#1 Cunningham 1960 Chevrolet Corvette - 24h Le Mans 1960

1/18 scale resin from Real Art Replicas

#1 Cunningham 1960 Chevrolet Corvette

Briggs Cunningham / Jim Kimberley

1960 24h Le Mans

Briggs Swift Cunningham, Jr. had raced at Le Mans several times but a first place finish had always eluded him. He knew he needed a car with the soul of a racer. Now, Corvette had never competed at Le Mans before, but after a meeting with Chevrolet Chief Engineer Zora Arkus-Duntov, they agreed that Corvette was what they needed to win.

Briggs would begin preparing immediately. He bought three brand new 1960 Corvettes and started transforming them into the 24 hour endurance racers that they needed to be. Larger fuel tanks were added, larger brakes with cooling ducts, engines that produced 350hp instead of the stock 290hp found in the production versions.

Cunningham would finalize the effort by picking some of the best drivers of the time to pilot his cars. He and Bill Kimberley would drive the #1 Corvette, Dick Thompson and Fred Windridge would be in the #2 Corvette and John Fitch and Bob Grossman would handle the #3 Corvette. The #1 and #2 Corvettes would be forced to retire during the race, but the #3 Corvette would forge on, overcoming some fantastic obstacles thanks to the amazing crew that Cunningham had assembled. When the checkered flag waived, the #3 Corvette crossed the finish line as the CLASS CHAMPION while finishing 8th overall!

Sealed Body - Detailed Interior