History

It was formed in 1945 by Donald Healey

Donald Healey

Donald Mitchell Healey CBE was a noted English rally driver, automobile engineer, and speed record holder.- Early life :...

, a renowned auto engineer and successful racing driver. It was formed after Healey discussed sports car design with Achille Sampietro, a chassis specialist for high performance cars and Ben Bowden, a body engineer, when all three worked at Humber

Humber (car)

Humber is a dormant British automobile marque which could date its beginnings to Thomas Humber's bicycle company founded in 1868. Following their involvement in Humber through Hillman in 1928 the Rootes brothers acquired a controlling interest and joined the Humber board in 1932 making Humber part...

 during World War II.

The company was based in an old aircraft components factory off Miller Road in Warwick

Warwick

Warwick is the county town of Warwickshire, England. The town lies upon the River Avon, south of Coventry and just west of Leamington Spa and Whitnash with which it is conjoined. As of the 2001 United Kingdom census, it had a population of 23,350...

. Healey was joined by Roger Menadue from Armstrong Whitworth

Armstrong Whitworth

Sir W G Armstrong Whitworth & Co Ltd was a major British manufacturing company of the early years of the 20th century. Headquartered in Elswick, Newcastle upon Tyne, Armstrong Whitworth engaged in the construction of armaments, ships, locomotives, automobiles, and aircraft.-History:In 1847,...

 to run the experimental workshop. In later years the company also had a now-demolished showroom (formerly a cinema) on Emscote Road, Warwick, commemorated by a new block of flats called Healey Court.
The cars mainly used a tuned version of the proven Riley twin cam 2.4 litre four cylinder engine in a light steel box section chassis of their own design using independent front suspension by coil springs and alloy trailing arms with Girling dampers. The rear suspension used a Riley live axle with coil springs again. Advanced design allowed soft springing to be combined with excellent road holding. Lockheed hydraulic brakes were used. When it was introduced in 1948 the Elliott saloon was claimed to be the fastest production closed car in the world and was timed at 104.7 mph over a mile. Unusually for the time the body was tested in a wind tunnel to refine its aerodynamics. They also had a 34ft. turning circle. In 1949 the most sporting of all the Healeys, the Silverstone, was announced. It had a shorter chassis and stiffer springing and was capable of 107 mph. It is now a highly sought after car and many of the other Healeys have been converted into Silverstone replicas. The cars had numerous competition successes including class wins in the 1947 and 1948 Alpine rallies and the 1949 Mille Miglia

Mille Miglia

The Mille Miglia was an open-road endurance race which took place in Italy twenty-four times from 1927 to 1957 ....

. To enter the export market, in 1950 the company built the Nash-Healey

Nash-Healey

The Nash-Healey is a two-seat sports car that was produced for the American market between 1951 and 1954. Marketed by Nash-Kelvinator Corporation with a Nash Ambassador drivetrain and a European chassis and body, it served as a halo vehicle for the automaker to promote the sales of the other Nash...

 using a Nash

Nash Motors

Also see: Kelvinator and American Motors CorporationNash Motors was an automobile manufacturer based in Kenosha, Wisconsin, in the United States from 1916 to 1938. From 1938 to 1954, Nash was the automotive division of the Nash-Kelvinator Corporation...

 Ambassador engine with SU carburettors and Nash gearbox. Initially the 3848 cc unit was used but when in 1952 body construction was transferred from Healey to Pininfarina

Pininfarina

Pininfarina S.p.A. is an Italian car design firm and coachbuilder in Cambiano, Italy.Founded as Società anonima Carrozzeria Pinin Farina in 1930 by automobile designer and builder Battista "Pinin" Farina, Pininfarina has been employed by a wide variety of high-end automobile manufacturers,...

 the larger 4138 cc engine was fitted. The final car was the G-Type using an Alvis

Alvis

Alvis may refer to:*Alvis Car and Engineering Company Ltd, British luxury car and military vehicle manufacturer which later became Alvis plc*Alvis plc , a Defence contractor which acquired Alvis Cars and became the UK's largest armoured vehicle manufacturer*Alvis, a family surname in the United...

 TB21 engine and gearbox. This was more luxurious and heavier than the Riley engined models and performance suffered.

In 1952, a joint venture with the British Motor Corporation

British Motor Corporation

The British Motor Corporation, or commonly known as BMC was a vehicle manufacturer from United Kingdom, formed by the merger of the Austin Motor Company and the Nuffield Organisation in 1952...

 created the Austin-Healey

Austin-Healey

Austin-Healey was a British sports car maker. The marque was established through a joint-venture arrangement, set up in 1952 between Leonard Lord of the Austin division of the British Motor Corporation and the Donald Healey Motor Company, a renowned automotive engineering and design...

 marque and later on the Austin-Healey Sprite

Austin-Healey Sprite

The Austin-Healey Sprite is a small open sports car which was announced to the press in Monte Carlo by the British Motor Corporation on 20 May 1958, just before that year's Monaco Grand Prix. It was intended to be a low-cost model that "a chap could keep in his bike shed", yet be the successor to...

.

Donald Healey became a director of Jensen Motors

Jensen Motors

Jensen Motors Ltd was a British manufacturer of sports cars and commercial vehicles, based in the Lyng – West Bromwich...

 in the late 1960s and a result of this was the Lotus

Lotus Cars

Lotus Cars is a British manufacturer of sports and racing cars based at the former site of RAF Hethel, a World War II airfield in Norfolk. The company designs and builds race and production automobiles of light weight and fine handling characteristics...

-engined Jensen-Healey

Jensen-Healey

The Jensen-Healey is a two-seater convertible sports car that was originally produced between 1972 and 1976 by Jensen Motors, Ltd. Roughly 10,000 were produced at West Bromwich, England. A related fastback, the Jensen GT was introduced in 1975.-Design:...

 which appeared in 1972.

The Donald Healey Motor Company was finally sold to the Hamblin Group, although Healey Automobile Consultants and the engineering parts of the company remained in the hands of Geoffrey and Donald Healey.

Models

Type	Engine	Approx Production	Year
Healey Westland Roadster	2443 cc Riley 4 cylinder	64	1946-50
Healey Elliott Saloon	2443 cc Riley 4 cylinder	101	1946-50
Healey Sportsmobile	2443 cc Riley 4 cylinder	23	1948-50
Healey Silverstone	2443 cc Riley 4 cylinder	104	1949-50
Healey Tickford Tickford Tickford is an automobile engineering and testing company with a history of coachbuilding and tuning and is famous for such products as the 140 mph Tickford Turbo Capri.-Early years:...  Saloon	2443 cc Riley 4 cylinder	222	1950-54
Healey Abbott Drophead Coupe	2443 cc Riley 4 cylinder	77	1950-54
Nash-Healey Nash-Healey The Nash-Healey is a two-seat sports car that was produced for the American market between 1951 and 1954. Marketed by Nash-Kelvinator Corporation with a Nash Ambassador drivetrain and a European chassis and body, it served as a halo vehicle for the automaker to promote the sales of the other Nash...	3848 or 4138 cc Nash 6 cylinder	506	1950-54
Healey G-Type Roadster	2993 cc Alvis 6 cylinder	25	1951-53

External links

There is one club worldwide who cater for (pre Austin) Healey cars - The Association Of Healey Owners