Cunningham C3, the 'Ferrari of America' designed by Vignale

Created to compete at Le Mans, the C3 was produced in only 25 examples plus a unique prototype made by the Italian coachbuilder

By: Alberto Carmone

Jun 1, 2024 at 5:18am ET

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The American dream at Le Mans was not just Cadillac and Ford. In the 1950s, there was also Cunningham, the company founded by Briggs Cunningham in 1949 and based in West Palm Beach, Florida.

After successes in several US races, the brand sought the big leap in 1952, but the change in regulations for the 24 Hours of Le Mans obliged Cunningham to produce at least 25 road-legal examples in order to enter the C3 in the world's most famous endurance race. Thus was born the sports car with an Italian shape and an American 'heart'.

The Story

The production of an entire car at the Cunningham plant in West Palm Beach would have been prohibitively expensive, so the owner commissioned Italian coachbuilder Alfredo Vignale to build the bodies for the coupé and cabriolet models, based on a design by Giovanni Michelotti and with obvious Ferrari influences.

The C3, as it was known, was certainly not cheap, as it was based on a modified racing chassis and had a V8 Hemi engine. The styling was basically that of a Ferrari, but under the bonnet was an American eight-cylinder, which ensured a 0-62 mph sprint of around 7 seconds and a top speed of 93 mph.

Cunningham C3 Concept (1952)

Cunningham C3 Concept, the anteriore

The project was subject to numerous delays, as one example took at least two months to build. In the end, production of the C3 ended with five convertibles and twenty coupés. Although the Cunningham team never won at Le Mans, they came third overall in both 1953 and 1954 and continued to race modified versions of their design until 1963.

The prototype

The story of the Cunningham prototype is very peculiar. The C3 with chassis number 5206 was the first ever to leave the Vignale workshop and was distinguished by a number of unique features.

Cunningham C3 Concept, the plancia

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These included a specific bumper, the absence of chrome stripes under the doors, special Cunningham lettering on the nose, a chrome surround for the windscreen and a Chrysler Hemi V8 with four Zenith carburettors. In addition, the interior had several Ford components, including the radio and handbrake.

Cunningham used the prototype for publicity photographs, before it changed hands for various owners over the following decades. As time went by, this unique example acquired more and more value. In an auction held by RM Sotheby's in 2015, it was sold for $869,000 (about £683,000 at today's exchange rate).