1960 Corvette – The American Dream

The story of the Corvette and how it came to race at Le Mans

This article was originally written for our sister website Sports Car Digest.

The story of the Corvette and how it came to race at Le Mans is one in which the dreams of a number of individuals intersect, over a prolonged period of time. While each of these dreamers came from vastly different backgrounds and held often times very different agendas, they all shared a common vision—an American sports car winning the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

Gentleman Racer

Born into a wealthy Cincinnati, Ohio, family that not only had interests in railroads and real estate but also a start-up by the name of Procter & Gamble, Briggs Swift Cunningham was blessed with the means to pursue many sporting pursuits. While he was passionate about sailing and the ocean, an early ride in his uncle’s Dodge (equipped with an Hispano-Suiza aero engine) set young Briggs on a lifetime obsession with motorsport.

After racing a variety of machinery with his racing pals the Collier brothers after World War II, Cunningham became entranced by the dream of competing in the 24 Hours of Le Mans…in an American car. Cunningham made his first venture to La Sarthe in 1950 with a pair of Cadillacs—one with a standard Coupe de Ville body and another with a custom body fashioned by engineers at Grumman Aircraft and affectionately known as “Le Monstre.” That first outing yielded Cunningham 10th and 11th place finishes for his efforts and a surprising amount of respect from the hard-to-impress French racing establishment. This first tantalizing taste only served to intensify his desire.