“Le Monstre”
23. Aug 2025
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Curious spectators gather around the Cadillac entered for the 1950 Le Mans 24 Hours, in a garage situated in the city of Le Mans. They must have been quite surprised by the shape of this race car, so different to what was usually seen on the track in these early days and called it “Le Monstre”.
The first Cadillac rolled off the production line in Detroit on 17 October 1902 but it wasn’t until 1950 that the emblematic prestige car lined up on the grid at Le Mans. Owner/driver Briggs Cunningham shared the wheel with Phil Waters and they came a respectable eleventh overall.
Briggs Cunningham, an American millionaire, independently entered two Cadillacs in the 1950 24 Hours of Le Mans. One was a standard Coupe DeVille, while the other, nicknamed “Le Monstre,” featured a distinctive, low-slung body.
It roared around the corners and down the Mulsanne straight with robust V8 thunder, hitting 130 mph on the straights. Cunningham’s gamble worked: Le Monstre’s streamlining meant it could outrun the standard coupe at the top end.
Categories:
Endurance World Championship, Le Mans, 24 Hours Le Mans, Briggs Cunningham, Phil Waters, Briggs Cunningham, Cadillac, USA, 1950
Source: DR
