C1 Corvette Paved the Way For Chevy's Le Mans Efforts

1. History in the Making

The Corvette you're looking at is not your average, run of the mill racer. It was one of four such cars to participate in the 1960 Le Mans, the first such effort for Chevy's venerable sports car. The number 2 car was one of three campaign in the race by Briggs Cunningham, and thankfully it's still around today for us to appreciate. And thanks to Super Chevy, we got an up-close look at the historic #2 Corvette in a recent spread.

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2. Double Sided Effort

Back in the 50s, Le Mans racing was dominated by European sports cars. Briggs worked hard to change that, campaigning everything from re-bodied Cadillacs to his own, Chrysler Hemi powered creations. Eventually, he was forced to give up and join the enemy by jumping to Jaguar. Briggs' success in the British racer caught the attention of Zora Arkus-Duntov, however, who had been fighting for years to convince GM to get into Le Mans.

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3. Finding a Workaround

Duntov ultimately failed in his efforts. But he did talk Briggs into racing three Corvettes at Le Mans, providing everything from the engines to the cars themselves. All three were fuel-injected models with quick-ratio steering, sintered-metallic brake linings, limited slip rear ends, and close ratio 4-speed transmissions. Briggs and crew further prepped the cars by adding 37-gallon gas tanks, stiffer springs, race seats, and extra fuel pumps.

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4. Mixed Results

After some shakedown runs, Briggs was satisfied with the way his new Corvette racers performed. At Le Mans, his trio even enjoyed the first three positions at the start, as cars were lined up by displacement at the time. The #1 car, driven by Cunningham and Jim Kimberly, promptly rolled. The #2 car, piloted by Dick Thompson and Fred Windridge, hit a sandbar, and despite extensive repairs, didn't quite finish the race. Meanwhile, John Fitch and Bob Grossman drove the #3 car to a class win and 8th place overall finish.

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5. The Legend Lives On

Despite scoring the Corvette's first ever win at Le Mans, Briggs scrapped the entire program following the race. The cars were stripped of their engines and sold. This particular car headed all the way to New Jersey, where it quickly changed hands once again and landed in the possession of an automotive journalist. Many years later, he discovered the car's true history and the car underwent a full restoration. Amazingly enough, it still sees some track time every now and then. And even though it failed to win its most important (and only) race, you'd be hard pressed to find a more significant Corvette racer than the #2 Briggs Cunningham car.

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