1951 Cunningham C-1 Roadster

Built in 1951, the Cunningham C-1 Roadster, with a Cadillac V8 engine, was the first prototype built by the B.S. Cunningham Company of West Palm Beach, and in effect, it is the first all-American post-war sports car. With his eye firmly fixed on winning the 24 Hours of LeMans in an American sports car Briggs followed the C-1 with the racing version, the Chrysler engined C-2 Roadster. Before sending the cars to France, road testing of the three C-2s consisted of four, five, and eleven miles, respectively, so the C-1 Roadster was sent to Le Mans along with the race cars and used in practice so that the team could get the maximum experience of the Sarthe circuit.