1950: Cadillac at Le Mans



It all started in 1948 when Briggs Swift Cunningham purchased a Ferrarri from Le Mans winner, Luigi Chinetti. After Chinetti's victory in 1949, he invited Cunningham to compete in the event and could arrange for two cars to be entered. If Cunnigham could finish with either car, he would return for the 1951 race.

Cunningham, unsure of what to enter, met mechanic Bill Frick, who transplanted Cadillac's 1949 OHV V8s into Fords. Cunningham took a liking to the "Fordillac's" handling and power and presented the proposal to race officials. The proposal was turned down for they were too much like hot rods. Cunningham decided to compete in a Cadillac instead, and two 1950 Series 61 Coupe deVilles with manual transmissions were purchased.

Le Mans rules required stock productoin chassis, and no internal engine modifications. There were no restrictions on external engine modifications or bodies. Cunningham wanted one to be stock as possible but had big plans for the other.

Up the road from Frick's garage was aeronautical engineer Howard Weinman. Weinman's automotive interest led him to develope a race-car shape tested in wind tunnels. He suggested building an aerodynamic, airplane fashion, aluminum body over tubular framing to Cunningam. It would be more aerodynamic, weigh hundreds of pounds less, and would have a lower center of gravity. Cunningham agreed, and construction began. 6 craftsmen from the aircaft plant came to work on it in evenings and weekends. The final product looked wide, and had removable panels to reach moving parts.

It was dubbed "Le Manstre" by the French press, and was Cunningham's more serious entry. The engine used 5 carburetors: the stock 2-barrel at the center and 4 2-barrel's at each corner. During acceleration, all 5 carbs kicked in, but once cruising speed was reached, only the stock was used. It had Alfin brakes, with ducts in the nose and sides to keep them cool.

The Coupe ended up with dual 2-barrel carburetors instead of the single, twin muffer-less exhausts with the pipes in front of the rear wheels, Firestone 7.5 x 16 racing tires, and cooling slots around the brakes. The hubcaps, fender skirts, and rear seat was removed, and a 35-gallon gas tank was added to the stock 20 gallon.

On each car, suspension was stock except for French springs. Two-way radios, a tachometer, and oil pressure gauges were also installed, along with thermistors to the brake drums, transmission case, and differential housing so that temperature could be monitored on these essential parts. Before both cars were shipped to France, they were painted dark blue and white.

During the first practice run, co-driver Walters in Le Manstre was travelling a little too fast, lost control, and tore a jagged edge in the nose. Luckily, repairs were made in time for tech inspection. More practice runs showed problems with both cars. Fuel starvation in hard corners, poor night vision, and lifter pump-up above 4700 rpm were all corrected and the cars ran flawless.

Miles and Sam Collier were the drivers of the coupe, while Cunningham and Phil Walters headed Le Manstre. During the traditional sprint start, Sam discovered the doors were locked. Luckily, he could reach in the window to unlock them. Both cars were off to great starts. On the second lap, Le Manstre lost control in a corner and got stuck in a sandbank for 20 minutes: 4 laps.

Meanwhile, the coupe had a couple incidents itself. Halfway through the race, Miles was about to pass a car when both had to come to a complete stop for a stray dog crossing the track. Later with Sam driving, the Coupe almost ran out of gas, but made it back to pits.

At the end, the Coupe finished 10th averaging 81.5 mph. Le Manstre had dropped to 35th at one point but were able to finish 11th behind the coupe. This is very impressive considering they lost 1st and 2nd gear and had to rely on the low-end torque.

The cars are now in Collier Museum in Naples, Florida.

1950 Allard J2 An English race car, the Allard J2, also used the Cadillac engine and finished third in the 1950 race.