Austin-Healey was a British sports car maker established in 1952 through a joint venture between theAustin division of theBritish Motor Corporation (BMC) and theDonald Healey Motor Company (Healey), a renowned automotive engineering and design firm.Leonard Lord represented BMC andDonald Healey his firm.
BMC merged withJaguar Cars in 1966 to formBritish Motor Holdings (BMH). Donald Healey left BMH in 1968 when it merged intoBritish Leyland. Healey then joinedJensen Motors, which had been making bodies for the "big Healeys" 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.
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The Austin Healey was extensively raced by the Donald Healey Motor Company in Europe atLe Mans and atSebring in the U.S., in classic rallies by the BMC competitions department, and was recognised from the very beginning by theSports Car Club of America (SCCA). Healey models raced in club racing in D, E, F, G, an H production classes, winning National Championships in all five classes.[2] 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 theBonneville Salt Flats in Utah, USA.
The rights to the Austin name later passed toBritish Aerospace and laterBMW when each bought theRover Group. In 2001, BMW revealed the “Project Warwick” concept, aretro-styled, modern interpretation of the Austin Healey built around the aluminium chassis from theBMW Z8. It is believed that Project Warwick advanced sufficiently enough to necessitate talks with the Healey family, although these talks ultimately broke down and the project was cancelled due to a lack of marque ownership rights.[3] BMW later sold the Rover group to thePhoenix Consortium for a nominal £10, creating theMG Rover Group.
During the sale of the MG Rover group following its bankruptcy, Professor Krish Bhaskar, a bidder for the company, revealed the Austin Healey 3000 inspired “Project Tempest” in 2005. Bhaskar stated that the car would use running gear from theMG XPower SV covered with a lightweight aluminium body. Bhaskar’s bid failed however, and the project never came to fruition.[4]
The Austin name was subsequently owned by China'sNanjing Automobile Group, which bought the assets ofMG Rover Group out of bankruptcy in 2005. Nanjing signed a collaborative agreement withGB Sports Car, a company founded by former Rover officials, aiming to bring back production at the Longbridge plant under the MG, Rover and Austin-Healey marques, with the MG XPower SV being rebadged as an Austin-Healey.[5] The idea to produce Austin-Healey branded cars was later dropped and the deal subsequently stalled.[6]
After Donald Healey sold his originalDonald Healey Motor Company, the Healey brand was registered to a new firm,Healey Automobile Consultants; the Healey family sold this successor company to British-American consortiumHFI Automotive in 2005.[7] In February 2006, HFI Automotive announced plans for a sports car “with the DNA of a Healey 3000” in coupe and convertible versions, as well as a cheaper car likened to an Austin Healey Sprite. HFI announced that deposits of £1000 were being taken, and prototypes were to be shown later that year.[8] No prototypes were shown, but it was reported that HFI developed and tested a running prototype.[9]
In June 2007, Nanjing and Healey Automobile Consultants / HFI Automotive signed a collaborative agreement aiming to recreate the Austin Healey and Healey marques alongsideNAC's MG.[10] No timeline was given for the Healey and Austin-Healey brands to return, although production of theMG TF restarted in August that year, and the first all-new MG-branded model in 16 years, theMG6, was launched 4 years later in 2011.
The Nanjing Automobile Group later merged with the much largerSAIC Motor, transferring many former British assets including the Austin marque to SAIC.
In 2015, British companyHealy Designs revealed the 'Enigma', aMazda MX-5 based modern interpretation of a Big Healey. Thekit car features a retro style fibreglass body atop an MX-5 chassis, with either a 2.0 litre Mazda engine or a larger V8 from aLexus orCorvette.[11]
