 years or so. The seller has been trying to sell it off and on for quite a while. You do have to be a little careful with the throttle.

it is not an onoff switch, otherwise you would break traction like I just did very easily. So darn cool now. Callaway They still make cars to this day. You can pre-ordered a C8 bit engine Corvette tuned by them and Camaros and such and those cars are still hitting magazine covers or Making Waves on the internet to this day.

just like how they were in the 1980s with the Twin Turbo Corvette and this Callaway C8 supernal I feel so honored to own one of these supposedly one of 18 but who knows how many were actually built and how many actually survive and for the same money as well. What a low mileage C5 Z6 would go for or Honda S2000 Both great cars but they made so many of them and they are so worshiped by people. But they got priced in recent years too stupidity and it's why I haven't bought one. The market has spoken with them, but it hasn't really spoken or at least spoken with much enthusiasm on the callaways yet.

Wow! So even without this car's magazine cover pedigree and it's really rad looks, it would be a very fun car to own and drive for the price just as is. But what about the legacy of Callaway itself? Sadly, Reeves Callaway passed away earlier this year, so we're just beginning to figure that out. But if we take past American performance tuners as an example of the last generation like Carol Shelby with his tun cars and Don Yeno another example where he would sneak in Big Blocks into Camaro sold through his dealerships. Both of those cars are very much renowned and very appreciated when they cross The Auction Block fetching money those men would have never, ever dreamed of when they sold the cars back in the 60s and they think, well, it's too modern.

Well, no, because the AMG cars like I talked about earlier didn't perform nearly as well as this. A lot of press coverage back in the day and for some reason they have popped up two absolutely crazy insane levels that make absolutely no sense to me. So we'll see what happens to to the Callaway Corvettes and Camaros which are much lesser known. and I know I'm a complete but I'm telling you right now, if you want a cool car, something to own that is totally legendary, a Twin Turbo Corvette or if you can find one of these would be a pretty good way to go and long term.

If you care about which I really don't I don't see how you can lose. Thank you so much for watching. Quality is what does it for me when I look at the history of other people in this business, the ones that stand out in my mind. the ones that are remembered today, the ones that made a genuine contribution.

Did it by concentrating on quality.