The Fastest Street Car On Earth In 1988, The Callaway SledgeHammer, Is For Sale

Top speed records were pretty popular in the ’80s, and Reeves Callaway was no stranger to them. But most of the cars he sent down the road were one-offs. In 1988, Callaway wanted to see if he could set a top speed record with a car that still had creature comforts.

The result was this: the 1988 Chevrolet Corvette Callaway SledgeHammer. The car features a 5.7-liter V8 with a Cosworth crankshaft, forged pistons, a dry-sump oil system, MSD ignition, and two Turbonetics T04B turbos paired to twin intercoolers.

Callaway rated the engine at 880 hp and 772 lb-ft of torque, which is hard to argue with given the performance it managed. In October 1988, this car was driven to the 7.5-oval track at the Transportation Research Center in Ohio and drove to a record-setting speed of 254.76 mph (that’s 410km/h for the old world).

Read Also: Callaway Says Top Speed Records Are “Largely A Waste Of Time”

More impressively, Callaway didn’t just roll up to the Ohio test track with a trailer. Test-driver John Lingenfelter drove it from Callaway’s headquarters in Connecticut to Ohio, set the record, and then drove it home.

It was a drive made more comfortable by the SledgeHammer’s power-adjustable sport seats (trimmed in black leather), air conditioning, and even a cassette player. We presume Peter Gabriel’s “So” was the only tape in the car.

Although the amenities were retained, Callaway did make some modifications to the car other than the engine. The car features FX3 Selective ride control suspension, magnesium wheels, stainless steel exhaust, a roll hoop, and five-point harnesses. It also has a specially designed aerodynamic body.

The car apparently spent much of its life in a “museum environment,” before being bought by Reeves Callaway in 2004. Some modifications were made shortly after the record-setting run (like that suspension that was added in 1989).

Now, the car can be yours. Offered on Bring a Trailer, the auction ends on May 23. The price promises to be pretty high, though. As this is written, with 11 days left in the auction, the price is a healthy $135,000.