Briggs Cunningham

Briggs Swift Cunningham was born Jan. 19, 1907 in Cincinnati. His family financed railways, telecommunications, meat packing, and commercial real estate. His father was the chief financier of two young men who had developed a bath soap that floated. Their names were William Cooper Procter and James Norris Gamble.
Cunningham spent his summers in the Northeast and learned to sail by
the time he was 6. His family moved to Southport, Conn. when he was a
teenager. At age 17, Cunningham joined the Star Class racing fleet at
the Pequot Yacht Club in Southport. The venture was the beginning of
his 30 years of sailboat racing on Long Island Sound.
He attended Yale for two years, then left in 1929 to marry Lucy
Bedford, daughter of Standard Oil heir Fred Bedford. It was during
this period that he entered into sport as a way of life.
As a member of the New York Yacht Club, he continued to sail the
Columbia in club races through the 1960's. He also developed the
Cunningham, a common device on sailboats that adjusts sail tension.
Cunningham's interest in racecars began in 1939 when he participated in
the New York World's Fair.
After World War II, he began competing in the 24 hour auto races at Le
Mans, and in 1951 he showed up with his own design, the Cunningham C-2R. Fitted with a sleek, hand-hammered aluminum body and Chrysler's newly introduced Firepower hemi V-8 engine, the Cunningham has been called America's first sports car. By the time work had begun on the C-2R, the supply of engines and the expected help from prior supplier Cadillac had evaporated. Cunningham then called on Yale classmate Bob Keller, son of K.T. Keller, president of Chrysler Corporation, and suddenly Chrysler engines were made available to Cunningham at a 40 percent discount.
Chassis details of the C-1 and C-2R were identical, with Cadillac drum brakes, Chrysler Oriflow shock absorbers backed up by Houdaille lever-action units, and Chrysler worm-and-sector steering, modified to provide 2.75 turns lock-to-lock. As delivered, the Chrysler engines produced 180 HP. Seeking more power, compression was raised from 7.5 to 8.6:1 (using Cadillac rods and pistons) and a log-type manifold carrying four downdraft Zenith carburetors. These modifications resulted in 220 HP. Additional testing and development of cam timing, plus intake and exhaust porting, raised power to 270 HP by the time the cars ran at Watkins Glen and Elkhart Lake in 1951.
A year later, Cunningham and his partner Bill Spear placed fourth with the car at Le Mans, averaging 88 miles per hour.
Having raced his sports car for the last time in 1955, Cunningham began
competing on a Jaguar team and became a Jaguar distributor in New
England. After moving to California in 1962, he bought several vintage
powerboats and in 1964 opened the Briggs Cunningham Automotive Museum in Costa Mesa, Calif. The museum has since changed ownership, and is now a private museum in Florida. In 1993, Cunningham was inducted into the America's Cup Hall of Fame at the Herreshoff Marine Museum in Bristol, R.I. He is also a member of the Motor Sports Hall of Fame. Cunningham was married 40 years to his second wife, the former Laura Cramer. He died 2 Jul 2003 at his home in Las Vegas at the age of 96. He is survived by his wife, a son Briggs Cunningham III, two daughters, Lucie McKinney and Cythlen Maddock, two stepsons, 19 grandchildren, and 31 great grandchildren.