Callaway car announced today that founder Ely Reeves Callaway III passed away on Tuesday, July 11 at his home in Newport Beach, California. His cause of death is believed to be “due to a fall wound.” He was 75.
The son of Ely Callaway Jr., the founder of Callaway Golf, Reeves Callaway originally wanted to be a race car driver. But when that didn’t work out, he became a racing coach at Bob Bondurant racetrack. While working at Bondurant, he developed an aftermarket turbocharger for the BMW 3 Series and managed to get car and driver to review it.
While he initially ran Callaway Cars out of his garage, rave reviews from car and driver led him to open the first Callaway Cars headquarters near where he lives in Old Lyme, Connecticut. Over the next few decades, he continued to modify products from BMW, Alfa Romeo, Aston Martin, Land Rover, Mazda and General Motors. But he is arguably best known for his work on the multi-generation Chevrolet Corvette.
Callaway has a close relationship with GM, which allows him to sell his cars through Chevrolet dealers. 1989, a Corvette Callaway Twin Turbo, called the Sledgehammer, makes 880 horsepower and 772 lb-ft of torque. In the hands of John Lingenfelter, it set a top production speed record of 254.76 mph. That record will stand for 21 years as Bugatti hits 267.85 mph in the Veyron Super Sport.
From there, Callaway started racing but continued to modify Corvettes, including custom bodywork such as the Callaway C12 and C16. Callaway still modifies the Corvette today, as do Camaros, Silverados, Suburbans, Tahoes, Sierras, Yukons, and Escalades.
In a statement, his son Peter Reeves Callaway said:
Thanks to Reeves’ visionary entrepreneurial spirit, Callaway Cars will continue to innovate and thrive in the 21st century, inspired by his extraordinary, unique vision and personal example of excellence. integrity, resourcefulness and leadership as our founder. Dad’s passion for creating beautifully crafted and designed machines can be seen in each and every project, and we’re always dedicated to executing to the highest standards, in true Callaway style. real. It is rarely seen that he is doing anything other than working towards the next big milestone for the company. He was a charismatic leader with a sense of humor that we will all remember through various “Reeves-isms”. I feel lucky to have grown up working with him and the company.
