Cunningham C-3

1952 Cunningham C-3 Coupe by Vignale

Offered by Gooding & Company | Scottsdale, Arizona | January 17, 2014

1952 Cunningham C-3 Coupe

If there was some sort of “All Time Car Guys” All-Star team, Briggs Cunningham would be on the starting roster. He was lucky – he was born rich (in 1907) and found his calling as a sportsman and car guy (and collector – he once owned a Bugatti Royale). His friends founded what would become the SCCA and that’s where Cunningham got his start in the 1930s.

By 1950 he was competing in the 24 Hours of Le Mans where he finished in the top 10 in a Cadillac Coupe DeVille (no, seriously). Later that year he ran an Aston Martin at Sebring. He also owned the cars he raced, and fielded cars for other drivers too.

In 1952 he started building cars of his own design in the Cunningham factory in West Palm Beach, Florida (not exactly the industrial heart of America). The C-3, as it was called, used a 5.4-liter Chrysler Hemi V-8 making 220 horsepower. He shipped the engine and chassis combo to Vignale in Italy to have the bodies installed. This particular chassis (#5210) was the factory demonstrator.

This car was restored in 2004 and is one of 19 C-3 Coupes built and one of a total of only 24 Cunningham C-3s built in total. Briggs Cunningham continued funding his racing team into the 1960s but stopped building cars in the mid-1950s. The C-3 was the only road car the company ever made. This one should sell for between $450,000-$550,000. Click here for more info and here for more from Gooding in Arizona.

Update: Sold $550,000.

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  1. Pingback: Cunningham C-3 | Classic Car Association Of Europe

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