This is the story of the four-cylinder Austin-Healey sports cars of the early 1950s. Some 15,000 cars were made in this series. The story began at the 1952 Earls Court Motor Show, where a neat two-seater prototype was displayed on Donald Healey’s stand. It quickly came to the attention of Austin boss Leonard Lord, who made an agreement with Healey for Austin to manufacture the car. It was a brilliant success at home and in the USA, and was one of the great sports cars of the 1950s. Here is the story of the first Austin-Healeys: their design, development, production and production changes, road tests and reception by the press and public. The cars’ characteristics are examined in depth, and illustrations include specially commissioned colour photographs of 5 wonderful examples, including the 1953 Le Mans car in its unrestored and battle-scarred state.
