The Corvette C7 GT3-R is a big-winged, fat-arched track beast

If there’s one noise every petrolhead needs to hear before they die, it’s the guttural bawl from the bassy V8 of a Corvette race car.

If you’ve ever been lucky enough to visit Le Mans and witness it for yourself, a Corvette fly-by is the equivalent of sticking your head into a nightclub speaker while having your kidneys pummelled by a heavyweight boxer.

Sound appealing? Good news! This is the latest Corvette racer by specialist Vette tuner Callaway, and it promises to match the deranged noise of its forebears.

Christened the Corvette C7 GT3-R, it’s a GT3-grade racer armed with GM’s 6.2L V8. Callaway hasn’t released too many specifics on the mechanicals, but we do know that the 600bhp motor is mated to an X-Trac six-speed paddle-shift sequential gearbox.

As the GT3-R doesn’t have to worry about niceties like licence plates and road-legality, expect the full gamut of track-only goodies.

As you can see, the bodywork is all lightweight carbon fibre, and looks pretty menacing when starkers. The C7 sits stockily on a wider track, while hiding under those carbon cheeks are fat, sticky slicks.

Those various slats, and that rather substantial aerodynamic extension grafted onto the boot lid should also provide a decent bit of downforce.

You’ll have to wait until next year to hear what the GT3-R sounds like in competition. Until then, we’ll make do with the rather cheery set of photos above...