fore the tour headed back, so they sent me
to Highway One to watch them turn into
the south end of Carmel. More than
enough time remained to return to the
Equestrian Center for the finish, where I
couldn’t help thinking the drivers and pas-
sengers looked like the happiest people on
earth.
Incredible cars participated. Cunning-
ham street cars impressed me the most.
Maybe because I had never seen them in
person, let alone driving down a road. Bod-
ied by European coachbuilder, Vignale,
they are so rare and so beautiful. They look
so advanced for an early 1950s American
car. I can’t help but wonder why, if he was
serious about it, Mr. Cunningham couldn’t
have sold 10,000 of them and made a go at
it. The 1952 C3 Vignale Coupe could pass
for a 1960 design. I know, I know...this is a
Shelby Club. Come on guys, there were no
Cobras or Mustangs in the 1950s. Cun-
ningham is an American car, with an im-
pressive racing record, even if most were
Chrysler Hemi powered. The street cars
were small coupes and cabriolets. Had
they stayed in production, by 1962 they
may have been Ford powered. I went to
Monterey to see the Shelby’s, but this was
part of the experience and I’m glad of it.
During the week, I had access to the
media building, a pre-fab event structure
with greeting desk, WiFi, power, and long
The SHELBY AMERICAN
Winter 2016 43