2010 Callaway Cars SC572 Camaro SS LS3 Full Test

When you're driving along in the 2010 Callaway Cars SC572 Camaro SS LS3, it's easy to spot the truck drivers who are car enthusiasts. From the vantage point of a big rig's cab, you have a clear view of the Callaway Camaro's chrome supercharger basking under a glass skylight in the hood, the whole picture framed by an immaculate carbon-fiber outline.

If we'd been given a buck for every thumb we saw raised in response, why, we'd have enough for a couple of Subway foot-longs by now.

Not that the supercharger is the only clue to this Callaway Camaro's identity. The 19-inch Callaway wheels for this Camaro SS hint at aftermarket alchemy as well, as does the car's lower ride height. But in fact, the Eaton TVS2300 supercharger itself is relatively anonymous until it's working hard. In the Callaway SC572 with its Chevy LS3 V8 and six-speed manual transmission, there is virtually no supercharger sound at lower engine speeds and none at idle.

Without the hood window to give the game away, one could hide the existence of the blower completely. Callaway's integrated blower/intercooler assembly is low enough not to require a power bulge, and could easily hide under stock bodywork. That way, the only time anyone outside would know the 2010 Callaway Cars SC572 Camaro SS LS3 had been endowed with huge horsepower from its forced-induction pump, free-flowing intake and exhaust plumbing and tweaked engine-control electronics, would be when the car blew their doors off.

Track Duty
Like all of the current hot-rod Camaros, the 2010 Callaway Camaro SC572 struggles to get under 4 seconds in the sprint to 60 mph. It's all about the launch, and in this case the car manages 4.4 seconds to 60 mph from a standstill (4.1 seconds with 1 foot of rollout like on a drag strip). The Callaway Cars Camaro L99 with its slightly less powerful V8 and automatic transmission is actually a tenth quicker, which shows you that wheelspin is your enemy.

In comparison, the 603-horsepower 2010 Chevrolet Camaro SS Supercharged by Vortech Engineering maximizes its automatic transmission and cheater Nitto drag tires to get to 60 mph in 4.1 seconds (3.8 seconds with 1 foot of rollout), while the 562-hp 2010 Hennessey HPE550 Chevy Camaro SS gets to 60 mph from a standstill in 4.3 seconds (4.0 seconds with 1 foot of rollout).

As we've learned with various supercharged Camaros, power is nothing unless you can get it hooked up.

These two rivals also manage to outpace the Callaway Camaro SC572 through the quarter-mile. The Callaway Camaro runs the quarter in 12.4 seconds at 113.9 mph, while the Vortech Camaro does 12.2 seconds at 115.7 mph and the Hennessey Camaro does 12.2 seconds at 120.1 mph.

It Ain't All About Racing
Callaway Cars has been building specialty cars since 1977. Founder Reeves Callaway likes to remind us that buyers of these cars love having the extra power in reserve, and they enjoy opening the beasts up for an occasional burst. But mainly they drive around in their comfort zone, and comfort is the operative word. So a Callaway is set up to provide a sweet spot that embraces normal, everyday driving.

Even so, Callaway's cars offer significant amounts of thrust. In fact, you could even say way too much thrust, depending on your frame of reference. The first time you get on the throttle pedal hard in 1st gear — even after a moderate launch — the rear end will break loose as the blower starts to deliver significant boost. That's right. You can't go to full throttle in the middle of 1st gear without smoking the rear P Zeros.

Second gear doesn't feel much weaker, and the rush is almost dizzying as the car gains speed. Yes, we know the Bugatti Veyron has 1,000 hp, and you're probably accustomed to seeing big numbers bandied about. But we're talking almost 600 hp here, and if you haven't tried that yet, we're here to tell you that it's almost immoral in a world of high-priced gas and low-slung speed limits.

It's very nearly 300 hp per passenger, and that ought to do it, right? And while we agree that it's important to know which of the aftermarket Camaros is fastest, we'd like to point out that it takes considerable skill from experienced practitioners just to uncover those differences. Most of all, we'd like to suggest that a civilized combination of power, handling and refinement might be a better measure of the contest.

Numbers Don't Reveal All
As far as handling goes, the slalom numbers don't provide a compelling argument on behalf of any of the aforementioned contenders in the Camaro wars. The Callaway car is a tenth slower through the cones at 68.1 mph, but might have done better with the double-adjustable dampers we tried recently on the Callaway SC572 Camaro L99, the company's pumped-up version of the Camaro with an automatic transmission, which ran 68.4 mph.

How about sound levels, then? That might be a measure of the differing degrees of refinement (or its absence). Here we find the Callaway registering substantially lower numbers on the decibel meter than the Hennessey car, recording just 80.8 dBA to the HPE's 88.5. (Just 3 dBA represents a doubling of sound pressure.)

So, yes, the Callaway car retains much of the stock Camaro's refinement. This is actually pretty good, courtesy of a stiff structure and GM's relentless pursuit of reductions on the noise, vibration and harshness front. In the case of this Callaway SC572 with a six-speed manual transmission, even the supercharger sound holds off until the V8 is pumping good and hard, at which point the whoosh you hear inside the car is entirely appropriate to the experience.

With Great Power Comes Great Responsibility
As we've learned time and again with various supercharged Camaros, power is nothing unless you can get it hooked up with the pavement.

Pete Callaway, the general manager of Callaway Cars West, has developed a suspension package for the Camaro SC572 that is meant to do the job. The Pro-Street S package for this car features stainless-steel gas-charged dampers with damping rates developed by Callaway to reflect his preferences in both low- and high-speed damping action, and the overall damping curves are quite different from the stock dampers.

Progressive-rate Eibach springs have been used, and the adjustable spring perches on the dampers deliver a ride height that's 1 inch lower than stock. Nevertheless, there's more overall suspension travel, while the springs are noticeably softer in initial rate and stiffer in final rate. Meanwhile the two-position front antiroll bar is 262 percent stiffer than stock, while the three-position rear bar is 174 percent stiffer than stock.

Both Grip and Steering
If you look at the numbers, you can't help but think that the Callaway Camaro has been set up with a soft, street-friendly ride and more understeer, and it does feel friendly, even on the freeway. But as soon as you get serious, the Camaro gets serious, too, something we noticed in the slalom.

The car is poised and unflustered by bumps, yet there's surprisingly little body roll. You can actually steer the car on the throttle, adjusting the cornering line with the pedal as the rear steps out with more power and the nose tucks in with less.

The same sensitivity to throttle control applies on the skid pad. The ride gets a little choppier as the g-load increases, which is something we've noticed before with progressive springs, yet the bottom line is 0.91g. This is a big change from the stock Camaro, which defaults to a mild but irresistible push in every situation.

A Different Idea
The 2010 Callaway Cars SC572 Camaro SS LS3 is a different sort of pumped-up Camaro. It has the supercharged 572-hp V8 and the short-shift transmission kit, the sort of thing that a street racer's dreams are made of. Yet it delivers extreme performance in a way that doesn't keep you from enjoying the experience. You can tell the car has been developed as a complete package, and it makes this car something you can drive every day, which is not something we can say about the other hot-rod Camaros that have been through here.

And the Callaway Cars idea gets even better, because this is a car you can buy at a Chevrolet dealer with a full warranty of three years/36,000 miles on the powertrain in addition to the continuation of the Chevrolet warranty on the rest of the vehicle, plus all the usual financing options you get from a Chevrolet dealer. It all starts at $51,585. We think you've really got to have the optional $3,950 Powerwindow so you can see the supercharger, no matter what.

The manufacturer provided Edmunds this vehicle for the purposes of evaluation.