1929 Cunningham All Weather Cabriolet

1984 Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance – Best of Show Winner

One of the great cars of the Classic Era was the Cunningham. the most expensive car built in the United States in the late 1920’s.  The marque’s heyday was the Roaring Twenties when movie stars such as Hoot Gibson and Mary Pickford drove them as well as businessmen, William Randolph Hearst, who kept a touring car at San Simeon, CA.

Owned and restored by Ken Vaughn, known for his quality restorations, he spent six years meticulously restoring his Cunningham.  The accessories are exquisite French Baccarat Crystal or sterling silver.  The woodwork is all hand-inlaid walnut in pattern and fantastically beautiful.  Pebble Beach Concours, Best in Show 1984 winner!

James Cunningham & Son, of Rochester, New York (no relation to Briggs Cunningham of Le Mans and sports car fame) built both bodies and chassis, an impressive feat for a maker of only a few hundred cars per year. The firm’s commercial secret was sharing overhead with its hearse and ambulance business. Cunningham showrooms sold both.

Cunningham model identification might seem confusing: That letter “V” is a reminder that the marque had one of the earliest V8 engines, while the number “7” is the model number. The V-7, produced in 1928 and 1929, had a 422-cid cast-iron V8 with four aluminum heads rated at 106 hp. It was mounted on a long 142-inch wheelbase. The hand-hammered aluminum body kept the car’s weight to 4900 pounds.