Austin-Healey was a British sports car maker established in 1952 through a joint venture between the
Austin
Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the seat and largest city of Travis County, with portions extending into Hays and Williamson counties. Incorporated on December 27, 1839, it is the 11th-most-populous city ...
division of the
British Motor Corporation
The British Motor Corporation Limited (BMC) was a UK-based vehicle manufacturer, formed in early 1952 to give effect to an agreed merger of the Morris and Austin businesses.Morris-Austin Merger Company Named. ''The Times'', Friday, 29 February ...
(BMC) and the
Donald Healey Motor Company
Donald Healey Motor Company Limited was a British car manufacturer.Incorporated 13 February 1946 company number 00404473, name changed 18 August 1997 and now Nick Whale Stratford Limited. New company 02249335 incorporated 28 April 1988 and since ...
(Healey), a renowned automotive engineering and design firm.
Leonard Lord
Leonard Percy Lord, 1st Baron Lambury KBE (15 November 1896 – 13 September 1967) was a captain of the British motor industry.
Background and education
Leonard Percy Lord was born on 16 November 1896 and was the youngest child in his family ...
represented BMC and
Donald Healey
Donald Mitchell Healey CBE (3 July 1898 – 15 January 1988) was a noted English car designer, rally driver and speed record holder.
Early life
Born in Perranporth, Cornwall, elder son of Frederick (John Frederick) and Emma Healey (née Mitc ...
his firm.
BMC merged with
Jaguar Cars
Jaguar (, ) is the luxury vehicle brand of Jaguar Land Rover, a British multinational car manufacturer with its headquarters in Whitley, Coventry, England. Jaguar Cars was the company that was responsible for the production of Jaguar cars ...
in 1966 to form
British Motor Holdings
British Motor Holdings Limited (BMH) was a British vehicle manufacturing company known until 14 December 1966 as British Motor Corporation Limited (BMC). BMH was created as a holding company following BMC's takeover of both Jaguar Cars and th ...
(BMH). Donald Healey left BMH in 1968 when it merged into
British Leyland
British Leyland was an automotive engineering and manufacturing conglomerate formed in the United Kingdom in 1968 as British Leyland Motor Corporation Ltd (BLMC), following the merger of Leyland Motors and British Motor Holdings. It was partl ...
. Healey then joined
Jensen Motors
Jensen Motors Limited was a British manufacturer of sports cars and commercial vehicles in West Bromwich, England. Brothers Alan and Richard Jensen gave the new name, Jensen Motors Limited, to the commercial body and sports car body making busi ...
, which had been making bodies for the "
big Healeys
Big or BIG may refer to:
* Big, of great size or degree
Film and television
* ''Big'' (film), a 1988 fantasy-comedy film starring Tom Hanks
* ''Big!'', a Discovery Channel television show
* ''Richard Hammond's Big'', a television show presente ...
" since their inception in 1952, and became their chairman in 1972. Austin-Healey cars were produced until 1972 when the 20-year agreement between Healey and Austin came to an end.
Models built
![Austin Healey 100-4 BN2 vr](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9e/Austin_Healey_100-4_BN2_vr.jpg)
Austin-Healey 100
::Open 2-seater (minimal weather protection)
* 1953–55 BN1 Austin-Healey 100
* 1955 Austin-Healey 100S (Limited production—50 race-prepared cars)
* 1955–56 BN2 Austin-Healey 100 and 100M
![1958](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/af/1958.austin-healey.100slash6.arp.750pix.jpg)
Austin-Healey 100-6
::Open 2+2-seater
* 1956–57 BN4 Austin-Healey 100-6 (2+2 roadster)
* 1957–59 BN4 Austin-Healey 100-6 Change to -inch SU Carbs (2+2 roadster)
* 1958–59 BN6 Austin-Healey 100-6 6-Cylinder (2-seater roadster)
![1959 Austin Healey 3000 Mk I BN7 (12081332526)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/47/1959_Austin_Healey_3000_Mk_I_BN7_%2812081332526%29.jpg)
Austin-Healey 3000
::Open 2+2-seater
* 1959–61 BN7 Mark I (2-seater roadster), BT7 Mark I (2+2 roadster)
* 1961–62 BN7 Mark II (2-seater roadster), BT7 Mark II (2+2)
![1965-austin-healey-archives](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/05/1965-austin-healey-archives.jpg)
::Convertible 2+2-seater (wind-up windows)
* 1962–63 BJ7 Mark II (2+2 convertible)
* 1963–67 BJ8 Mark III (2+2 convertible)
Austin-Healey Sprite
![Austin Healey MK 1 BW 2016-07-17 13-42-40](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f3/Austin_Healey_MK_1_BW_2016-07-17_13-42-40.jpg)
::Open 2-seater
* 1958–61 AN5 Mark I (UK: "Frogeye"; US: "Bugeye")
* 1961–64 HAN6–HAN7 Mark II
::2-seater Roadster
* 1964–66 HAN8 Mark III (roll-up windows)
* 1966–69 HAN9 Mark IV
* 1969–70 HAN10 Mark IV (UK only)
* 1971 AAN10 Mark IV (UK only; badged as Austin rather than Austin-Healey)
Concept Cars
*
Austin-Healey Project Tempest
Austin-Healey was a British sports car maker established in 1952 through a joint venture between the Austin division of the British Motor Corporation (BMC) and the Donald Healey Motor Company (Healey), a renowned automotive engineering and des ...
(2005)
Racing
The Austin Healey was extensively raced by the Donald Healey Motor Company in Europe at
Le Mans
Le Mans (, ) is a city in northwestern France on the Sarthe River where it meets the Huisne. Traditionally the capital of the province of Maine, it is now the capital of the Sarthe department and the seat of the Roman Catholic diocese of Le Man ...
and at
Sebring in the U.S., in classic rallies by the BMC competitions department, and was recognised from the very beginning by the
Sports Car Club of America
The Sports Car Club of America (SCCA) is a non-profit American automobile club and sanctioning body supporting road racing, rallying, and autocross in the United States. Formed in 1944, it runs many programs for both amateur and professional r ...
(SCCA). Healey models raced in club racing in D, E, F, G, an H production classes, winning National Championships in all five classes.
The last Big Healey to win an SCCA National Championship was the class E Production Austin-Healey 100-6 driven by Alan Barker at the Daytona ARRC in 1965.
In 1953, a special streamlined Austin-Healey set several land speed records at the
Bonneville Salt Flats
The Bonneville Salt Flats are a densely packed salt pan in Tooele County in northwestern Utah. A remnant of the Pleistocene Lake Bonneville, it is the largest of many salt flats west of the Great Salt Lake. It is public land managed by the Bur ...
in Utah, USA.
Successors
The name ''Austin'' is now owned by
Nanjing
Nanjing (; , Mandarin pronunciation: ), alternately romanized as Nanking, is the capital of Jiangsu province of the People's Republic of China. It is a sub-provincial city, a megacity, and the second largest city in the East China region. T ...
, which bought the assets of
MG Rover Group
MG Rover Group was the last domestically owned mass-production car manufacturer in the British motor industry. The company was formed when BMW sold the car-making and engine manufacturing assets of the original Rover Group to the Phoenix Consor ...
(British Leyland's successor company) out of bankruptcy in 2005. After Donald Healey sold his original business,
Donald Healey Motor Company
Donald Healey Motor Company Limited was a British car manufacturer.Incorporated 13 February 1946 company number 00404473, name changed 18 August 1997 and now Nick Whale Stratford Limited. New company 02249335 incorporated 28 April 1988 and since ...
, the Healey brand was registered to a new firm,
Healey Automobile Consultants Healey may refer to:
People
* Chadwyck-Healey baronets, an English baronetcy seated in Surrey
* Healey (surname), people with the surname Healey
* Healey Willan (1880-1968), Anglo-Canadian composer
Places in England
* Healey, Greater Manchester
* ...
, which the Healey family sold to
HFI Automotive HFI may refer to:
* Hamfest India, an amateur radio convention
* Handball Federation of India
* Healthy Forests Initiative, a United States federal law
* Hereditary fructose intolerance
* HFI Flooring Inc, a Canadian company
* Holy Family Insti ...
in 2005.
In June 2007, Nanjing and
Healey Automobile Consultants Healey may refer to:
People
* Chadwyck-Healey baronets, an English baronetcy seated in Surrey
* Healey (surname), people with the surname Healey
* Healey Willan (1880-1968), Anglo-Canadian composer
Places in England
* Healey, Greater Manchester
* ...
/
HFI Automotive HFI may refer to:
* Hamfest India, an amateur radio convention
* Handball Federation of India
* Healthy Forests Initiative, a United States federal law
* Hereditary fructose intolerance
* HFI Flooring Inc, a Canadian company
* Holy Family Insti ...
signed a collaborative agreement that aims to recreate the Austin Healey and Healey marques alongside NAC's MG. No timeline has been given as to when the Healey and Austin-Healey brands will return, although MG will be back on the market in China and the UK by the year's end.
See also
*
Donald Healey Motor Company
Donald Healey Motor Company Limited was a British car manufacturer.Incorporated 13 February 1946 company number 00404473, name changed 18 August 1997 and now Nick Whale Stratford Limited. New company 02249335 incorporated 28 April 1988 and since ...
for the models made by the independent Healey company.
*
Nash-Healey
The Nash-Healey is a three-seat luxury sports car or grand tourer produced from 1951 to 1954. It was marketed by the Nash-Kelvinator conglomerate in North America as a halo car to promote sales of its Nash Motors division.
The car was the resu ...
for a Nash-engined pre-Austin sports car by Donald Healey.
*
Jensen-Healey
The Jensen-Healey is a British two-seater convertible sports car, produced by Jensen Motors Ltd. in West Bromwich, England from 1972 until 1976.
Launched in 1972 as a luxurious and convertible sports car, it was positioned in the market betwe ...
for a later Donald Healey designed sports car.
*
List of car manufacturers of the United Kingdom
:''This list is incomplete. You can help by adding correctly sourced information about other manufacturers.''
As of 2018 there are approximately 35 active British car manufacturers and over 500 defunct British car manufacturers. This page lists ...
References
{{Automotive industry in the United Kingdom
Defunct motor vehicle manufacturers of the United Kingdom
Sports car manufacturers
British Leyland vehicles
1960s cars
British companies established in 1952
Vehicle manufacturing companies established in 1952
Manufacturing companies disestablished in 1972
1952 establishments in England
1972 disestablishments in England
Defunct manufacturing companies of England
Joint ventures
Healey