It was the late 1980s, and the battle for the production car speed records was just as heated as it is 2021. Porsche had set a new benchmark with the 959 at 198 mph (318.6 kph), but Ruf came up with the CTR Yellowbird and raised the bar at 213 mph (342.8 kph). One year later, in 1988, Ruf's record was shattered to bits by a modified Chevrolet Corvette. Yes, I'm talking about the Callaway SledgeHammer.
Callaway Cars set up shop in 1977, and 10 years later, it was already a famous Corvette tuner. Having reached 231 mph (371.7 kph) with a twin-turbo version of the Corvette C4 in 1987, the company decided to take things up a notch with an even more ludicrous but still road-legal contraption.
Always based on the C4, the SledgeHammer was quite different from the Callaway Corvettes built until then. It featured a more aerodynamic body designed by Paul Deutschman and an immensely powerful V8 for the era. The 5.7-liter mill was built around a custom block with four-bolt splay-design bearing caps, forged pistons, and a Cosworth crankshaft.
More importantly, Callaway strapped a pair of Turbonetics turbos and twin intercoolers to the V8, which resulted in a final output of 880 horsepower and 772 pound-feet (1,047 Nm) of torque. The engine was built from scratch by Callaway and had nothing to do with the stock V8 offered in the Corvette C4 at the time.
To preserve the production standard of the car, Callaway left most of the C4's convenience features in place. So the SledgeHammer is fitted with power-adjustable, leather-wrapped seats, automatic climate control, a Bose stereo, and power windows. To keep things safe, Callaway added racing harnesses, a roll-over hoop, and a fire suppression system.
The SledgeHammer set its speed record on October 26, 1988, when John Lingenfelter drove it to 254.76 mph (409.99 kph). Just to put this into perspective, that's a tad quicker than the speed record that the Bugatti Veyron achieved in 2005.
Because the SledgeHammer wasn't put into production in this form, the benchmark wasn't certified by the Guinness Book of Records. Still, it remained the world's fastest road-legal car until 2007, when the SSC Ultimate Aero was driven to 256.14 mph (412.22 kph). That was almost 20 years later!
Needless to say, the car still looks fantastic now. The silver metallic paint shines like new, while the interior and the engine bay are sparkling clean. The headlamps motors and the rear hatch release aren't working, though, while the engine doesn't have emission controls. Callaway updated the hoses, couplings, and fittings in 2018, so the car is in good running order.
The SledgeHammer is sold with complete engineering records, a window sticker, an accident-free Carfax report, and a clean Colorado title. Auctioned off via Bring a Trailer, the car is getting a lot of attention; at the time of writing, bidding has reached at a whopping $355,000 with almost 11 days to go.
That's quite a pretty penny, and I bet it will sell for a lot more, but this is a unique, record-setting car and a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. This car has been displayed in the National Corvette Museum on multiple occasions and was inducted into Bloomington Gold’s The Great Hall as one of the 50 most influential Corvettes.
The last time this car was put up for auction, it was expected to fetch more than $750,000. Given that Callaway sells the SledgeHammer, it's safe to say that it didn't find an owner back in 2013. Maybe this time around, it will become the first million-dollar Callaway.
Ask Ciprian about cars and he'll reveal an obsession with classics and an annoyance with modern design cues. Read his articles and you'll understand why his ideal SUV is the 1969 Chevrolet K5 Blazer. Full profile
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