Callaway Cars Founder Reeves Callaway Dies at 76

Ely Reeves Callaway III, aka Reeves, founder of Corvette tuner Callaway Cars, died Tuesday at his home in California from injuries sustained in a fall. He was 76.

The son of Callaway Golf founder Reeves Callaway Jr. and brother of publisher Nicholas Callaway, Reeves started the company in a garage in Old Lyme, Connecticut in 1977 and was a prolific performance road and race car He grew it into a builder.

Callaway's first product was a turbo kit for BMWs, which was immediately well received by legendary automotive journalist Don Sherman of Car and Driver magazine. Callaway, who had competed in Formula Vee before founding the company, moved on to more elaborate projects.

Callaway Cars has provided aftermarket parts for several brands, including BMW, Alfa Romeo, Aston Martin, Land Rover, and Mazda, but the company is primarily associated with the Chevrolet Corvette In 1987, General Motors named Callaway a Specialty Vehicle Manufacturer designation, allowing Callaway Corvettes to be sold through Chevrolet dealers under the B2K factory code, giving the tuner an official endorsement.

In 1989, Callaway Cars built a C4 Corvette, the Sledgehammer, with a twin-turbo 5.7-liter V-8. John Lingenfelter recorded a top speed of 254.76 mph on the 7.5-mile Transportation Research Center test track in East Liberty, Ohio.

Callaway Cars continued to tune the Corvette and introduced a C7 Corvette shooting brake called the Aero Wagon. The company's European division, Callaway Competition, was established in 1994 and competed in international races. Based in Germany, Callaway Competition is also authorized by GM to build racing versions of the C6 and C7 Corvettes for the GT3 class, along with a factory Corvette racing program.

"Thanks to Reeves' visionary entrepreneurial spirit, Callaway Cars will continue to innovate and grow in the 21st century," his son Peter Reeves Callaway, the current president, posted on social media in a statement honoring his father.