Austin Healey turns 60

Lightweight, the Austin Healey handles like a sports car. Everyone liked it.

The low-slung two-car was unabashedly aimed at the growing American market, and for the next seventeen years, the Healey epitomized what a high-end sports car should be.

Donald Healy was in his fifties when he developed a stylish two-sport car with Austin. Years before, Healy designed, engineered, marketed and raced various sports cars that bore his name. Usually they were combinations of foreign engines, gearboxes, frames and components that Donald waved his magic over.

After World War II, Healy realized that America was a huge untapped sports car market. He tried his luck with a bulky grand tourer. It had a 6-cylinder Nash engine and was designed by Pinin Farina, an Italian who was commissioned to develop the larger Nash passenger cars. Only 500 Nash Healeys were sold when the agreement with Nash was terminated in 1954 when Nash and Hudson merged to form American Motors Corporation.

Meanwhile, Austin Motor Company chairman Leonard Lord had his own American experience. Lord was in charge of the Austin Atlantic (A 90). Remember them? Once seen, never forgotten. British convertible, four-cylinder engine and three headlights, making it look like a 1948 Tucker. Lord thought they would sell the storm to the US.

They are not. Consequently, Austin had quite a few spare 4-cylinder engines. This required urgent attention, and Lorde still cherished ambitions of success in the US. As did Healy.

Together they decided that the Atlantic engine would serve as the basis for a car that would be positioned in the US market under the expensive Jaguar XK 120 and above the cheaper MGTD.

Essentially, Healy provided technical expertise and mechanical excellence, while Lorde provided the engine and money.

Designed from the outset for left- and right-hand drive, the new Healey 100 hit 100 mph in tests and was immediately acclaimed on both sides of the Atlantic. Light in weight, it handles like a sports car. Everyone liked it. Everyone still does.

Over the next 15 years, Healy improved the car, installing a 6-cylinder engine in 1959. In total, Healy sold over 70,000 copies between 1952 and 1968. Stories about Healy's demise differ. Most blame the British Motor Corporation (BMC) for refusing to redesign the car to comply with the 1970s American safety regulations.

Healy even built a prototype to show timid British executives that it was easy to do. But BMC persevered. No more Austin Healy. This meant that Donald and his team could refer to Jensen elsewhere. And this is a completely different story.

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