Cunningham Supercharged Briggs Edition C8 Corvette Debuts With 705 HP
The Cunningham Supercharged Briggs Edition C8 Corvette is an ultra-special, 705 hp machine with active aero that’s limited to 100 units.
Way back in 1960, the Briggs Cunningham racing team decided to take a trio of Corvettes to Le Mans, which was notable on its own regard. However, this effort was particularly notable because at that time, GM wasn’t officially participating in motorsports at all. Regardless, Zora Arkus-Duntov provided the team with help in an unofficial capacity, gifting the team three fuel-injected C1s off the assembly line, one of which went on to score a first place class finish and eighth overall. Now, that same outfit is celebrating the 100th anniversary of the 24 Hours of Le Mans with something extra special – the Cunningham Supercharged Briggs Edition C8 Corvette.
Building upon the standard Briggs version of the latest iteration of the iconic fiberglass sports car, the Supercharged Briggs Edition C8 Corvette features an array of upgrades, which start on the exterior. There, one will find a host of aerodynamic components in the form of a flat under body tray, a new front splitter, a Speedtail spoiler, and an impressive active rear wing, which is a patent-pending piece that can adjust itself to optimize performance, or even be completely tucked away if so desired
Underneath, the Cunningham Supercharged Briggs Edition C8 Corvette features a host of suspension upgrades that complement the factory Z51 Performance Package and Magnetic Selective Ride Control, as Lingenfelter gifts this special edition a bit of a drop and the addition of Performance Street/Track settings. In terms of brakes, this limited-edition ride features some of the best in the business – Alcon’s Pro System, which consists of 380mm front/390mm rear discs with six- and four-piston calipers, respectively.
Buyers can chose from one of a handful of bespoke wheel designs – a set of vintage-looking, Halibrand-inspired “kidney bean” styled units that are available in either forged aluminum or carbon fiber, or more modern five-spoke forged aluminum units. No matter which wheel one goes with, each features staggered sizing of 20×9 inches up front and 21×12 inches in the rear, which are wrapped with 245/30ZR20 and 325/25ZR21 Michelin Pilot Sport 4S tires fore and aft.
While an array of color options are available for the Supercharged Briggs Edition C8 Corvette, the standard, heritage-inspired selection consists of GM’s Arctic White paint with a Twilight and Tension Blue interior, Tension Blue seatbelts, and Cunningham Le Mans Blue Painted Competition Racing Stripes.
On coupe models, one can take a peek through the HTC supercharger viewing window and its clear engine cover mid-ship, revealing a heavily-modified version of GM’s supercharged LT2 V8. That powerplant has been fortified with a high-flow air box, a heavy-duty cooling system, and of course, a Lingenfelter/Magnuson supercharger that helps the LT2 churn out a cool 705 horsepower, which propels the car down the quarter-mile in a mere 10.6 seconds.
Limited to just 100 total units, the Cunningham Supercharged Briggs Edition C8 Corvette is a sure-fire future collectible, and is available to reserve now with a starting price of $189,995. Those that already own a C8 and want to add this particular package to it can also do so for a cost of $89,995 via the Briggs Edition Package, too. The very first example of this special, limited-edition model is slated to make its debut at Monterey Car Week, which kicked off earlier this week and runs through Sunday, August 20.
Photos: Cunningham Automotive
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