Worlds Fastest Cars

Chevrolet Corvette Callaway Sledgehammer












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American muscle at its most extreme

More than just a hit for Peter Gabriel, the forgotten 250mph supercar may have set the bench mark for every super car that followed...








































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The day of reckoning - the speed record attempt in October 1989 was not without it's flaws. For a start anyone who had test driven the big Vette were agreed that it was not particularilly pleasant to drive at high speeds especially when it began to bump steer whilst in excess of 200mph. Before its record attempt the car sprung an oil leak and a misfire followed whilst travelling at 198mph. But the feeling of exhilaration when it hit 254mph was no doubt overwelming. Interestingly when the Sledgehammer did finally hit its monumental top speed the rev counter started to count down...






The names not the only thing big about this 1988 Corvette. The Callaway Sledgehammer, basically a Corvette highly modified by US based tuner Callaway, had a 5.7 litre twin turbo charged V8 up front producing a colossal 880bhp. One thing that wasn’t so big though was its fame.

In October 19, 1989 the Callaway Sledgehammer was timed at a terminal velocity of 254.76mph (bear in mind this is 1989). This stood as the record for any road legal car and was set by none other than John Lingenfelter (the man behind other modified Vettes such as the Z06 TT of the late 90s)at the wheel. The speed was achieved at the TRC Facility in Ohio, USA. To prove its legality on the road it was driven to here directly from the Callaway HQ and returned after its enormous achievement.

But through the 90s the mighty Vette has been all but forgotten about mostly thanks to the F1 but none the less the figures speak for themselves. AT THE TIME OF WRITING (JULY 2006) THE 1988 CHEVROLET CORVETTE CALLAWAY SLEDGEHAMMER IS THE FASTEST ROAD LEGAL CAR IN THE WORLD.

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Out on the streets - yet more proof that you can in fact take the worlds fastest car to the shops






SPECIFICATION

Engine capacity (cc)
5733
Engine location
Front in-line
Configuration
Twin turbo V8
Power (bhp)
898
Torque (lb ft)
772
Transmission
6 speed manual
Max Speed
254.8
0-60mph (seconds)
3.9
0-100mph (seconds)
n/a
Cost
n/a
Weight (kg)
1589








































Worlds fastest cars