The Austin-Healey 100-6 is a two-seat roadster that was announced in late September 1956 and produced from 1956 until 1959. A replacement for the

Austin-Healey 100 The Austin-Healey 100 is a sports car that was built by Austin-Healey from 1953 until 1956. Based on Austin A90 Atlantic mechanicals, it was developed by Donald Healey to be produced in-house by his small Healey car company in Warwick. Healey ...

, it was followed by the

Austin-Healey 3000 The Austin-Healey 3000 is a British sports car built from 1959 until 1967. It is the best known of the "big Healey" models. The car's bodywork was made by Jensen Motors and the vehicles were assembled at BMC's MG Works in Abingdon, alongsid ...

; together, the three models have become known as

the Big Healeys The Austin-Healey 100 is a sports car that was built by Austin-Healey from 1953 until 1956. Based on Austin A90 Atlantic mechanicals, it was developed by Donald Healey to be produced in-house by his small Healey car company in Warwick. Healey ...

. The 100-6 featured a longer wheelbase than the 100, a more powerful

straight-six The straight-six engine (also referred to as an inline-six engine; abbreviated I6 or L6) is a piston engine with six cylinders arranged in a straight line along the crankshaft. A straight-six engine has perfect primary and secondary engine balan ...

engine in place of its slightly larger

inline-four A straight-four engine (also called an inline-four) is a four-cylinder piston engine where cylinders are arranged in a line along a common crankshaft. The vast majority of automotive four-cylinder engines use a straight-four layout (with the e ...

, and added two occasional seats (which later became optional). The body lines were slightly streamlined, a smaller, wider

radiator grille In automotive engineering, a grille covers an opening in the body of a vehicle to allow air to enter or exit. Most vehicles feature a grille at the front of the vehicle to protect the radiator and engine. Merriam-Webster describes grilles as "a ...

placed lower, an air scoop was added to the bonnet, and the

windscreen The windshield (North American English) or windscreen (Commonwealth English) of an aircraft, car, bus, motorbike, truck, train, boat or streetcar is the front window, which provides visibility while protecting occupants from the elements. Mo ...

fixed. The 100-6 was produced in two model designators, the 2+2 BN4 from 1956 onwards and the 2-seat BN6 in 1958–9. The cars used a tuned version of the

BMC C-Series engine The BMC C-Series is a straight-6 automobile engine produced from 1954 to 1971. Unlike the Austin-designed A-Series and B-Series engines, it came from the Morris Engines drawing office in Coventry and therefore differed significantly in its ...

previously fitted to the

Austin Westminster The Austin Westminster series are large saloon and estate cars that were sold by the British manufacturer Austin from 1954, replacing the A70 Hereford. The Westminster line was produced as the A90, A95, A99, A105, and A110 until 1968 when th ...

, initially producing and increased in 1957 to by fitting a revised manifold and cylinder head. The previously standard overdrive unit was made optional. In late 1957 production was transferred from Longbridge to the MG plant at Abingdon. 14,436 100-6s were produced before production ended in 1959. A BN6 was tested by The Motor magazine in 1959 had a top speed of and could accelerate from 0- in 10.7 seconds. A fuel consumption of was recorded. The test car cost £1307 including taxes of £436.

References

External links

{{Commons category, Austin-Healey 100-6
Austin Memories
��History of Austin and Longbridge
Volunteer register with records and photos of the 100
100 Roadsters Rear-wheel-drive vehicles Cars introduced in 1956 24 Hours of Le Mans race cars