Briggs Cunningham had been involved in motorsport from 1930, racing alongside the Collier brothers who co-founded what became the Sports Car Club of America. His serious assault on international endurance racing began in 1950 when he entered two Cadillac-based cars at Le Mans — a near-standard Cadillac Series 61 nicknamed "Petit Pataud" by French observers, and a radical streamlined special dubbed "Le Monstre" that featured an entirely new aluminum body. The pair finished tenth and eleventh respectively, demonstrating the potential of American machinery against established European competition.
To pursue Le Mans victory with a purpose-built American car, Cunningham established the B.S. Cunningham Company in West Palm Beach, Florida, after acquiring the Frick-Tappet Motors operation from Long Island. The company produced a series of racing cars bearing Cunningham's initials, all powered by Chrysler FirePower V8 engines.
The C-2R debuted at Le Mans in 1951, followed by the C-4R roadsters and a single C-4RK coupe in 1952. For 1953, a new C-5R was prepared, with French onlookers naming it "Le Requin Souriant" — the smiling shark. The final factory design, the C-6R, used a 3.0-litre four-cylinder Offenhauser engine and retired at the 1955 Le Mans on lap 202. The five-year grace period the Internal Revenue Service allowed low-volume manufacturers to establish profitability expired in 1955, ending production of Cunningham-badged cars.
The team's best overall Le Mans result came in 1953, when the C-5R driven by Phil Walters and John Fitch finished third overall — the highest Le Mans placing by an American-manufactured car for decades.
Cunningham's team was notable for its professionalism and scale. The outfit arrived at circuits with a large, lavishly equipped transporter along with drivers, mechanics, and support staff. Chief mechanic Alfredo Momo was a central figure in team operations, later running the Momo Corporation which managed several of Cunningham's entries.
After 1955, the team transitioned to campaigning cars from established manufacturers. Cunningham fielded Lister-Jaguar "Knobbly" sports cars in 1958, winning the SCCA C Modified championship. He followed with Lister-Costin Jaguars in 1959 for a second consecutive title. In 1954, a 1.5-litre OSCA MT4 driven by Stirling Moss and Bill Lloyd won outright at the 12 Hours of Sebring.
Cunningham remained a significant presence at Le Mans through the early 1960s. For 1960, with tacit support from General Motors and assistance from Corvette engineer Zora Arkus-Duntov, Cunningham entered three Corvettes and a Jaguar E-Type at Le Mans. The third Corvette, driven by John Fitch and Bob Grossman, survived to finish eighth overall and first in the GT up to 5.0-litre class after the pit crew resorted to packing ice around the overheating engine.
In 1961 Cunningham drove a Maserati Tipo 60 "Birdcage" at Le Mans with Jim Kimberly, finishing eighth overall. The 1962 Le Mans saw two Maserati Tipo 151 coupes alongside a Jaguar E-Type, both Maseratis retiring. Cunningham's final Le Mans appearance as a team owner came in 1963 with a Jaguar E-Type Lightweight, which he drove personally to ninth place.
Walt Hansgen was among the drivers who campaigned cars for Cunningham, notably driving the Cunningham-entered Jaguar at the 1960 Le Mans alongside Dan Gurney. A Cooper T53 entered in the 1961 US Grand Prix by the Momo Corporation on Cunningham's behalf was driven by Hansgen and later became, after sale to Roger Penske as the Zerex Special, the first car raced by Bruce McLaren's nascent team.
Cunningham dissolved his Le Mans team after 1963 and made his final professional race appearance at Sebring in 1966 in a Porsche 904. "Cunningham Corner" at Sebring International Raceway is named in honor of the team. Cunningham was inducted into the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America in 1997 and the International Motorsports Hall of Fame in 2003. His effort to mount a sustained American challenge at Le Mans with purpose-built machinery in the early 1950s remains one of the most distinctive private-entrant campaigns in endurance racing history.