Briggs Cunningham, buoyed by racing success at Le Mans, decided in 1951 to make a road car. The initial plan was to build a sports car that could easily be adapted for racing. After some costing was carried out where it was realised that the cars would be far too expensive to make, Cunningham contacted Vignale in Italy and a deal was struck to build a sports car that could combine Italian design with American motive power. The bodywork, designed by Michelotti in collaboration with Vignale, bore a close resemblance to some Ferraris and the chrome strips sweeping from the grille to the base of the windscreen were a hallmark common to these other designs.
