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Briggs Cunningham, 1907-2003



Las Vegas, Nev. (July 2) -- Briggs Swift Cunningham, an icon of American road racing, died today of complications related to Alzheimer’s Disease in Las Vegas at the age of 96. Cunningham was at the forefront of the rebirth of road racing in America following World War II, and was renowned as a sportsman of the highest caliber. He represented America superbly in the 24 Hours of Le Mans throughout the 1950s and ‘60s as a driver and team owner, both with cars bearing his own name and others.



Born in Cincinnati, Ohio on January 19, 1907, to a wealthy family, Cunningham nurtured a love of automobiles from his childhood. He owned a variety of high-performance cars, but respected his mother’s wishes that he not race them himself. Instead, he occasionally loaned them out for friends to race, such as the Collier brothers, Miles, Sam and Barron, who had founded the Automobile Racing Club of America in 1933.



Cunningham was responsible for the creation of the car that stands as the forerunner to the wave of American road racing specials, his 1939 BuMerc, a Buick Century chassis and engine wrapped in Mercedes-Benz SSK bodywork. Although built as a road car, it was loaned to Miles Collier to race in the 1940 World’s Fair Grand Prix at Flushing Meadows, N.Y. It was to be ARCA’s final race prior to the outbreak of World War II. Once the war was over, most members of the organization joined the newly-formed Sports Car Club of America. When the SCCA held its first major race at Watkins Glen, N.Y., in 1948, Cunningham – whose mother had since died – entered his BuMerc and finished second, launching his own driving career.



In 1949, Cunningham met renowned racer Phil Walters, who raced under the pseudonym “Ted Tappett,” and his mechanic, Bill Frick. He purchased from the duo a creation they called the “Fordillac,” a 1949 Ford coupe with a 331ci Cadillac OHV V8. He liked it so much he tried to entered a team of Fordillacs for the 1950 24 Hours of Le Mans, but the entry was disallowed by the Automobile Club de l’Ouest on the grounds that it was not a proper production car. Cunningham instead entered a pair of 1950 Cadillacs, one standard coupe and a special-bodied roadster dubbed “Le Monstre.”



After posting 10th- (coupe) and 11th-place (“Le Monstre”) finishes, Cunningham decided to plunge head-first into automobile manufacturing in order to field his own cars for Le Mans. He established B.S. Cunningham Co. in West Palm Beach, Fla., hired Walters and Frick to run the company, and began production of the Cunningham sports car. Over the next five years, his cars would annually make the trip to La Sarthe to take on the best in the world. He never achieved his dream of winning at Le Mans, but his team was always competitive and conducted itself with good sportsmanship and class, representing America in the finest tradition. A third-place finish in 1953, behind a pair of C-Type Jaguars with revolutionary disc brakes, was the high-water mark, although a conservative strategy in 1952 resulted in a fourth-place finish that is considered by many to have been a missed opportunity to win overall. The Cunningham team quit building its own cars after 1955, but continued to compete at Le Mans in Jaguars and Corvettes through the early 1960s.



Cunningham’s team and cars also set a high standard on this side of the Atlantic. John Fitch and Walters won the 1953 12 Hours of Sebring in a Cunningham C-4R. Stirling Moss and Bill Lloyd won it the following year in a Cunningham-owned OSCA MT4, and Walters and Mike Hawthorn won the next year in a Cunningham-entered D-Type Jaguar.



There were plenty of SCCA National Championships as well. Fitch won the 1951 SCCA National Championship in a Cunningham C-2R. Cunningham himself won the 1954 F Modified title in the OSCA. The C Modified class was virtually owned by Cunningham through the late ‘50s. Sherwood Johnston won the class National Championship in 1955 having driven a Cunningham-owned D-Type for most of the year, and Walt Hansgen ripped off four consecutive championships from 1956-‘59 driving Cunningham’s D-Types and Jaguar-powered Listers.



Cunningham continued his driving career until 1966, when he hung up his helmet and returned to his other competitive love, sailing. He had won the 1958 America’s Cup in his yacht Columbia, and had the boat rebuilt for 1967, being narrowly defeated.



He retired to Southern California, where he established one of the finest collections of sporting and racing automobiles in the world. He eventually sold the collection to Miles C. Collier, who merged it with his world-class collection of Porsches in Naples, Fla., where it remains today.



Briggs Cunningham set a standard of professionalism in road racing that was unparalleled at the time, but set the stage for today’s mega-team owners such as Roger Penske, Jack Roush, Chip Ganassi and Don Panoz. He was a true sportsman who represented his country with pride, conducted himself with grace and style, and will be sorely missed. His induction this year into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame at Talladega, Ala., was richly deserved and long overdue.



He is survived by his wife of 40 years, Laura, of Las Vegas, son Briggs S. Cunningham III of Danville, Ky., daughters Lucie McKinney of Green Farms, Conn., and Cythlen Maddock of Palm Beach, Fla., stepsons Bill Elmer and Joe Elmer, 19 grandchildren and 31 great-grandchildren – John Gardner (Artwork courtesy Art Eastman / Vintage Motorsport)



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