*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!*
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!!!
@@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!_
@@phoenixgibbs-lewis6387 - Hey IDIOT. You can watch the original video from 1988 on CZcams. I would say something denigrating to you. But, it's harder to make you look stupider than you already have.
@@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
@@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?
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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
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.
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.
This car started my supercar and dream. Sure it took me over 20 years but finally I have a car that I can turn into the sledgehammer. I'm working on a 1990 ZR1 and when I'm done I want the stats of that sledgehammer that is my goal always wanted to have one and this is the best way. I will update once I start my project right now I just got the car and she needs a lot of work.
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.
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.
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.
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!
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.
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.
@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.
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.
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?
@@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.
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.
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.
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.
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)?
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. :)
Considering there was only ever one Sledgehammer, I would bet my house that was not what sold. However, as they explained, they did use the body kit to some extent to other Callaway Corvettes.
*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!*
How many were made?
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!!!
@@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!_
@@phoenixgibbs-lewis6387 - Hey IDIOT. You can watch the original video from 1988 on CZcams. I would say something denigrating to you. But, it's harder to make you look stupider than you already have.
@@phoenixgibbs-lewis6387 Sorry. Us Yanks hold most of the automotive world records. We always have. Since we uhhh you know... Invented the automobile.
Casually shitting on the Veyron in the 80s. And they road tripped to the test track to top it off, doesn’t get better.
What are you talking about the Veyron didnt even exst in the 80,s
@@terrybaptist795 hes saying the car shits on the veyron even though it was made in the 80’s
@@scottearl7687 How lol?
@@MF-Rell Because it's faster than the Veyron by almost 2 mph.
@@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
RIP reeves callaway . A pioneer setting boundaries in the 80s for a regular corvette
254mph back in 1988 unreal! Amazing
yeah that would be like 330mph in today's numbers , Because I don't think anything production was cracking 200 back then
@@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?
@@jefferycampbell9182 213MPH RUF Yellowbird, twin turbo Porsche stroker.
Andddddd & the car had a radio, ac, power seats, factory glass. Imagine what it could do stripped & with modern tires.
There's only a few cars in 2024 that could beat it. That's how unreal that is.
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.
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.
@@SparrowNoblePoland that was incredibly reckless and stupid lol
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.
One of the most famous cars ever. A true legend.
Brad Conklin really never heard of it till now lol sledgehammer that is
brandon wright most people haven't. Hardly anyone these days realize there was an older car that could outfly a McLaren F1 or Veyron!
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.
@@JerseyMikeP But this wasn't a production car so bad comparison
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.
It makes me want a c4 just to get that look. Love that Vette.
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.
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
So she drove around 1400 miles round trip, not counting the track, busted 250 mph and ran like a stock vette... :)
First time I saw the sledge was probably back in 1998. The numbers are still very impressive even today.
Four years on from your comment which is 20+ years on from when this car was built and those are still impressive numbers
@@gregdeegan1473Imagine what it could do stripped & on modern tires.
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! :)
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.
Truly astonishing,even now in 2019.
Even now in 2020
Polly Motorsport is laughing.
Even now in 2021 🤙🏻
@@SparrowNoblePoland K
Even now in 2023 😮
Sledgehammer. Peter Gabriel would be proud.
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.
Vector W2
898
Over 250 mph? Wow
254.76, to be exact.
In 1988
From 3:49 to end of vid... That's what cocaine _sounds_ like!
Relax. Even Polly Trans Am could do that.
@@SparrowNoblePoland this is made for road car. Not only race car.
Bugatti needed 200 more hp...8 more cylinders...2 more turbos, and ...30 MORE YEARS to do what Callaway did.
Amazing.
and nissan (jun) just need 6 cylinder to be faster a couple of years later with a r32
254mph 😳
From an 80s street legal car no less.
Power numbers are still incredible in 2020. What a monster
That car was an amazing build for that time...and still is impressive
AMAZING CAR , Goodyear should of used all the Publicity that went along with being on the Sledgehammer, but they didn’t
This car started my supercar and dream. Sure it took me over 20 years but finally I have a car that I can turn into the sledgehammer. I'm working on a 1990 ZR1 and when I'm done I want the stats of that sledgehammer that is my goal always wanted to have one and this is the best way. I will update once I start my project right now I just got the car and she needs a lot of work.
that is amazing man ! good look with your build project and enjoy the journey !
Hey if you get her going add some vids and sub my channel, Ill add back, I own a 93 quasar blue metallic corvette, Love it to death
And now you're probably too old to learn how to push sports cars to their ability. What a waste of life.
@@SparrowNoblePoland such a tool you are.. if it's all in the family.. there would kids to pass his passion onto.. ass
@@lastdayonfnaf496 There are better passions to pass onto kids. The place of these cars is in museum. There is no use for them whatsoever.
Came here after hearing the news today. RIP Reeves Callaway.
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.
There were more "Sane" Callaway Turbo Corvettes that were made in a limited run, but the Sledgehammer was Callaway's testbed car.
I remember the world before the internet, and Motorweek on PBS Saturday mornings.
This ‘Vette was way ahead of its time. Awesome work by Callaway and his team
This car held the world record from 1988 to 1999, 11 years. Very impressive.
2010
What was faster in 1999?
Mcclaren
@@brettweltz8135 you mean McLaren F1?
@@_retrophile_7473 yep
Such a beast. I was born in 87 and had no clue about this car until recently.
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.
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?
@@Tommyblueeyes 😆 🤣 😂
@@Tommyblueeyes what a grumpy old man you are lol.
@@7777777777e Hehe yes, yes I certainly am!
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.
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!
Such an amazing vehicle
This car is the sexiest thing from the 80s. Hands down the coolest Corvette ever.
Callaway Corvette is one badass machine! I wish I could afford one!
Had a Lingenfelter TT 350 v8 and was Driven by John during the run.
only one
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.
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.
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
@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.
@@yungtooli i've seen in the internet that Sledgehammer costs about $600k
@@_retrophile_7473 so the price of a beat up bugatti. not bad
With Chirons hitting that speed now, it seems like some modern rubber could be fashioned for this Legend
800 hp and A/C? Nice
In the 80s. It's awesome.
Rest in peace Mr. Callaway!
John Lingenfelter built the engine. You forgot to mention that “Reevies”
Proof or it didn't happen.
It did happen, look it up
He drove the car, that was it!
This made me happy. That car is a monster!
Car guy: So, what'll she do?
Sledgehammer: Yes.
R.I.P. Reeves Callaway. Legend.
That car still badass today!😎👍
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.
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?
@@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.
The narrators voice along with the musical score makes this video sound like an American flag bikini drinking a Budweiser.
All that turbo black smoke I love it. Just dumping. Props to them for not being scared to crank it up!
Amazing bring it back
Man what I wouldn’t give to see this car in person.
One of my DREAM cars
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.
Reeves Callaway passed away on July 11, 2023, at the age of 75.
Best aftermarket front end restyle ever
R.I.P. Mr. Callaway.
The exhaust would show up on later corvettes. Neat
Cool video. Very interesting
You see kids, the low, high offset, wide wheels, and aggressive stance is what dreams are made of.
Most beautful car ever!!!
I remember this car from pgr4. It was a handful.
Usually because you were doing 240 when you got to the braking zone.
This was my dream car as a kid...😎
Fuel mixture was a little rich in those shots..."SuperTrapp" mufflers, oh, there is throwback
Awesome machine.
I also remember the Calloway Alfa GTV-6
God i love this car! awesome ! love to have it lol...
I remember reading about this car in a magazine and they mentioned the duct tape "hack" visible @ 3:01
Absolutely mad top speed for the era.
There’s a GNX WAITING SOMEWHERE!
Holy shit. A million to make a couple sets of tires. Did they keep selling these tires to recoup the cost?
Private collection means, car gets neglected, abused, never driven.
And in 1988 nevertheless, which makes this exponentially more impressive!!!
AWESOME ! ! 👍
this is some find man !!!
PGR4 fans where you at?
"Ok, here comes the braking zone"
>Speedometer reads over 230 MPH
"Oh shit"
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.
Only NA cars impress me, Forced induction is well FORCED
898hp**
Best corvette ever 250 here I come 🤣🔥
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.
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🤣)
Yeah I need this motor in my s10 🏁
This car was just up for auction. It got to about 500k but they say the reserve was about 750k so no sale.
Notice they did away with the long tube intake runners. Brang up the power curve to a higher RPM
The Legend.
Woow! Callaway invented that kind of 4 exhaust together in c5-6-7 Corvette. .more real Murican cars please
With the Supertrapp cans no less!
Wasn’t this car destroyed in that sink hole at the corvette museum?
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)?
Haha, what a cute and portable 1980s laptop @ 0:48☺️
i seen one at the Dealership
TPI ENGINE with BLACKED out INTERCOOLERS on top with 5 star MAGNESIUM RIMS
There was only like 525 made ever form 1987-1991.
0-60 is my thing.
Ungodly amounts of engineering. God i wish i could feel how that car sits on the road at 200mph.
Heck yeah!!!
Cool!
RIP Reeves Callaway
Wonder what the 0-60 and 0-100 mph times are??
Project Gotham Racing ....2, I believe.
And 4 :)
It's actually for sale where I live.
RIP Reeves
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. :)
Wow I thought I knew my American muscle cars till i seen this video
I wouldnt mind redoing this video this video of the sledgehammer corvette with the song from Peter Gabriel called sledgehammer.
One of these was found in Brazil, and went to auction in Florida a year or two ago. Anyone know what it sold for?
Considering there was only ever one Sledgehammer, I would bet my house that was not what sold. However, as they explained, they did use the body kit to some extent to other Callaway Corvettes.
You may be correct. Considering where it was found, I figured it was a unofficial build paid for with paper bags full of 10s, and 20s!
So why does Bugatti's tires cost so damn much then if they had tires back then that can do 300
Because they are 355's and 21 inch
Rumour has it came with an optional parachute.
sledge what? instant click
How many were built?
I hope they add this to GT sport