Jaguar E-Type Lightweight
Briggs Cunningham's final Le Mans appearance was 1963, when he brought a trio of lightweight E-Type Jaguars. The #14 gave up early with gearbox problems. Roy Salvadori crashed #16 and had to be pulled from the burning car. Once again, Cunningham's slow methodical style allowed him to carry on.
Cunningham had teamed up with Bob Grossman, who he had passed for 4th the previous year on the last lap. Grossman had been kicked off the team earlier in the year for abusing one of the Lister-Jaguars, but he knew how to run an endurance race. They started 20th, moved to 14th by the halfway point, and were 7th on Sunday morning. While braking for the Mulsanne Corner, the brake pedal pivot snapped sending him into the hay bales at 165 mph. He was fine, but the car was not. He was able to get back to the pits where they rebuilt the car with parts from the other two and the car finished 9th.
Three years later, an American car would finally win Le Mans. The following year, they would do it with American drivers. Aside from that, no American car has done as well as the Cunningham team. In ten attempts, they had two 3rds and three 4ths.
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