DETROIT, Sept 23 (Reuters) - Cunningham Motor Co., the nascent maker of ultra-luxury vehicles founded by Briggs Cunningham III and General Motors Corp. Vice Chairman Robert Lutz, on Monday said it suspended further development on the C-7 car.
Cunningham said it stopped work due to a lawsuit filed by Briggs Cunningham, the son of car designer Briggs Swift Cunningham Jr., against his co-founders, management, and other shareholders, including General Motors.
Cunningham alleged in his lawsuit, filed earlier this month in U.S. District Court in Kentucky, that he was forced out of the company, Automotive News reported on Monday. Cunningham said he was forced to sell his stock back to the company so he could pay off a loan he used for start-up capital.
GM and lawyers for Briggs Cunningham did not return telephone calls from Reuters seeking comment. Earlier this year, GM raised its stake in Cunningham Motor to $2 million, or about 23 percent.
John McCormack, chairman and chief executive officer of Cunningham Motor Co., said in a telephone interview with Reuters the lawsuit has not yet pushed back the planned date for the introduction of the first Cunningham vehicle.
Cunningham Motor hopes to introduce in late 2004 or early 2005 the C-7 Grand Touring coupe, a V-12 powered, all-wheel drive coupe priced at about $250,000. About 500 of the Cunninghams would be built annually to compete with the most luxurious automakers from Europe, such as Ferrari, Aston Martin and Bugatti.
"It's not pushed back yet. It depends on how long our hiatus of development lasts," McCormack said.
Cunningham Motor has completed most of the engineering work on the C-7, McCormack said, and had planned to begin developing tooling equipment. Rather than build pre-production vehicles that would never be sold, which is common in the automotive industry, the first Cunningham cars will be tested for about a year before they go on the market, McCormack said.
McCormack referred any questions about the lawsuit to a company statement, which said that the lawsuit is without merit and will be defended vigorously.