Registration No: 883 UYU
Chassis No: BN6L2187
MOT: Exempt
Donald Healey's eponymous company built a prototype two-seater sports car for display at the 1952 London Motor Show. It was based on Austin A90 Atlantic mechanicals and sported a sleek body designed by Gerry Coker and built by Tickford. It was dubbed the `Healey Hundred' (a moniker chosen to reflect the car's ability to reach 100mph), and Healey planned to build production versions at his factory in Warwick. As things transpired, the prototype captivated the public and so excited Austin's Managing Director, Leonard Lord, that he agreed to build the car in volume at Longbridge. The newcomer was renamed the Austin-Healey 100. The rest is history. The production bodyshells were made by Jensen and then transported to Longbridge where the cars were assembled alongside the A90. The early cars (code named BN1 and BN2) were equipped with the same four-cylinder 90bhp 2660cc engine as the A90. The 100 had 11-inch drum brakes all round. The front suspension was independent by coil springs while the rear featured a traditional live axle supported by semi-elliptic leaf springs. The steering was by cam and lever. The last of the 100 models, the BN4 (2+2 seater) and BN6 (2-seater) had a two-inch longer wheelbase and were powered by the six-cylinder 2639cc BMC C Series engine previously found in the Austin Westminster. Early versions gave 102bhp, but by 1957 output of the 100-Six had risen to 117bhp (thanks to the adoption of a new twelve-port cylinder head).
Chassis BN6L2187 was manufactured as an export model and is known to have spent a large period of its life in the United States of America, having been repatriated to the United Kingdom in 2008 from Los Angeles. According to the vendor it’s a 'rust free' example, it is a desirable two-seater 'BN6' variant and was provided with significant restoration work to progress the Healey towards Rally Car specification, but sadly the restoration was never completed. Provided with bodywork vents, larger wheels and tyres, the beginnings of a rally specification interior, and some uprated mechanicals, the Austin-Healey has now been in storage for a period of time and is therefore offered for completion. Supplied with the Heritage Certificate and a current V5C document.
PLEASE NOTE: The registration number shown in the images is not included in the sale and the correct registration number for the Austin-Healey is '883 UYU'.
For more information, please contact:
Julian Pinkster
julian.pinkster@handh.co.uk
07889 223 904
Auction: Imperial War Museum | Duxford, Cambridgeshire, 13th Mar, 2024
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