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By MartinW at 2007-09-12 22:07
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At the 1952 Earls Court Motorshow, Donald Healey was exhibiting his latest creation, the Healey 100, (so called because it could do 100mph) which caught the eye of Leonard Lord, Chairman of the newly formed British Motor Corporation (BMC)...
At the 1952 Earls Court Motorshow, Donald Healey was exhibiting his latest creation, the Healey 100, which caught the eye of Leonard Lord, Chairman of the newly formed British Motor Corporation (BMC).
Overnight, a deal was signed, and the Austin Healey 100 with 2.4L engine went on sale in 1953, a joint venture that was to last through to 1970, when the newly formed British Leyland decided to save some money by dropping the Healey and Cooper names, thus avoiding royalties.
During the 1960s, the big Healey became a 3.0L six, with progressively more modern touches including front disc brakes, wind-up windows and fixed windscreen in the Mk3 3000. The Healey enjoyed many sporting wins in rallies and motor racing in the hands of the likes of Sir Stirling Moss.
In the late 50s, BMC wanted a small sports car, so who better than Donald Healey? The result, the Austin Healey Sprite, a little 1000cc A Series engine with a large one piece front end for easy access, that incorporated a pair of bulging headlights - hence the term, the Frog-eye Sprite (or Bug-eye in the US). This quirk of design was a result of cost cutting on the original idea of folding headlights. Launched at the 1959 Earls Court Motorshow alongside the radical new Mini, it sold extremely well, being a basic, and cheap, sports car with side-screens, and even the bumpers were optional extras.
By 1962, as Abindon were already producing the Sprite, BMC then decided upon an update, and Healey worked on the front end, whilst Abingdon worked on the rear. Despite the separate efforts, the resulting car was extremely pretty, and was now offered as the Sprite Mk2 or MG Midget Mk1, and even gained a boot lid! Right until the end of production of the Midget in 1979, the original sill structure was still evident with the sweeping line where the original one piece bonnet shut line was, despite the Mk2 gaining fixed wings. The new model also gained half elliptic leaf springs, the original Mk1 having 1/4 elliptic leaf springs. During the mid-60s, the cars both gained the 1275cc engine. By 1970, The Austin Healey Sprite was then sold as the Austin Sprite for a further year before being dropped completely in favour of the new MG Midget with its round wheel arches.
Today, the Healey family take a close interest in the brand and although variations on the theme of the Healey and the Sprite exist within the kit car industry, only one so far has received the approval of the family. The Healey is set to make a comeback under the guidance of Tim Fenna, noted for his Frontline Costello operation with special emphasis on the K series conversions of the original Spridgets.
Photos by JerryZ, Excel620, MartinW
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