Austin-Healey 100 – 70th Anniversary in 2023
70 years ago, Austin's Leonard Lord needed a new car to replace the A90 and something sporty was needed. At the same time, Donald Healey was looking to get into the high-volume market of sports cars.
Their coming together resulted in the 100, the first of the so-called "Big Healeys" - named after its ability to reach 100mph.
The Austin-Healey 100 was built from 1953 to 1956, a relatively short production timeframe, with the Austin A90 Atlantic providing many of the mechanics with Jensen building the body before the car was trimmed and painted by Austin at its Longbridge factory.
The first Healey 100 had been built for the 1952 London Motor Show and it was here that it caught the eye of Lord, managing director of Austin. They struck a deal and production began in 1953.
A total of 14,634 Austin-Healey 100s were produced, with all but the first twenty manufactured at the Longbridge plant.
The 100 was the first of three models that would be called the Big Healeys to distinguish them from the smaller Austin-Healey Sprite. The better-known Austin-Healey 3000 was its successor, named after the almost 3000 cc displacement of its engine.
The first 100s were known as the series BN1 and a total of 10,030 were built until being replaced by the BN2 model in 1955. (A 1954 BN1 is on permanent display in the Bonneville Salt Flats exhibit at the Simeone Foundation Automotive Museum in Philadelphia, USA.
A high-performance 100M model was also introduced in 1955 with larger carburettors, a cold air box to increase engine airflow, a high-lift camshaft and 8.1:1 compression pistons. Approximately 70% of 100Ms were finished with a two-tone paint scheme, including one White over Red and another in Black over Pink for display at the 1955 London Motor Show. In all, 640 100Ms were built by the factory.
A 100S (for Sebring) model was developed mainly for racing during 1953 and 1954, with one of them winning its class at Sebring in 1954. Only 50 of the 100S were made, all hand-built and carrying the "AHS" chassis number prefix.
The Austin Healey 100 in BN1 and BN2 models, four-cylinder format has done very well in vintage racing too, so we tip our hat to this classic on reaching its 70th birthday.
