Yahoo Autos Reeves Callaway, Founder of Callaway Cars and Builder of High-Speed Corvettes, Dies at 75
After 46 years of developing some of the most exciting cars on the planet, Callaway Cars founder Reeves Callaway died aged 75 on Tuesday, July 11. He passed away at his home in Newport Beach, California, from injuries sustained after a fall. From humble beginnings in 1977, Callaway grew his company into a performance icon bearing his name. The Connecticut native built some of the most well-known aftermarket Corvettes in history, if not the most iconic modified Corvette ever, the twin-turbocharged "Sledgehammer" 1988 C4. He is survived by several family members including his son, the President of Callaway Cars, Peter Reeves Callaway.
Callaway got his start selling turbo kits for the first-generation BMW 3 Series after convincing Car and Driver journalist Don Sherman to review one in 1977. The publicity allowed him to launch Callaway Cars Inc. the same year. He followed up this early success with several more turbo kits for a slew of German cars. Eventually, he moved on to American machines, where he saw the most success.
