The Bugatti Veyron may have stolen the headlines for being the fastest production car in 2005, but 17 years earlier a Corvette enjoyed the same impressive stats.
Callaway Cars continues to be a renowned specialty vehicle manufacturer specialising in General Motors models, primarily the Corvette.
Based in Old Lyme, Connecticut, Callaway was founded in 1977 and has been associated with not just GM, but Aston Martin BMW, Volkswagen, Porsche, Audi and Mercedes-Benz.
The late-1980s was all about excess and Callaway developed just the Corvette for the flashy people of society named the Sledgehammer.
Based on the C4 model of the Corvette, the Sledgehammer had the performance to match its aerodynamic appearance.
Built by company founder Reeves Callaway to demonstrate what was possible with the then-new ZR1 platform, the 898bhp Sledgehammer was the ultimate Corvette.
Featuring options such as air conditioning and a radio, this was matched by what was under the bonnet. Headlined by a Chevrolet Bowtie block, Cosworth forged steel crankshaft mated to specially designed pistons, the Sledgehammer also contained Crower rods plus Speed-Pro rings and bearings.
There was more, as Pontiac Motorsports raised-port cylinder heads, a hydraulic roller cam, and Jesel shaft rocker.
However, the major component installed in Sledgehammer was the two AIResearch TO4B turbochargers making 22psi. The Intercoolers were custom, while a Zytek Formula 1 sequential EFI Computer was needed to ensure there wasn’t a failure.
Driving the rear wheels was a Doug Nash overdrive five-speed transmission through a Centreforce single-disc clutch and a blueprinted Dana 44 diff.
Special Eagle radial tyres were made by Goodyear for the Sledgehammer, but were taken back after for research.
But it wasn’t just engine power contributing to the pace of the Sledgehammer as aerodynamics played a crucial role.
Coined the Aerobody, General Electric provided its new Xenoy plastic resin technology to craft Sledgehammer’s panels, which were designed by Callaway’s Tony Cicada and Paul Deutschman. A lower, sleeker design featured many vents in the front, side and rear to enhance cooling at the high speed it was designed to go.
John Lindenfelter was the mastermind behind the mechanicals and was behind the wheel when the Sledgehammer recorded a top speed of 254 mph at Ohio’s Transportation Research Center to place it as the fastest production car in the world where it had been driven too and from.
Of course, the Bugatti Veyron took the world by storm when launched in 2005 due to the hype created by Top Gear, but only just beat the Sledgehammer’s mark.
Not even the McLaren F1 or the Jaguar XJ220 can claim the stats of the Sledgehammer.
It was a one-off built by Callaway, but aided in its other modified Corvettes offer by the tuner.
Sledgehammer went up for sale at the famous Mecum Auctions and was passed in after a bid of $600,000 USD in 2014.