more powerful (now developing 218 bhp), and they were the first-ever Le Mans cars equipped with disc brakes, from Dunlop, whose greater efficiency gave the C-Types a distinct advantage over their drum-braked competitors. The disc brakes had been available in 1952, but given the problems with the radiators they had been swapped out so the team could concentrate on just one potential issue in the race. The works cars were supported by a standard production-body car entered by the new Belgian Ecurie Francorchamps team. Aston Martin entered their new DB3S cars for Reg Parnell and Peter Collins, George Abecassis and Roy Salvadori, and Eric Thompson and Dennis Poore. Using the same 3-litre engine as the DB3, it was put into a newly designed, shortened, chassis. However it was suffering from considerable lack of testing, being well down on speed. Donald Healey this year had two collaborations: his last year with Nash Motors with a pair of long-tailed models, and a new partnership with the Austin Motor Company using its 2.7L engine, producing only 100 bhp but capable of 190 km/h. Bristol also arrived with two cars for Lance Macklin / Graham Whitehead and Jack Fairman / Tommy Wisdom, and managed by former Bentley Boy and Le Mans winner Sammy Davis. The rear-engined 450 coupés were ugly and noisy but the 2 litre engine could get them to nearly 230 km/h. Briggs Cunningham also brought three cars, all with 310 bhp 5.5L Chrysler V8 engines: a new C-5R (nicknamed “Le Requin” (the shark) by the French) for Phil Walters and John Fitch who had won the inaugural championship race at Sebring; a C-4R for Cunningham himself and William "Bill" Spear and, a C-4RK coupé for veteran Charley Moran (the first American to race at Le Mans, back in 1929) and Anglo-American John Gordon Bennett. This year Talbot entered a full works-team, rather than just providing support to privateer entries. The trio of blue T26 GS cars were driven by Talbot regulars Guy Mairesse (with Georges Grignard), Louis Rosier and Elie Bayol, and Pierre Levegh and Charles Pozzi. Although still very fast, they were starting to show their age to the nimbler cars from Italy and Great Britain. André Chambas also returned with his supercharged modified SS spyder for a 5th and final time. Gordini had intended to debut the new 3.0L T24S, but scratched it because of atrocious handling. Instead an