Auto World: Callaway Sledgehammer Corvette

We drive a legendary car that set the mark for speed for decades.

[@rubyred93chev]

*898 horsepower/772 ft. lbs of torque, with air, leather, and Bose. All in an iconic C4 at just shy of 255 m.p.h. May I introduce you to Reeves Callaway's original supercar so appropriately named the 'Sledgehammer'. Beautiful car Mr. Callaway!*

[@schlomoubermann]

How many were made?

[@phoenixgibbs-lewis6387]

Fuck off the callaway did not do 255 mph it did no where near that the McLaren f1 did 242 mph which is faster that than that Yankee shit and the Veyron in did 253 mph in 2005 and Veyron was the first 250 mph car not that yankee shit fuck you and fuck American cars!!!😡😡😡FUCK OFF!!!! Learn your facts!!!

[@rubyred93chev]

@@phoenixgibbs-lewis6387 _Certainly you're not speaking to me personally. That said, take less than four seconds to Google 'Callaway Sledgehammer'. What makes the car unique is it was based on the fourth generation Corvette. Yes, it's not an F1, and yes it's not a Veyron. But the performance envelope for this car is impressive, and clearly stands alone up to the year the car was built, and for almost another two decades!_

[@jhedlind22]

@@phoenixgibbs-lewis6387 - Hey IDIOT. You can watch the original video from 1988 on KZbin. I would say something denigrating to you. But, it's harder to make you look stupider than you already have.

[@2KCamaroZ28SS]

@@phoenixgibbs-lewis6387 Sorry. Us Yanks hold most of the automotive world records. We always have. Since we uhhh you know... Invented the automobile.

[@gilbertjuarez7064]

254mph back in 1988 unreal! Amazing

[@JDMHaze]

yeah that would be like 330mph in today's numbers , Because I don't think anything production was cracking 200 back then

[@jefferycampbell9182]

@@JDMHaze Yeah I think the F40 and Porsche 959 were considered the fastest cars at barely 200/201 mph so this was definitely fast. Even the McLaren F1 only hit 240 mph in 1991 and the Bugatti EB110 was like 220?

[@idokwatcher2062]

@@jefferycampbell9182 213MPH RUF Yellowbird, twin turbo Porsche stroker.

[@TheMrPeteChannel]

Andddddd & the car had a radio, ac, power seats, factory glass. Imagine what it could do stripped & with modern tires.

[@user-qr7ee2cp4y]

There's only a few cars in 2024 that could beat it. That's how unreal that is.

[@YouArentSlick]

Casually shitting on the Veyron in the 80s. And they road tripped to the test track to top it off, doesn’t get better.

[@terrybaptist795]

What are you talking about the Veyron didnt even exst in the 80,s

[@scottearl7687]

@@terrybaptist795 hes saying the car shits on the veyron even though it was made in the 80’s

[@MF-Rell]

@@scottearl7687 How lol?

[@chrismarek7864]

@@MF-Rell Because it's faster than the Veyron by almost 2 mph.

[@lukeneill1568]

@@chrismarek7864 slower to get there. Not road legal anywhere outside USA. Is a stripped down car turned race car. No emmisions control. Loud as f. Handles like a turd. Terrible brakes. Just a roll cage fibreglass body and a workerd motor. Not even comparable

[@texan176]

I remember when this car was new and Reeves Callaway mentioned the most important part on this car (or any other) is the tire because everything on the car depends on the tires working properly. That advice has never failed me and kept me from cheaping out on tires even on ordinary cars.

[@SparrowNoblePoland]

I agree that you should not save on tires, as long as it's about new vs. retreaded. Otherwise speaking of tires, the maker of Polly Trans Am, igored that, and went 250mph/400kph, on tires that were not allowed do so. And his problems were not the tires but fine tunining of the engine.

[@la-li-lu-le-lo9444]

@@SparrowNoblePoland that was incredibly reckless and stupid lol

[@GolfInHawaii69]

Learned that the hard way. I have a slightly modified 2004 mustang mach1 making 400hp to the wheels and tried cheaping out on the rear tires since good ones ran about 500$. Ended up getting 2 for 210 thinking I got a great deal until my right rear tire blew out and almost ended up in a ditch. Learned my lesson and paid extra for good tires. Just thankful I didn't total my car.

[@blastfromthepast7119]

​@@GolfInHawaii69 maybe try 2 for 300 next time.

[@HoosierDaddy_]

One of the most famous cars ever. A true legend.

[@brandonwright2067]

Brad Conklin really never heard of it till now lol sledgehammer that is

[@billybrooks7845]

brandon wright most people haven't. Hardly anyone these days realize there was an older car that could outfly a McLaren F1 or Veyron!

[@JerseyMikeP]

Brandon Wright, (not sure how old you are) but this was ran 5 yrs before GOOGLE was even Born. 5 yrs before the FAMOUS McLaren F1 ran 23 mph SLOWER... 18 yrs before the Veyron ran 11 mph SLOWER. 22 yrs before the 1,200hp ( 302hp more powerful) Veyron Super-sport finally beat it.

[@htceris]

@@JerseyMikeP But this wasn't a production car so bad comparison

[@JerseyMikeP]

Charles, Well MOST cars that Claim being the FASTEST (Koenigseggs) aren't built enough quantity to QUALIFY EITHER. Others like Bugatti Plan out lie about their performance.

[@ardyshane23]

It makes me want a c4 just to get that look. Love that Vette.

[@JerseyMikeP]

Like Ever car from the 80's the interior isn't that great. C5's were MUCH more aero dynamic and better built and are dirt cheap. Lingefelter that drove and built this engine ran 225 mph with only 650hp in a C5 corvette.

[@Grizzly5581]

Have a C4 and can tell you it's a super nice car beautiful to drive and all it's all around a perfect car as long as you aren't to tall I'm 186 so around 6.1 or 6.2 and it's getting a Lil tight but beside that it's just the perfect car to cruise around and it don't matter if there standing Ferraris or Lambos around you people will look at the C4 at least at mine and that here in Germany

[@michaelfuson4490]

So she drove around 1400 miles round trip, not counting the track, busted 250 mph and ran like a stock vette... :)

[@simonriddick]

First time I saw the sledge was probably back in 1998. The numbers are still very impressive even today.

[@gregdeegan1473]

Four years on from your comment which is 20+ years on from when this car was built and those are still impressive numbers

[@TheMrPeteChannel]

​@@gregdeegan1473Imagine what it could do stripped & on modern tires.

[@mia1shooter]

Bugatti needed 200 more hp...8 more cylinders...2 more turbos, and ...30 MORE YEARS to do what Callaway did.

[@TheMrPeteChannel]

Amazing.

[@Steven-re3id]

and nissan (jun) just need 6 cylinder to be faster a couple of years later with a r32

[@blastfromthepast7119]

It was awd with active aerodynamics, suspension.

[@DIYDanCars]

Callaway did such a nice job with the body work. I love the way it looks on the C4, it's the perfect amount of badass-ness! :)

[@slagrebi740]

I read about this car in magazine in 1988, they had it against a CTR, 959, AMG hammer and a Testarossa. Headline was "when 170 mph is slow". That Ferrari was plastered on the front cover and ended up being the slowest by far. Even back then tuners were miles ahead and the Callaway couldn't be touched. 890 bhp, unbelievable.

[@Tommyblueeyes]

Vector W2

[@matthewalston1226]

898

[@fitfogey]

Sledgehammer. Peter Gabriel would be proud.

[@Shamphere]

This car held the world record from 1988 to 1999, 11 years. Very impressive.

[@benn454]

2010

[@_retrophile_7473]

What was faster in 1999?

[@brettweltz8135]

Mcclaren

[@_retrophile_7473]

@@brettweltz8135 you mean McLaren F1?

[@brettweltz8135]

@@_retrophile_7473 yep

[@everythingautomotiveeta5839]

Holy SHITTTT its October 21st 2019 and that is still outlandishly powerful... torquey.... fast... quick...and downright impressive... that car will always be relevant speed wise.

[@hayabusa27]

254mph 😳

[@TheMrPeteChannel]

From an 80s street legal car no less.

[@treymcferrin4027]

Such a beast. I was born in 87 and had no clue about this car until recently.

[@Tommyblueeyes]

Ummm I was born in 74 but still know about the porsche 356, Jaguar E Type, Mercedes 300sl gullwing, Lambo Miura...shall I go on about cars way before I was born? Age shouldn't matter. You are a car guy or not.

[@Tommyblueeyes]

Did u know there was a guy called HITLER in the 1940s? Noooo cos that was before your time right? Did you know dinosaurs existed?

[@treymcferrin4027]

@@Tommyblueeyes 😆 🤣 😂

[@7777777777e]

@@Tommyblueeyes what a grumpy old man you are lol.

[@Tommyblueeyes]

@@7777777777e Hehe yes, yes I certainly am!

[@louyork553]

Power numbers are still incredible in 2020. What a monster

[@orangepeel2223]

That car was an amazing build for that time...and still is impressive

[@Pettyking89]

RIP reeves callaway . A pioneer setting boundaries in the 80s for a regular corvette

[@brandonwright2067]

Such an amazing vehicle

[@24theMoney]

I remember the world before the internet, and Motorweek on PBS Saturday mornings.

[@tRiLoGy184]

This ‘Vette was way ahead of its time. Awesome work by Callaway and his team

[@87ferrarif40]

Callaway Corvette is one badass machine! I wish I could afford one!

[@JerseyMikeP]

Had a Lingenfelter TT 350 v8 and was Driven by John during the run.

[@johnj.baranski6553]

only one

[@Brooks22n]

AMAZING CAR , Goodyear should of used all the Publicity that went along with being on the Sledgehammer, but they didn’t

[@jasongreenlee6966]

With Chirons hitting that speed now, it seems like some modern rubber could be fashioned for this Legend

[@bobkin611]

This car is the sexiest thing from the 80s. Hands down the coolest Corvette ever.

[@cbrrick36]

Huh, never knew that was a one off car. All these years i would have guessed there was something like 50-100 of them or something. Lol you learn something new every day.

[@NEEDbacon]

There were more "Sane" Callaway Turbo Corvettes that were made in a limited run, but the Sledgehammer was Callaway's testbed car.

[@StarsAutoSport]

Rest in peace Mr. Callaway!

[@gringostarr4234]

800 hp and A/C? Nice

[@JoshuasRecordings]

In the 80s. It's awesome.

[@JerseyMikeP]

1988 .......5.7L w/ 22 psi - 898hp/ 772 lb-ft of torque. 2005....8L W-16 W/ 16 psi - 987hp/ 911 lb-ft. For $1,250,000 at the time. And was 10 mph slower.

[@randymiracle4958]

its all about safety now days... notice that the sledge has no airbags. Cars now-a-days have so many safety features and they all add a lot of weight. Power to weight ratio is key.

[@yungtooli]

since they only made one of these it would probably be worth around as much as a bugatti. had they mass produced these... oh boy

[@Manintoga]

@oahgfojsdljknsdlfw Yeah speed record cars often have hundreds of pounds of lead or even tungsten added to them to improve stability or fine tune CG in relation to COP.

[@_retrophile_7473]

@@yungtooli i've seen in the internet that Sledgehammer costs about $600k

[@yungtooli]

@@_retrophile_7473 so the price of a beat up bugatti. not bad

[@FASTERLANEDisBACK]

I think this segment was the very first time I ever seen a Callaway. Good memories! Also, I think the Sledgehammer is the most TVR an American car has ever been.

[@raymondturner6784]

Callaway was a true magician. 900 horses out of 5.7 liters of displacement back in 1987, for a 1988 run. I think the stock Vette was complete trash for that era, but whatever components he used were absolutely astounding.

[@Liplip40]

Best aftermarket front end restyle ever

[@bendavid84]

Reeves Callaway passed away on July 11, 2023, at the age of 75.

[@kingrandor3129]

Amazing bring it back

[@dragon81heart]

Wow! I remember when this car was new :) And holy crap, the carbon when it started up, almost looked like a diesel lol Pat Goss, this car needs you ASAP! Just a hunch, but it might be running just a little rich lol Great to see it still running though!

[@anibalbabilonia1867]

That car still badass today!😎👍

[@rapid13]

Car guy: So, what'll she do? Sledgehammer: Yes.

[@chrismarek7864]

Man what I wouldn’t give to see this car in person.

[@iant720]

This made me happy. That car is a monster!

[@deloreanfan81]

One of my DREAM cars

[@bonosimic532]

0:53 "making power that was both streetable and reliable" and that's exactly where the bugatti etc. bows out, because that is the major differentiator between the euro hypercars and the American contenders.

[@lambertbutlersilvers6588]

A lot of European supercars are streetishable and reliable though? And how does that bow out the Bugatti or most other eurocars to a corvette with a big motor in it?

[@VapidFreak]

@@lambertbutlersilvers6588 It gets very few miles per gallon, changing the oil on the W16 borderline costs your soul and the souls of your spouse and kids, and the car itself is twice the weight and less aerodynamic than the C4.

[@TheMrPeteChannel]

R.I.P. Mr. Callaway.

[@maxboya]

All that turbo black smoke I love it. Just dumping. Props to them for not being scared to crank it up!

[@joeJoe-pb3su]

This was my dream car as a kid...😎

[@Robert-q7q6m]

Awesome machine.

[@F0X_H0UND]

PGR4 fans where you at?

[@benn454]

"Ok, here comes the braking zone" >Speedometer reads over 230 MPH "Oh shit"

[@briandaves2297]

The exhaust would show up on later corvettes. Neat

[@big_mike_nyc]

And in 1988 nevertheless, which makes this exponentially more impressive!!!

[@theblackmambaplague]

You see kids, the low, high offset, wide wheels, and aggressive stance is what dreams are made of.

[@DavidPawson-d7h]

As someone who’s owned many rare cars I had no problem donating or selling to an enthusiast at my cost because I despise both hoarders and ego driven private collections that never or rarely see the road. Just my three cents worth.

[@XenomorphLV426]

I remember this car from pgr4. It was a handful.

[@benn454]

Usually because you were doing 240 when you got to the braking zone.

[@tpsyturvy6987]

Most beautful car ever!!!

[@MrBlackbutang]

There’s a GNX WAITING SOMEWHERE!

[@Michael_Lorenson]

22lbs of boost / 800hp, with production car reliability, in the 1980s! Those were incomprehensible numbers. A typical production turbo car had maybe 6-8 psi at the time, while a contemporary IMSA GTP turbo race car had about the same amount of power. But this was a useable, street legal engine based on a regular small block Chevy. It was like magic or something, almost impossible to believe.

[@Tommyblueeyes]

Only NA cars impress me, Forced induction is well FORCED

[@matthewalston1226]

898hp**

[@defyyourlogic487]

Absolutely mad top speed for the era.

[@Andrew-tw6pe]

Holy shit. A million to make a couple sets of tires. Did they keep selling these tires to recoup the cost?

[@accalarentia4029]

Woow! Callaway invented that kind of 4 exhaust together in c5-6-7 Corvette. .more real Murican cars please

[@loomspace]

With the Supertrapp cans no less!

[@KitchenCartel]

Best corvette ever 250 here I come 🤣🔥

[@JRamos97]

RIP Reeves Callaway

[@alhowell4732]

AWESOME ! ! 👍

[@jimmycline4778]

Wasn’t this car destroyed in that sink hole at the corvette museum?

[@rubyred93chev]

Fortunately not. This exact car was recently for sale on 'Bring A Trailer', but was a no sale. Think the bidding was in the high 900 thousand dollar range. (Previously it was sold as a collection of six different Callaway Corvettes I believe)?

[@olikat8]

Fuel mixture was a little rich in those shots..."SuperTrapp" mufflers, oh, there is throwback

[@jrvbamafan1]

I'm sorry but there's no way on this earth it cost goodyear a million dollars to make that set of tires. That's another one of those legendary tales that you hear about some of the more famous cars, but no way it's true

[@JerseyMikeP]

It was 1988... Goodyear had race tires capable.....but making 1 off tires "with tread"that could handle that speed probably took $100k to make/design... $1 million in 1988 was ALOT. You have to remember, 18 YEARS LATER.... Bugatti said it cost $30k for a set of tires (which Koenigsegg runs the same speed with regular tires) Bugatti charged $120k to replace the rims after 4 tire changes...GTFOH.

[@TempleSpeedWay]

Ungodly amounts of engineering. God i wish i could feel how that car sits on the road at 200mph.

[@Mr.Higginbotham]

0-60 is my thing.

[@dannymarshburn2807]

Lawdy times were good back then. Heck I would top out everything my Dad had in the garage back then. (Which should have killed my Arse🤣)

[@TheCymbalProject]

I remember reading about this car in a magazine and they mentioned the duct tape "hack" visible @ 3:01

[@pseudosmith4979]

I also remember the Calloway Alfa GTV-6

[@chexlemeneux8790]

Seeing the small details showing it is infact an L98 Block is funny to see , cause I have a C4 with an L98 and its just not a very fast car. Really fun to drive and super reliable but not a powerhorse by any means.

[@ppipowerclass]

Did they just say a million dollars for tires? lol

[@hamzamuhammadkhan]

this is some find man !!!

[@GNXperimental]

This car was just up for auction. It got to about 500k but they say the reserve was about 750k so no sale.

[@chuckselvage3157]

Rumour has it came with an optional parachute.

[@gdlkinbi]

Haha, what a cute and portable 1980s laptop @ 0:48☺️

[@jehb8945]

This C4 Corvette is a giant middle finger to every performance car ever made it would have even been more so hadn't gone into production because it would have taken decades to build something as fast.

[@gypsysoul8087]

So why does Bugatti's tires cost so damn much then if they had tires back then that can do 300

[@Tommyblueeyes]

Because they are 355's and 21 inch

[@Tarheel1state]

Yeah I need this motor in my s10 🏁

[@tomster7574]

Id like to see them do that again with a modern corvette LS7 putting the over priced ugly junk of the Bugatti to shame as it should be.

[@timothyandrewgalable]

We messed up!!! It went over 250mph!!! Lol

[@somedude3639]

sledge what? instant click

[@stevend3753]

Looks like it runs just a tad rich.

[@everythingautomotiveeta5839]

That means 2 things to me 1) safe tune.. better a tad rich than too lean 2) they left power on the table What's your thoughts, sir?

[@7071t6]

Now all calloway needs to do is make a new mid engine that does 300 miles per hour twin turbo or supercharged, like magenson get them to make a bolt on supercharger that will fit straight up to the existing engine manifold, just do the internals and exhaust and cooling ,tyres are not a problem now days, still very expensive but think of it bugatti will not hold the record fastest car in the world the sledgehammer back then so think of 320 miles per hour in the new C8 supercharged and turbo beast. :) Even a 2019 C7 Callaway only has 757 HP, it would need at least 1,000 hp and the right stuff to make it stick to the ground and push the body and running gear to the limit to break the world record for over 310 miles per hour. :)

[@87ferrarif40]

It's actually for sale where I live.

[@characterdevelopment2361]

Guess who wants to build a replica.

[@nsxt290]

This car is a full course dinner 😛

[@inomad]

Cool video. Very interesting

[@dannymarshburn2807]

Heck yeah!!!

[@robnysewander9379]

Faster than the Plaid? Let's see it!

[@towerdogmd76]

1989 Callaway Corvette my friend check it out

[@Commander76]

The Legend.

[@RandyChan-g9x]

How does that Corvette sledgehammer compare in performance to the current 2023 Dodge demon 170?

[@Vekurus]

Notice they did away with the long tube intake runners. Brang up the power curve to a higher RPM

[@simply-_-]

I want one just to street roll race it

[@o0FAM0US0o]

History, ya see?

[@DeuceBiggerHo]

Wonder what the 0-60 and 0-100 mph times are??

[@Reviewsinarabic]

Only one car in the world? Where is it located?

[@keith8880]

I hope they add this to GT sport

[@MrBlackbutang]

How many were built?

[@johnnyk617]

How come no one has replicated this

[@jimedwards667]

Nobody can afford the tires. 😂