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The status of "legend" can be attained
in many different ways in the automotive world. The tag can be
hung on a car or an engine whose design is a timeless one, or it
can go deeper to the person who created the object in question.
Sometimes this process comes after years of diligence and hard
work with a singular goal in mind, and then again, it can simply
be the right person in the right place at the right time.
When it comes to cars and engines, the list of legends is very
long and everyone has their favorites, but some remain as
standouts despite the passage of time. Chrysler's Hemi engine
was an innovation in the beginning and it has never looked back.
Despite being out of production for many years, the Hemi design
continues to be the dominate force behind every Top Fuel and
Funny Car racer that thunders down the quarter mile. While this
is easily its most visible achievement, the Hemi's roots and
influence go far beyond.
Virtually everyone even mildly associated with automotive sport
knows the name Carroll Shelby. His Cobra and Mustang cars have
borne his name for decades and are some of the most coveted
vehicles in the world. He has added his name and influence to
cars for both Chrysler and his well known Fords. Yet, it was
interesting to find that even legends like Carroll Shelby were
inspired by those who came before him.
Many know that in his youth Shelby was a race car driver, but
his promising career was cut short after only two seasons due to
his bad heart. During this time, he was impressed by another
racer and sportsman extraordinaire, Briggs Cunningham.
Cunningham truly had the blood of competition in his veins,
racing not only cars but yachts as well. He was the skipper of
the Columbia, which won the America's Cup in 1958; quite
a departure from auto racing but fiercely competitive
nonetheless.
I must admit at this point a strange fascination with twelve
meter yacht racing, as it certainly has to be one of the slowest
forms of racing on the planet. Yet these graceful giants require
a staggering level of teamwork, endurance, and skill to win a
Cup race. There is something amazing about watching their hulls
cut the waves, and with all of the spray and splashing one might
think they were blasting through the water a frightful pace. In
reality, you could probably ride a bicycle faster than they run
at top speed. All of that aside, when they race an upwind leg
and tack against each other for wind and position, they do so
with the fury of a NASCAR pit stop, and I find myself wishing I
could be pulling ropes or twisting cranks.
Back on point, Briggs Cunningham had a true passion for cars and
racing. He was the first man to import a Ferrari into this
country, one of the founding members of the Sports Car Club of
America, as well as building various hybrid cars for racing.
Cunningham may not have invented the concept of putting potent
engines in lighter cars but he certainly excelled at it. He
built such cars that he dubbed "Bu-Merc" and "Fordillac" and in
1950 was invited to mount a team for Le Mans. Luigi Chinetti was
the man who sold the Ferrari to Cunningham and offered to put in
a word for him to join Team Ferrari for the race.
Briggs already had a game plan in mind and put together the
first all American effort for the 24 hour event. The Le Mans
organizing committee shunned the idea of Cunningham's hybrid hot
rods, so Cadillac came forward with two Series 61 coupes, one of
which he would re-body as a roadster with the help of engineers
from Grumman aircraft. This purpose built creation was dubbed
"Le Monstre" by the French and was the first American sports car
to wear the white with blue racing stripe paint scheme which
would later become Cunningham's signature.
The Cadillacs finished 10th and 11th overall and were crowd
favorites with their big, noisy engines. Cunningham was so
encouraged that he set up shop in West Palm Beach, Florida and
began working on prototype machines based on Healy roadsters.
The initial testing went very well but late in 1950, Cadillac
pulled its support to supply engines for Briggs new racing
machines. Then came a pivotal moment, when Cunningham contacted
an old college friend and arranged to replace the Cadillac
engines with the new Chrysler Firepower Hemi V8.
Cunningham built two street prototypes called the C-1 and then
prepped three cars for the 1951 race. The C-2R made a strong
showing, clocking the fastest speed on the Mulsanne straight at
152mph and the fastest average lap speed of 99mph. The years
that followed saw his potent C-4R contend for the podium at Le
Mans, while it dominated sports car racing here in America.
Carroll Shelby had just begun his short-lived racing career
when Briggs Cunningham stepped out of building his own cars in
1955. However, the impact of Cunningham on sports car racing
continued and obviously influenced Shelby to a great degree.
When you look at Shelby's first Cobra, a lightweight British
sports car body with a screaming American V8 engine, the tip of
the iceberg shows. The 427 Cobra comes full circle, with its
hand built body and chassis, its bellowing Ford engine and its
blue and white racing stripe paint scheme. Shelby also went on
to tame Le Mans with his cars and American racing folklore to
boot.
I take nothing away from Shelby, he has been a force in American
automotive culture. However in retrospect, it seems as though
Briggs Cunningham passed a torch that Shelby carried all the way
to victory lane. You could even say that Shelby himself came
full circle when he collaborated with Chrysler to bring us the
Viper, born in the spirit of his Cobra sports car.
Now, when I look at all Shelby has given to the gearhead world,
I catch myself wearing a slight grin as I gaze into the past to
see his inspiration. Through the mists of time and history, I
see an All American sportsman, a man respected by his peers and
man who built the forerunner to the legendary Cobra. The
Cunningham C-4R, a hand built, high performance machine that
challenged the world...powered by a Chrysler Hemi.
Every legend has its inspiration.
Timmy
www.tobthebat.wordpress.com
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