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AUSTIN HEALEY HISTORY
The 'Big Healey' was launched in 1954 by the Healey Motor Company (HMC) run by Donald Healey, who had an illustrious career in motorsport and motor manufacture. It followed a succession of Healeys, which were renowned for being stylish and offering superior performance to the volume manufacturers.
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The key to Healey's success was to create bespoke designs to cloth a large number of proprietary parts from mass-produced cars. The Austin Healey therefore used many Austin parts (hence the name), including engines and gearboxes.
The car was originally conceived as the Healey 100 (because it was capable of 100mph), but was renamed immediately before launch as the Austin Healey thanks to last-minute funding from Austin. The Longbridge manufacturer went on to make the cars, with production eventually transferring to Jensen in West Bromwich - who also made Great Escape's Jensen Interceptor - when capacity became tight.
The Austin Healey 100 was superceded in 1959 by the 'Big Healey', created by fitting a 124 bhp 3 litre Austin engine. This Mk1 was succeeded in 1961 by the Mk2, which gained such luxuries as wind-up windows, and then in 1964 by the Mk3, which was more luxurious again and had 148 bhp on tap.
The Healey was taken out of production in 1968, by which time it was looking aged against rivals like the Jaguar E Type and was relatively expensive to manufacture. Internal politics also influenced the decision. British Leyland chose to kill the car and attempt to fill the gap with a 3 litre version of the MG - the MGC - a car that struggled in the market and was quickly dropped.
Production of the Austin Healey reached a remarkable 72,000 units, with 95% going to the USA. Across both continents the car achieved a reputation over its 14 production run for being a real 'he-man's car' that was physical and quite brutish to drive.
Interest in the Big Healey has always remained strong and in the 1990s Geoffrey Healey, son of Donald, decided to have a go at recreating the car. Although several companies have created kit cars based on the Healey shape, the resulting HMC Healey was totally different. Known as a 'MkIV' Healey because it updates the original's concept, the HMC was an extremely high quality, bespoke manufacture car that was more than just a Healey recreation. Underneath the familiar skin it featured a TVR-style tubular chassis, all-round independent suspension with disc brakes and a fuel injected version of the proven Rover V8, in 3.9 litre form. For many Healey enthusiasts, the HMC was a faithful and acceptable update of the classic Austin Healey.
