And What Might This Be?
Posted: Wed May 17, 2023 7:43 pm
In honor of the upcoming 91st running of the incomparable 24 Hours of LeMans, place this car in racing history!! (I certainly couldn't have until reading the article in the latest Hagerty 'Drivers Club' magazine.)
Briggs Cunningham joined by brothers Miles and Sam Collier entered two 1950 Series 61 Cadillacs in the 1950 LeMans, a regular stock version plus the above pictured "Le Monstre" as named by the French press. (The French named the regular Series 61 Caddy "Petit Pataud", French for “clumsy puppy”.)
(Side note: the Colliers were founders of the Automobile Racing Club of America, which later became the Sports Car Club of America and, with Briggs Cunningham, had a hand in the establishment of Watkins Glen raceway.)
Both Cadillacs were mostly stock except, of course, the body of "Le Monstre". (Grumman Aircraft built the all-aluminum body to fit on a stock 1950 Series 61 Caddy.)
The two cars finished 10th and 11th overall (!!) in the 1950 running of LeMans.
I've linked two intriguing, fun and short articles about the two 1950 Caddys and their improbable appearance in the 24-hour race. Both cars are still around today.
What a time that must have been - amazing. The fascinating history of automobile racing is endless.
https://www.thedrive.com/news/35100/whe ... ns-in-1950
https://www.oldcarsweekly.com/features/ ... -cadillacs
- Cadillac 'Le Monstre' LeMans 1950 (2).jpg (62.01 KiB) Viewed 524 times
- Cadillac 'Le Monstre' LeMans 1950 1).jpg (113.08 KiB) Viewed 524 times
Briggs Cunningham joined by brothers Miles and Sam Collier entered two 1950 Series 61 Cadillacs in the 1950 LeMans, a regular stock version plus the above pictured "Le Monstre" as named by the French press. (The French named the regular Series 61 Caddy "Petit Pataud", French for “clumsy puppy”.)
(Side note: the Colliers were founders of the Automobile Racing Club of America, which later became the Sports Car Club of America and, with Briggs Cunningham, had a hand in the establishment of Watkins Glen raceway.)
Both Cadillacs were mostly stock except, of course, the body of "Le Monstre". (Grumman Aircraft built the all-aluminum body to fit on a stock 1950 Series 61 Caddy.)
The two cars finished 10th and 11th overall (!!) in the 1950 running of LeMans.
I've linked two intriguing, fun and short articles about the two 1950 Caddys and their improbable appearance in the 24-hour race. Both cars are still around today.
What a time that must have been - amazing. The fascinating history of automobile racing is endless.
https://www.thedrive.com/news/35100/whe ... ns-in-1950
https://www.oldcarsweekly.com/features/ ... -cadillacs
- Cadillac 1950 Series 61 at LeMans 1950.jpg (28.89 KiB) Viewed 524 times