Cunningham C-3

To have his namesake cars homologated as a manufacturer for Le Mans, Cunningham needed to build 25 examples of the C-3.

Two pre-production cars similar in appearance to the C-2Rs were built at the company's West Palm Beach location; a roadster with chassis number 5205, and a coupe with chassis number 5206X. A third chassis, number 5206, was sent to the workshops of carrozzeria Vignale in Turin, Italy, where it received a new coupe body styled by designer Giovanni Michelotti, then working at Vignale. The factory considered chassis 5026 the official prototype, and subsequent cars received the Michelotti body style.

Twenty-seven C-3s were built. One reference reports eighteen coupes and nine convertibles. Others report twenty coupes and five convertibles with bodies by Vignale, plus the two cars bodied at the West Palm Beach factory. While early factory pricing was US$8,000 (US${{Inflation|US|8000|1948|fmt=c}} in {{Inflation/year|US}} dollars) for a Sports Convertible, and US$9,000 (US${{Inflation|US|9000|1948|fmt=c}}) for a Coupe, the cost of a C-3 had risen to US$15,000 (US${{Inflation|US|15000|1948|fmt=c}}) by 1951.

The New York Museum of Modern Art named the C-3 Continental Coupé one of the "10 Best Contemporary Automobiles".

When production of the C-3 ended, fourteen chassis in various states of completion remained. In 1955 during a disbursement of parts by Hilltop Trailer Sales, Chassis #5235 was purchased by Jack Shakespeare of Indiana. In 1957 subsequent owner John Hanley of Wisconsin commissioned a custom body designed by someone from Brooks Stevens Design Associates, which was fabricated by Bob Jones of Indianapolis.

The engine in the C-3 is the {{convert|331|cuin|cc|0|abbr=on}} Chrysler FirePower V8 that Cunningham had first used in the C-2Rs, but now with a new intake manifold and four Zenith single-barrel carburetors, and a dual exhaust system. This raised power to {{convert|220|hp|kW|1|abbr=on}} from the factory version's {{convert|180|hp|kW|1|abbr=on}}.

The majority of cars received one of two different transmissions offered; the first four cars had a three-speed manual from Cadillac, while subsequent cars used Chrysler's Presto-Matic semi-automatic fluid-coupled two-speed with electric overdrive, for an effective selection of four forward ratios. An exception was chassis 5223, which received a Chrysler PowerFlite transmission.

The C-3's large-diameter tube chassis was similar to that of the earlier C-2R, but the racing car's De Dion tube rear suspension was replaced by a coil-sprung live axle located by an upper and lower trailing arm on each side.

1951 Cunningham C3 Competition Coupé at the 2015 Carmel Tour d'Elegance.jpg|1951 prototype 5206X

1952 Cunningham C3 (5220), front right (Greenwich 2018).jpg|1952 C-3 Coupe

1953 Cunningham C3 Cabriolet rear.jpg|1953 Cabriolet, rear three-quarter view

1954 Cunningham C3 Cabriolet (5225), front right.jpg|1954 C-3 Cabriolet

1954 Cunningham C3 Coupé (5440), rear right at Hershey 2019.jpg|1954 Coupe, rear three-quarter view

1952-55 Cunningham C3 with Brooks Stevens body, front left, Greenwich 2018.jpg|C-3 5235 by Brooks Stevens Design Associates

{{Reflist|refs=

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{{cite web |url=https://silodrome.com/cunningham-c-3/#:~:text=The%20Cunningham%20C%2D3%20was,24%20Hours%20of%20Le%20Mans |title=The Cunningham C-3 – A Rare American Homologation Special |last=Branch |first=Ben |date=27 February 2022 |website=Silodrome |publisher= |access-date= }}

{{cite web |url=https://revsinstitute.org/the-collection/1953-cunningham-c-3/ |title=1952 Cunningham — Type: C-3 Continental Coupe |author= |website=Revs Institute }}

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{{cite magazine |last=Shea |first=Terry |date=November 2016 |title=American Exotic - 1952 Cunningham C-3 |url=https://www.hemmings.com/stories/article/american-exotic-1952-cunningham-c-3 |magazine=Hemmings Classic Car }}

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{{cite magazine |last=Dorrington |first=Leigh |date=1 October 2010 |title=Cunningham C-3 Continental — Luxury in a High-performance Package |url=http://www.briggscunningham.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/AQ-50-4-Cunningham.pdf |magazine=Automobile Quarterly |pages=16–29 }}

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{{cite web |author= |url=https://rmsothebys.com/en/auctions/ac15/the-andrews-collection/lots/r125-1953-cunningham-c3-coupe-by-vignale/180168 |title=1953 Cunningham C3 Coupe by Vignale |website=RM - Sotheby's }}

{{cite web |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/motoring/2736495/The-Americans-dream.html |title=The American's dream |last=Buckley |first=Martin |date=30 July 2005 |website=The Telegraph }}

{{cite web |url=https://fristartmuseum.org/misc/1952-cunningham-c3-continental |title=1952 Cunningham C3 Continental |last=Gross |first=Ken |website=Frist Art Museum }}

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{{cite web |url=https://www.bonhams.com/auctions/23133/lot/197/ |title= Lot 197 — 1952 CUNNINGHAM C-3 |author= |date=10 Mar 2016 |website=Bonhams |publisher= |access-date= }}

{{cite web |url=https://www.supercars.net/blog/1951-cunningham-c3-continental/ |title=1951 Cunningham C3 Continental |last=D. |first=Nick |date=2 March 2020 |website=Supercars.net |publisher= |access-date= }}

{{cite web |url=https://fristartmuseum.org/1952-cunningham-c3-continental/ |title=1952 Cunningham C3 Continental |last=Gross |first=Ken |date=10 August 2020 |website=Frist Art Museum |publisher= |access-date= }}

{{cite book |last1=Batchelor |first1=Dean |last2=Poole |first2=Chris |last3=Robson |first3=Graham |date=1988 |title=The Great Book of Sports Cars |location=New York, New York |publisher=The Auto Editors of Consumer Guide |pages=134, 135 |isbn=0-517-63377-9 }}

{{cite magazine |last1=Bruce-Briggs |first1=B. |last2=Berman |first2=Lawrence W. |date=January 2011 |title=Chassis and Bastards |pages=24–26 |url=https://www.briggscunningham.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/Cunningham-Car-Register2011.pdf |magazine=The Cunningham Original Register |location= |publisher= |access-date=}}

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{{Commons category|Cunningham C3}}

• {{cite web |url=https://www.briggscunningham.com/cunningham-c-3-articles/ |title=Cunningham C-3 Articles |last=Burke |first=Erin |date=1 June 2022 |website=www.briggscunningham.com |publisher= |access-date= }}

Category:Cars introduced in 1952

Category:Cars of the United States

Category:Convertibles

Category:Coupés