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How Duct Tape Made a Corvette the Fastest Car in the World

Past Gas Sep 22, 2025 44 min

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About this episode

Reeves Callaway's journey from kart racing to creating the legendary Callaway Sledgehammer Corvette is a fascinating tale of innovation and speed. This episode dives into how Callaway Cars transformed the Corvette into the fastest streetcar in the world, featuring a 900-horsepower twin-turbo engine and a record-setting top speed of 254.76 mph, achieved with a clever duct tape modification. The hosts discuss the engineering challenges, the history of Callaway Cars, and the impact of Reeves Callaway's vision on the automotive world, highlighting his legacy and the future of the brand.

Topics: callaway cars sledgehammer corvette twin turbo engines automotive engineering speed records performance tuning car history legacy of reeves callaway

Cars: BMW 3 Series Cadillac CT4 Cadillac CT5 Cadillac Escalade Cadillac XT6 Chevrolet Camaro Chevrolet Corvette Chevrolet Impala Chevrolet Silverado Dodge Viper Lamborghini Countach Mazda Mazdaspeed3 Porsche 911 Porsche 928 Subaru Brat Toyota Land Cruiser Volkswagen Beetle

This episode is brought to you by BetterHelp. Give online therapy a try at https://betterhelp.com/PASTGAS and get on your way to being your best self.Thanks to Allstate for sponsoring today’s episode! Click here [https://bit.ly/3GOytQd] to check Allstate first and see how much you could save on car insurance.This week on Past Gas, we’re looking at the life of Reeves Callaway — the fine arts major who got expelled for hot-rodding his Austin Healey and went on to build some of the fastest, strangest, and coolest cars GM ever sold. From Alfa Romeos to Aston Martins, from Range Rovers to Mazdas, and of course the Corvette Sledgehammer — it’s the story of Reeves Callaway, the man who proved a roll of tape could change automotive history. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Technical Too Afraid to Ask

Matti Blume (CC BY-SA)

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Chevrolet Corvette

"...t Callaway, the purveyors of some of the coolest Corvettes and Escalades and trucks"

Baron Maddock (CC BY 4.0)

Car

Cadillac Escalade

"...e purveyors of some of the coolest Corvettes and Escalades and trucks and a lot of other sports cars in the..."

Ermell (CC BY-SA 4.0)

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Chevrolet Camaro

"No. Because it's just like the Camaro. They're bottom feeders."

Palauenc05 (CC BY-SA 4.0)

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Volkswagen Beetle

"...y for something a little more tame, a Volkswagen Beetle. Dang."

Dinkun Chen (CC BY-SA 4.0)

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BMW 320I

"...ondurans driving school, where they used the BMW 320i as practice cars. This guy knows everybody."

Dinkun Chen (CC BY-SA 4.0)

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Cadillac XT6

"Yes, sir, yes, sir. You got your XT6. You've got your SVX."

Charlie from United Kingdom (CC BY 2.0)

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Subaru Brat

"...X community is kind of weird. But the, yeah, the brat community is that pre EJ community is pretty cool..."

CEphoto, Uwe Aranas (CC BY-SA 3.0)

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Toyota Land Cruiser

"...ure of a legacy wagon on 39s that they built with Land Cruiser axles."

MrWalkr (CC BY-SA 4.0)

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Lamborghini Kuntosh

"...ar to feature a higher rating was the Lamborghini Kuntosh at 425 horsepower. The engineering involved in s..."

David Villarreal Fernández (CC BY-SA 2.0)

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Porsche 911

"...r, yet was beat by a motorsports designed Porsche 911 Turbo that hit 202.5 and a Keith Black Camaro th..."

Matti Blume (CC BY-SA)

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Porsche 928

"... S come in the front, but then like Porsche like 928 from the back. That's strange. It looks very McLa..."

ArildV (CC BY-SA 4.0)

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Dodge Viper

"...r of other makes and models, including the Dodge Viper, Camaro, and an Impala have been birthed at thei..."

Dllu (CC BY-SA 4.0)

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Chevrolet Impala

"...models, including the Dodge Viper, Camaro, and an Impala have been birthed at their old line facility. Ca..."

Bull-Doser (Public domain)

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Mazda Speed

".... When Mazda decided to make its racing division Mazda speed consumer facing, it turned to Callaway. The resul..."

Matti Blume (CC BY-SA)

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Corvette C6 Corvette

"...eedster on the lawn at Pebble Beach. Based on the C6 Corvette, but featuring custom bodywork, a 700 horsepower..."

LukaCali (CC BY-SA 4.0)

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Chevrolet Silverado

"... carries a Callaway Eponym, such as the Callaway Silverado or the Callaway Escalade. The Cadillac, for examp..."

Elise240SX (CC BY-SA 4.0)

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Cadillac Ct5V

"... Silverados, and Sierras. As for the future, the Cadillac CT5V Blackwing is just around the corner, as is a Euro..."

Dinkun Chen (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Car

Cadillac Ct5V Blackwing

"... Silverados, and Sierras. As for the future, the Cadillac CT5V Blackwing is just around the corner, as is a European spec..."

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17 cars featured

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