The Ernie White Corvette is Still One of the Most Famous Racers

By Detroit Steel - August 11, 2017

No. 2 race car still sees track time some 57 years after its infamous run at the 1960 Le Mans.

There’s always something new to discover about Corvette. The rich history of the car never grows stale, right?

It seems that we’re always coming across some Corvette interesting fact that adds to its mystique. Of course, given its legacy as one of the greatest cars on the planet, that shouldn’t come as a surprise.

Take this 1960 Ernie White Corvette. Despite the fact that it never won a race, as reported by Super Chevy, it’s still one of the most renowned cars in the history of Corvette racing. Seems a bit odd, right?

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Not if you take into account the fact that this C1 is one of just four Corvettes to cross the starting line at the Le Mans in 1960, the very first time the America’s Sports Car competed in the race. The one pictured here, wearing No. 2, was one of three owned by Briggs Cunningham, an avid sportsman who loved spending his wealth on racing cars.

The Ernie White Corvette is one of many cars Cunningham took to Le Mans in hopes of making American nameplates contenders in a race that was dominated by Italian brands at the time. In fact, the American sportsman’s first stab at Le Mans was with a pair of Cadillacs. Later, it was under his own car brand with cars called the C2, C3, C4 and C5, which existed before there ever was a Corvette.

Cunningham’s love for racing never amounted to much as far as wins. In the 1960 Le Mans, two of his Corvettes (including the No. 2 car) never made it across the finish line. The No. 3 Corvette won its class, making it the first Corvette to officially win at Le Mans. But it finished eight overall, prompting Cunningham to scrap the Corvette program all together.

The No. 2 car now lies in the hands of collector Bruce Meyer, as one of the most coveted reminders of Cunningham’s storied history racing Corvettes. And it still sees some track time on occasions, according to the Super Chevy report.