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Callaway C6 SuperNatural
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1994-1996 FIA-ACO Le Mans / World Sportscar Championship

Callaway produced 9 LM cars, 4 were used for endurance racing, campaigned throughout Europe and 5 were sold for the street. The Callaway LM sat on the GT2 pole at LeMans in 1996 and also won the 1996 Manufacturers World Championship.

Engine:
The power plant was a highly modified Callaway SuperNatural engine assembled at the Callaway Advanced Technologies engine shop in Connecticut. Starting with an aluminum block, NASCAR aluminum heads the engine masters at Callaway balanced and blueprinted a forged steel crank and pistons. Using roller rockers and a Callaway re-designed Bosch/ throttle body injection system the LM’s goal was to net over 450 reliable horsepower for 24 hours: Callaway Supernatural 383 (6.3 litres) engine Aluminum block and GM Motorsport (NASCAR) heads Titanium valves: 2.150 intake/1.625 exhaust Carillo forged rods, JE pistons Reverse Flow Cooling Standard dry sump Callaway EFI engine management system with Bosch port injectors High rise manifold and four-barrel throttle body Manual throttle actuation Tubular exhaust headers, crossover pipe, exhaust manifolds with straight through rear exit exhausts Optional silencers available Power output 475 bhp @ 6200 rpm Torque output 450 Lb-Ft @ 5000 rpm

Driveline:
ZF 6-speed Brembo monoblock 4-piston calipers 14” front rotors; 12.3” rear rotors Manually adjustable front / rear brake bias Front brake cooling ducts Cast aluminum unequal length A-arms (front) Five link independent suspension (rear) Penske remote reservoir adjustable dampers with concentric suspension springs Front and rear anti-roll bar, adjustable Rack and pinion steering

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1994
Boris Said
Chassis # 001/94

Michel Maisonneuve

Race # 51, 73

Frank Jelinski

 In late 1993, Callaway’s European distributor, Ernst Wöhr, (Wöehr) entered a SuperNatural in the European GT endurance series. Ernst had lined up Boris Said as his driver and he approached Reeves Callaway for engines and some of Paul Deutschman’s time to do the bodywork for the car. Ernst had some good success, so in 1993 Reeves went to Europe to set up their new racing program, Callaway Competition GmbH, with a view to perhaps going to Le Mans in 1994. The first race-based car was the Corvette-based SuperNatural which ran at Le Mans in 1994 and 1995. In 1994, the Callaway team placed themselves on pole, by five seconds but DNF the race. The car ran the rest of the major endurance races that year. It generated orders for three more cars for European customers. At the 1995 24hr of Le Mans it finished 9th overall and 2nd in the GT2 class. ‘

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1995
 Almo Copelli (# 76 1995)
Patrick Camus (# 74 1996)
Chassis # 002/95
Patrick Bourdais (# 76 1995)
Rocky Agusta (# 74 1996)
Race # 76, 74
Thorkild Thyrring (# 76 1995)
Almo Copelli (# 74 1996)

Armed with significant experience and development time to the original LM 001/94 by the end of the 1994 racing season, three lightweight Callaway LM were constructed in Germany for the second assault on Le Mans. Two built for Italian motorcycle giant Rocky Agusta (002-95 and 003-95) and one for the Callaway Schweiz Team of Kurt Huber and Hans Hauser over the winter of 1994-1995 (004-95). The new Callaway LM was a full 250 pounds lighter with many subtle refinements such as center-lock wheels and other subtle aero-refinements. While 003-95 carried an XTRAC 6-speed sequential transmission, 002-95 ran the traditional ZF 6-speed. At Le Mans (1995), each of the three Callaway cars encountered their own brand of trouble. In 1996, Agusta ran only one car (002-95) as # 75. The 1994-95 # 51/7375 (003-95) did not compete in Similarly, Callaway's own 001-95 (# 51/73) did not compete. With minor changes in the BPR series for the 1996 seasons, the Agusta Racing and Callaway-Schweiz teams fought large fields of factory supported racers and a string of DNFs to finish the season points 30th, 51st and 53rd. The following season the BPR Series became the FIA GT Endurance Series. It is believed that Agusta's 002-95 was used for parts to support 003-95. The car effectively disappeared.

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1995
 Rocky Agusta (# 75 1995)
Almo Copelli (# 60 1997)
Chassis # 003/95
 Robin Donovan (# 75 1995)
Rocky Agusta (# 60 1997)
Race # 75, 60, 00
Eugene Obrien (# 75 1995)
 Eric Graham (# 60 1997)

While the # 51,73 (Freida) car owned by Callaway Competition was no longer running, the team continued to provide support to Agusta for his planned run at Daytona and other US series, usingLM 003/95. Three weeks later, the car is moved to St. Petersburg (FL) for the opening round of the 1996 SCCA World Challenge. The next day following the race, the team and driver were flown back to Europe for the first three rounds of the 1996 BPR Global GT Challenge, running GT2 configuration on both continents. With completion of the initial races in BPR, the car was rushed back to the USA for two more SCCA races. Then flown back to Europe for the Le Mans preparations. Following a somewhat disappointing finish at Le Mans, the LM is again returned to the USA for the final rounds of the SCCA series. Competing in the IMSA GTS-1 division for the 1996 Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona, the Agusta Racing Team Callaway LM still carried its LEMans GT2 set-up; there was just too many changes required to re-configure the car for one race. GT2 rules reduced the size of the rear wing for competition. The Agusta Racing Team finished 22nd overall. SCCA Pro World Challenge 1996 Starting the season with a SCCA record three consecutive victories in a series based on the FIA GT2 specifications, Almo Coppelli driving the ReFormulated Gasoline-Hotline/ Agusta Racing Callaway LM 003/95 was the class of the field in Division 2 of the SCCA. Beginning in St. Petersburg, Florida, the KASH-N-KARRY Grand Prix, Almo Coppelli took the lead ten laps into the event and was able to hold until the checkered flag droped 32 laps later. With the trip to Canadas 2.459-mile Mosport Raceway Park, Ontario, Almo Coppelli started on the pole and drove to a first place finish after taking the lead on lap 17 of the 34-lap race. Despite having a hot engine for most of the race. At Lime Rock, Connecticut, the Agusta Racing LM started in the second position, battled hard for the lead with overheating tires throughout the race and with four laps remaining in the 45-lap event, captured the lead for the victory. Finishing the season at Sears Point, California, Almo Coppelli, struggled to a forth place finish after an alternator failure requires a lengthy pit stop. Never the less, Almo Coppelli edged the Mosler Intruder of Shane Lewis in the points championship by 2 points (247 to 245) and received Rookie of the Year Honors for the season. Le Mans 1996 Returning to Le Mans in 1996 for the second time, the Agusta Racing Callaway LM was now racing a single entry. Callaway Competition and Callaway Advanced Technologies are there with Agusta in a technical support role. The LM began the race with a proud second in GT2 class and 37th overall. Near the four-hour mark, crossing debris on the track resulted in a blowout that sent the LM into the retaining wall completely destroying the left rear quarter panel. After two hours of repair, the LM returned and was relatively competitive running strong until the eleventh hour. On lap 114 the gearbox and clutch fail from un-noticed damage that created a leak in the initial accident and the car DNFd 1996 BPR Global GT Challenge/ Endurance Series With minor changes in the BPR series for the 1996 seasons, the Agusta Racing team fought large fields of factory supported racers and a string of DNF’s to finish the season well down in the points. NOTE: This was the last seson for the BPR series which morphed into the the FIA GT Endurance Series for 1997. The 1996 records were: 4 hr- Paul Ricard Started 24th/ Finished 6th in GT2/ 12th Overall Almo Copelli/ Sandro Munari 4hr- Monza Started 27th/ DNF-accident Almo Coppelli/ Rocky Agusta 4 hr- Jarama Started 30th/ Finished 30th 4 hr- Nurburgring Started 23rd/ DNF 4 hr- Anderstorp Started 18th/ Finished 4th GT2/ 10th Overall Almo Coppelli/ Marco Spirelli 4 hr- Brands Hatch Started 17th/ DNF Almo Coppelli/ Rocky Agusta Finish season 30th Almo Coppelli 1997 Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona In the final appearance of the Callaway LM at the Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona, the Agusta Racing Team returned with one car as a result of a bad crash in practice two weeks prior. No longer supplied with engine support by Callaway Advanced Technologies, the Agusta Racing Team LM is powered by a 5.9L engine from Comptech. Because of a change in rules, the 6.3L V8 from Callaway is no longer eligible in the GTS-2 class. In practice and pre-qualifying the LM suffered from a host of misfortunes. Beginning with a bad crash in practice, one of the two Comptech engines was lost in shipment and multiple problems with the new Dunlop race tire. With Almo Coppelli driving through the tri-oval a rear tire blowout followed with a spin, resulted in the remaining Dunlop tires deflating. Coming to a rest in the first turn, the entire team was discouraged after what seemed a difficult road a sixth place on the starting grid. Very unhappy with the Dunlop tires and a premature finish after 23 laps at, Rocky Agusta is uncertain he will continue for the season. Le Mans 1997 The Agusta Racing LM 003/95 was modified after the 1996 season with additional flaring and other subtle modifications to become the LM-GT. LM 002/95 served as a parts car for the team during the 1997 season. Current status is unknown. Competing for the last time at Le Mans and with limited support form Callaway Competition, the Agusta Racing Team Callaway LM-GT suffered from an aging platform/chassis and a reduction in cubic inches to 5.9 for the GT2 Class. For this year, the Agusta engines are not prepared by Callaway but by Comptech. Difficulties with the engine management system resulted in lack of power output from the engine and a disappointing DNF for the team around the ninth hour. FIA GT Championship 1997 Beginning in 1997, the FIA GT Championship is a logical continuation of the canceled BPR Series. The format was similar is category and each race is four hours in length. The fields are full of cars representing Corvette, Mercedes, BMW, McLaren, Porsche and Vipers. During the first year the series maintains full grids and spectator interest is high. The evolved Agusta Racing LM-GT competes successfully in three races and finishes the season point’s chase for GT2 in eleventh position. Following the 1997 season, the LM-GT is sold to RTM Racing of Belgium ending a four-year association between the Callaway Corvette LM and Agusta Racing. 1998, 1999, 2000 BELCAR Series Originally, called the Carglass Cup, the BELCAR Series is an endurance series that finishes with a 24-hour race at the Zolder track. RTM raced in the BELCAR Series for two years in the GT1 division and one year in the GTA division.

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1995
Kurt Haber (# 74 1995,96, 98)
Enrico Bartaggia (#74 1995)
Chassis # 004/95
Hans Hauser (# 74 1995, 96, 98)
Andrea Chiesa (#74 1996)
Race # 74, 38
Seppi Wendlinger (# 74 1995, 96)
 

Armed with significant experience and development time to the original LM 001/94 by the end of the 1994 racing season, three lightweight Callaway LM were constructed in Germany for the second assault on Le Mans. Two built for Italian motorcycle giant Rocky Agusta and one for the Callaway Schweiz Team of Kurt Huber and Hans Hauser over the winter of 1994-1995. Le Mans 1995 At Le Mans (1995), each of the three Callaway cars encountered their own brand of trouble. The 1995 # 74 (chassis # 004/95) running under the Callaway-Schweiz banner did not accumulate enough laps to be positioned. Likewise, a very poor showing in the 1995 BPR series was recorded, with one DNF at the Nurburgring. 1996 BPR Global GT Challenge/ Endurance Series In 1996 the Callaway-Schweiz team finished in 53rd position, entering only three races and having DNFs in two of those: 4 hr- Paul Ricard Started 36th/ Finished 21st Kurt Huber/ Hans Hauser 4 hr- Monza Started 40th/ DNF 1000km Suzuka Started 28th/ DNF The car did not run in 1997 1998 GTR Euro Series Stephane Ratel of the former BPR GT series creates a series for privateers due to the escalating cost of FIA GT racing. The series failed to meet expectations cancelled after first season. Representing the Callaway LM is Elsa for one race and scores a 6th place finish in her only appearance: 4 hr- Paul Ricard (March) #38 Callaway Schweiz LM 004/95 Finish 6th Kurt Huber/ Hans Hauser 1998 FFSA GT Championship Started in 1997 as a new series for GT cars by Patrick Peter, formerly of BPR, the FFSA GT was relatively successful with full grids and four separate classes, GT-1, 2,3,4. The second year for the FFSA GT became the French Championship for GT cars and former BPR boss Stephane Ratel took command of the series and reduced the classes to three. Callaway Schweiz LM 004/95 competed as a non-classified car at Dijon for the first round. During the second race at Dijon, Kurt Huber started 9th in the GT2 class and finished 18th overall for Callaway Schweiz. Currently Urs Berwert of Switzerland owns Callaway LM 004/95. The car is run in various Euromeet events under various numbers...currentlly # 307.

PICTURES: Callaway C6 Supernatural

VIDEO: Chassis #003 Start Up

VIDEO: 1996 Le Mans - Agusta Racing tire puncture

VIDEO: Motor Week tests the Callaway road car

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