Engineering:Cunningham C-3

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Cunningham C-3
1953 Cunningham C3 Cabriolet front.JPG
Overview
ManufacturerB. S. Cunningham Company
DesignerGiovanni Michelotti for Bertone
Body and chassis
Body style
LayoutF/R
PlatformCustom
Powertrain
EngineChrysler Firepower V8
Transmission
Chronology
PredecessorCunningham C-2R
SuccessorCunningham C-4R

The Cunningham C-3 is a Grand tourer, designed and built by the B. S. Cunningham Company beginning in 1952.[1] Intended primarily as a road car, enough C3 were meant to be built to homologate Briggs Cunningham's racing cars, making them eligible to race at the 24 Hours of Le Mans.[2]

History

To have his namesake cars homologated as a manufacturer for Le Mans, Cunningham needed to build 25 examples of the C-3.[3][4][5][6]

Two pre-production cars similar in appearance to the C-2Rs were built at the company's West Palm Beach location; a roadster with chassis number 5205, and a coupe with chassis number 5206X. A third chassis, number 5206, was sent to the workshops of carrozzeria Vignale in Turin, Italy, where it received a new coupe body styled by designer Giovanni Michelotti, then working at Vignale.[5][7][8][9] The factory considered chassis 5026 the official prototype, and subsequent cars received the Michelotti body style.[10][11]

Twenty-seven C-3s were built. One reference reports eighteen coupes and nine convertibles.[3] Others report twenty coupes and five convertibles with bodies by Vignale, plus the two cars bodied at the West Palm Beach factory.[12][7] While early factory pricing was US$8,000 (US$85,130 in 2019 dollars) for a Sports Convertible, and US$9,000 (US$95,771) for a Coupe, the cost of a C-3 had risen to US$15,000 (US$159,619) by 1951.[7]

The New York Museum of Modern Art named the C-3 Continental Coupé one of the "10 Best Contemporary Automobiles".[13][3][14]

When production of the C-3 ended, fourteen chassis in various states of completion remained. In 1955 during a disbursement of parts by Hilltop Trailer Sales, Chassis #5235 was purchased by Jack Shakespeare of Indiana. In 1957 subsequent owner John Hanley of Wisconsin commissioned a custom body designed by someone from Brooks Stevens Design Associates, which was fabricated by Bob Jones of Indianapolis.[15][16]

Technical details

The engine in the C-3 is the 331 cu in (5,424 cc) Chrysler FirePower V8 that Cunningham had first used in the C-2Rs, but now with a new intake manifold and four Zenith single-barrel carburetors, and a dual exhaust system. This raised power to 220 hp (164.1 kW) from the factory version's 180 hp (134.2 kW).[7]

The majority of cars received one of two different transmissions offered; the first four cars had a three-speed manual from Cadillac, while subsequent cars used Chrysler's Presto-Matic semi-automatic fluid-coupled two-speed with electric overdrive, for an effective selection of four forward ratios.[17][18][16] An exception was chassis 5223, which received a Chrysler PowerFlite transmission.[16]

The C-3's large-diameter tube chassis was similar to that of the earlier C-2R, but the racing car's De Dion tube rear suspension was replaced by a coil-sprung live axle located by an upper and lower trailing arm on each side.[19]

Gallery

  • 1951 prototype 5206X

  • 1952 C-3 Coupe

  • 1953 Cabriolet, rear three-quarter view

  • 1954 C-3 Cabriolet

  • 1954 Coupe, rear three-quarter view

  • C-3 5235 by Brooks Stevens Design Associates

References

  1. ↑ Cotter, Tom (18 September 2017). "1953 Cunningham C-3 Coupe by Vignale". https://www.sportscarmarket.com/profile/1953-cunningham-c-3-coupe-by-vignale. 
  2. ↑ Branch, Ben (27 February 2022). "The Cunningham C-3 – A Rare American Homologation Special". https://silodrome.com/cunningham-c-3/#:~:text=The%20Cunningham%20C%2D3%20was,24%20Hours%20of%20Le%20Mans. 
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 "1952 Cunningham — Type: C-3 Continental Coupe". https://revsinstitute.org/the-collection/1953-cunningham-c-3/. 
  4. ↑ Robinson, Aaron (31 January 2019). "Briggs Cunningham: The Connecticut Yankee who battled the best of Europe". https://www.hagerty.com/media/hagerty-magazine/briggs-cunningham-battled-europe/. 
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Shea, Terry (November 2016). "American Exotic - 1952 Cunningham C-3". Hemmings Classic Car. https://www.hemmings.com/stories/article/american-exotic-1952-cunningham-c-3. 
  6. ↑ Joseph, Jacob (26 January 2016). "1952 Cunningham C3 Coupe". https://www.topspeed.com/cars/others/1952-cunningham-c3-coupe-ar172318.html. 
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 Dorrington, Leigh (1 October 2010). "Cunningham C-3 Continental — Luxury in a High-performance Package". Automobile Quarterly: 16–29. http://www.briggscunningham.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/AQ-50-4-Cunningham.pdf. 
  8. ↑ "1952 Cunningham C-3 West Palm Beach Coupe". https://rmsothebys.com/en/auctions/mo11/monterey/lots/r218-1952-cunningham-c-3-west-palm-beach-coupe/192309. 
  9. ↑ "1953 Cunningham C3 Coupe by Vignale". https://rmsothebys.com/en/auctions/ac15/the-andrews-collection/lots/r125-1953-cunningham-c3-coupe-by-vignale/180168. 
  10. ↑ "Lot 197 — 1952 CUNNINGHAM C-3". 10 Mar 2016. https://www.bonhams.com/auctions/23133/lot/197/. 
  11. ↑ Zal, Pawel. "1953 Cunningham C-3 Continental Coupe". https://www.automobile-catalog.com/make/cunningham/c-3_continental/c-3_continental_coupe/1953.html. 
  12. ↑ Cotter, Tom (11 March 2011). "Italian Flair and American Muscle". New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/13/automobiles/collectibles/13-cunningham-c-3.html. 
  13. ↑ Buckley, Martin (30 July 2005). "The American's dream". https://www.telegraph.co.uk/motoring/2736495/The-Americans-dream.html. 
  14. ↑ Gross, Ken. "1952 Cunningham C3 Continental". https://fristartmuseum.org/misc/1952-cunningham-c3-continental. 
  15. ↑ Coady, Thomas (1 January 2019). "1952 Cunningham C-3". The Quail. https://www.pressreader.com/usa/the-quail-magazine-9yp5/20190101/282935272880522. 
  16. ↑ 16.0 16.1 16.2 Bruce-Briggs, B.; Berman, Lawrence W. (January 2011). "Chassis and Bastards". The Cunningham Original Register: 24–26. https://www.briggscunningham.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/Cunningham-Car-Register2011.pdf. 
  17. ↑ D., Nick (2 March 2020). "1951 Cunningham C3 Continental". https://www.supercars.net/blog/1951-cunningham-c3-continental/. 
  18. ↑ Gross, Ken (10 August 2020). "1952 Cunningham C3 Continental". https://fristartmuseum.org/1952-cunningham-c3-continental/. 
  19. ↑ Batchelor, Dean; Poole, Chris; Robson, Graham (1988). The Great Book of Sports Cars. New York, New York: The Auto Editors of Consumer Guide. pp. 134, 135. ISBN 0-517-63377-9. 

External links



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