Briggs Cunningham, 1958 Lister-Jaguar 'Knobbly' @ Lime Rock

https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=10227361892833317&set=gm.3159023344290894&idorvanity=527146584145263

Briggs Cunningham, 1961 Le Mans mid-engine Maserati Tipo 63 Birdcage

 

https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=122113401483176349&set=gm.3014383712088192&idorvanity=527146584145263

why would anyone want a checkerboard paint job... that's got to be weird to look at

https://loc.getarchive.net/collections/cars-trucks-1910-1930

https://forums.aaca.org/topic/341211-period-images-to-relieve-some-of-the-stress/page/189/

the charming pencil sketches of Paul Chenard

 

https://automobiliart.blogspot.com

I have featured his work several times https://justacarguy.blogspot.com/search?q=paul+chenard

the Prescott Hill Climb, in the Cotswolds (now famous for Clarkson's Farm) skip the first 90 seconds, and get to Le Monstre wiping out

56 Jag raced in period by Briggs Cunningham and Denise McLuggage is for sale

 This car’s past is in fact so fascinating that it recently enabled it to earn a very coveted spot in the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America (MSHFA), where it resided in 2022 alongside other giants of the racing world.

https://petrolicious.com/privatesales/briggs-cunningham-denise-mcluggages-1956-jaguar-xk140

I had no idea that there was still a Briggs Cunningham company, but, they are putting out a 60th anniversary Corvette, the "Briggs" edition, and look to sell 100 of them

https://cunninghamautomotive.com/products/cunningham-corvette-2-60th-anniversary

Lingefelter engine, and the tail spoiler disappears into the "Speedtail" when stowed.

But the images show some other interesting positions as well

great view of Le Monstre

https://www.facebook.com/LVA.auto/photos/pcb.10162072806637627/10162072801007627/

there is a very close replica of the original Le Monstre in England, on the race tracks! David photographed it at the Silverstone GP circuit, – they say that the roll hoop is slightly thicker and higher, and the seats and harnesses are a little more substantial. Apparently it does have the period-correct 331ci Cadillac engine with five carburetors.

Thank you David! 

photos of the original are found at https://drivetribe.com/p/cadillac-le-monstre-the-monster-c7JrMri3SbKOYqmYV00JFA?iid=FHDMjzbrQvKE_IhN9N6Cyg

if you were in a car club with a club house (hell, I dunno, someone must be, rich enough, with enough rich friends to have a clubhouse) wouldn't it be cool to have this Cunningham buck hanging out as a piece of art?

https://grassrootsmotorsports.com/forum/off-topic-discussion/can-we-please-stop-hotlinking-pics/20411/page4258/

Briggs Cunningham built his C-4RK with a B17 24 clock, which incre4ased the difficulty of making a recreation, a perfect recreation

The 24-hour clock on the original’s dashboard was from a B-17 bomber.

After six years of work, it was completed just in time for the Cunningham reunion at the 2018 Greenwich Concours. 

Every component has a story. The Marchal driving lights required a trip to the Retromobile show in Paris, as Schoendorf couldn’t find the correct units in the U.S. Most Marchal lights in the States have a small nipple in the middle; the C-4RK had units with a small crease running lengthwise. The 24-hour B-17 clock was found on eBay, also difficult to find, but not impossible, were the Halibrand magnesium wheels, the Pontiac taillamps, Stewart Warner gauges, Renault 4CV license-plate light.

https://www.roadandtrack.com/car-culture/a35240367/cunningham-recreate-c4rk/

Briggs Cunningham driving Le Monstre at Watkins Glen

the only old photos I've found that show a roadster with a rumble seat drop top, these are both Cunninghams

1920

1917

https://libwww.freelibrary.org/digital/item/41330
http://libwww.freelibrary.org/digital/item/zoom/41327

a 1931 Cunningham flower / service car

https://libwww.freelibrary.org/digital/item/41567

Cunningham Hearse, 1931

https://libwww.freelibrary.org/digital/item/41577

a quick history of the Revs Institute, the SCCA, and where the Briggs Cunningham collection ended up

C. Miles, Sam, and Barron Gift Collier Sr (what a name) were founders of the Automobile Racing Club of America in the 1930s. 

How'd they get rich enough to do that? Well, Barron was an early seller of advertising on subways and street car advertising, and rolled his money into south Florida real estate investing. He was the states largest landowner at one point, 1.3 million acres.

He brought the first telephone service, first railroad, first newspapers, and first bus company. He constructed the Tamiami Trail through the Everglades from the Lee County to the Dade County line. For this last feat, connecting the two coasts of Florida, the County was named in his honor. With the advent of mosquito control and air conditioning, the Sunshine State began its run as the fastest growing state in the union.

 That property was something the family made money on with developing, and now it's known as Collier County.

He had interests in other pursuits, like the national Boy Scout movement. In New York, serving as special deputy commissioner for public safety, he introduced the use of white and yellow traffic divider lines on highways.

Meanwhile, using the money for fun, his bothers got into racing cars. Hardcore.

The club’s stated purpose was to revive European-style road racing in America at a time when all top line racing here was conducted on ovals. The Colliers also became the MG importers and C. Miles raced in Europe a few times in the 1930s, an extreme rarity for an American at the time.

Although the ARCA wasn’t always either an artistic or financial success, some impressive events were held with members entering European GP machinery. The real contribution of the Colliers was to have the vision to promote road racing in America when there was none. The ARCA was shut down after Pearl Harbor and never revived.

 However, after World War II, several members including George Weaver, C. Miles and Sam were influential in turning the fledgling Sports Car Club of America’s mission from preserving older sports cars to promoting racing. Within a decade, sports car racing became a major sport in the U.S. with some SCCA events rivaling the Indianapolis 500 in attendance.

They organized the first road race at Watkins Glen, and then headed to Le Mans, and wrote that up in Road and Track. Soon after Sam was killed racing at the Glen, and then a memorial race was held at an airfield in Florida, which became the 12 hours of Sebring

Then Miles was born, got hooked on cars, started a collection of Porsches he raced, then bought the Briggs Cunningham collection, etc etc bingo, the Revs Institute.

I didn't set out to write a complete history, just the beginnings. Like I said, quick history

https://www.barroncollier.com/Legacy/
https://www.velocetoday.com/lynch-on-the-collier-collection-and-revs-institute-2/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barron_Collier

racing Vettes, Bruce Meyers Le Mans winners

Full gallery on the old Corvette from when it was at the Beverly Hills Concours at Graystone Mansion http://justacarguy.blogspot.com/2012/05/one-of-3-corvettes-of-briggs.html

1952 Cunningham basement find from South Carolina

One of 25 Cunningham C3′s ever built, pulled out of hiding in 2011

https://www.hemmings.com/blog/2011/09/07/barn-find-cunningham-to-highlight-trio-of-c-3s-at-fairfield/

http://fromcruise-instoconcours.tumblr.com/post/159087011545/one-of-25-cunningham-c3s-ever-built-fresh-out-of

https://www.hemmings.com/blog/2011/09/26/whats-the-barn-find-of-the-year/

Jaguars and the Briggs Cunningham team trailer

Bridgehampton Sept 1963
https://revslib.stanford.edu/catalog/dr359kb1002