Chassis No. R5220
Engine No. C53.8.10158
Few names in American motorsport are more synonymous with victory than that of Briggs Swift Cunningham, the sportsman who resolved to win Le Mans with an American car and American drivers. Evolved from Cunningham's first effort with the C-2R racer, the C-4R of 1952 was some sixteen inches shorter and nearly 1,000 pounds lighter than the preceding car, powered by a modified 331-cubic-inch Chrysler ''FirePower'' Hemi V8 producing 325 horsepower and clothed in purposeful aluminum bodywork penned by G. Briggs Weaver.
Only three were built, two roadsters and a single coupe, and their record was formidable, with the trio winning nearly three-quarters of the events they entered. Cunningham himself drove a C-4R to 4th overall at Le Mans in 1952, a sister car claimed victory at the 12 Hours of Sebring in 1953, and in 1954 the C-4R finished 3rd overall at La Sarthe while becoming the first American car to win its class at Le Mans. After sampling one, Mercedes-Benz engineer Rudolf Uhlenhaut famously pronounced it ''the safest handling racing car I have ever driven.''
In the 1990s, the Cunningham family sanctioned a revival of the model. Cunningham Historic Motor Cars, founded by lifelong marque devotee Larry Black together with Briggs S. Cunningham III, reestablished The Cunningham Company at Lime Rock, Connecticut, where development driving was carried out by original team drivers John Fitch and Phil Walters. Each continuation car employed a period 1952 Chrysler 331-cu-in ''extended block'' Hemi breathing through four dual-throat Weber 48IDA downdraft carburetors, paired with a four-speed manual gearbox and ventilated disc brakes. Endorsed by the Cunningham family and designated true continuations of the original design, just four cars were completed before the program concluded, serialized in sequence with the 1952 originals.
The car offered here, chassis number R5220, was the second continuation chassis produced, delivered new to Bob Williams, who had shortly beforehand sold his original C-4R, chassis R5217, to the Simeone Foundation and commissioned the new car to fill that void. In Williams's care, R5220 led a remarkably sheltered existence, reserved for display at significant Cunningham gatherings including The Quail, A Motorsports Gathering, in 2007 and the Lime Rock Park Labor Day event of 2013, as well as exhibition at the Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles. At the time of cataloging, it displays a mere 215 miles from new and remains in immaculate, as-delivered condition. It is presented in the Cunningham team's white with twin blue racing stripes over blue leather bucket seats and olive drab cockpit paneling, riding on Halibrand-pattern alloy wheels secured by three-eared knock-off spinners. Beneath the hood, the polished Hemi wears its bank of eight gleaming velocity stacks to dramatic effect, while the riveted aluminum coachwork, wood-rimmed steering wheel, and broad-shouldered proportions faithfully evoke the Le Mans originals.
Crucially for the historic racing enthusiast, the C-4R Continuation has already proven its welcome at the world's foremost historic motorsport venue. A sister continuation car returned to the Circuit de la Sarthe for the 2004 Le Mans Classic, held that year on the 50th anniversary of the Cunningham team's famous class victory, and R5220 enjoys the same eligibility, presenting its next owner with the tantalizing prospect of returning the Cunningham name to the very circuit where Briggs made his legend. Beyond La Sarthe, the car is a natural candidate for a host of historic tours, rallies, and vintage racing events on both sides of the Atlantic. Backed by the Cunningham family, developed by the men who raced the originals, and preserved in exceptional order, R5220 offers a genuine taste of America's great early assault on Le Mans.
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- VIN CodeR5220
