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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