Today we found out that Reeves Callaway, the founder of Callaway Cars, one of the most influential car enthusiasts and aftermarket entrepreneurs of our day, has passed away. Reeves was a longtime friend to both MotorWeek and to me personally. We have lost not just a dear friend, but someone who exemplified the American love affair with the automobile, and then strove to make that bond stronger by constantly pushing the boundaries of what high performance cars can be.

He did that by not just modifying existing cars, from that first BMW, to his legendary Corvettes, and way beyond, but by rethinking them. Driving a Callaway car was always like driving a totally new design, regardless of what his car was based on. That’s because most parts added by Callaway Cars were designed and built by them, in-house, just for that car, and thus were perfectly matched to Reeves’ goals for the final vehicle. That way, he never had to accept compromises in performance. No one could put a car together like Reeves, and his team, as his vision was always unique. The automotive world has lost a giant who always thought the same way.

All of us at MotorWeek send our most sincere thoughts to Reeves’ family in this time of sorrow. Godspeed Reeves.