FIRST RHD AUSTIN HEALEY HAD A LEGENDARY FEMALE DRIVER

On a recent sunny November day I spotted an Austin Healey being driven down the main street of Sidney, BC. Top down, which must have taken  courage considering the temperature of only +5c (40 fahrenheit). What really got my attention, though, was the age of this Healey. It's not unusual to spot a big six-cylinder Austin Healey in our neighbourhood but a four-cylinder Healey 100? If the driver had stopped I'd have thanked him just for the privilege of admiring his classic sports car.

It was also a moment of deja vu, for I'd been at Abbotsford Airport back in the 50s, attending a day of sports car racing, when a gentleman from nearby Washington State appeared with a brand new Austin Healey 100. It was the first time any of us had seen one and we all rushed over to chat with the owner. Though disappointed by its 3-speed transmission, albeit with overdrive on the top two gears, we were impressed. We then persuaded him to demonstrate the acceleration but that, too, was less spectacular than expected. (The 3-speeder was later changed to a 4-speed with overdrive, which made a considerable difference in performance.)

In spite of my initial reservations I was still enchanted by the new car and those earlier concerns were quickly forgotten when one day I was asked to drive an Austin Healey 100S, the aluminum bodied competition version, which had been prepared for racing by the late Jim Ferguson. Driven, not on the track unfortunately, but through the streets of Toronto, sans muffler. To say that I attracted the attention of onlookers that day is a gross understatement.

Fast forward again to 2013, and a famous Austin Healey from the 1950s is about to be offered by international auctioneers Coys at their True Greats Sale in London on December 3rd. The first right-hand-drive Austin Healey in existence, it was originally owned by the legendary Betty Haig, who raced it in 1953 and 1954. It is the sixteenth of twenty pre-production Austin Healey 100s, hand built at Cape Works before production started at the Longbridge factory.

Betty Haig took delivery in 1953, driving the car at the Great Auclum speed trials on 8th August just three weeks after purchasing it. She raced the Healey again on the Paris to St. Raphael Rally in March of 1954 with Enid Riddell. She came first in the over 2-litre class, won a Coupe de Vitesse, and finished seventh overall. Reports at the time praised Betty for beating a pair of 2.5 litre Lancia Aurelias.

This truly special Austin-Healey 100 has matching numbers and several unique pre-production features, including a lightweight aluminum body, aluminum seats, hood safety catch and fan cowling. There are believed to be fifty differences between these early cars and the production derivative. Estimated at £100,000 to £130,000.

PS: Looking at the photo reminds me of how my tastes have changed. As the Healey acquired a six-cylinder engine, then became more luxurious, almost a Grand Tourer, I snobbishly looked down on the original 100. But now much older (and pretending to be wiser) I've come to appreciate the lighter, more agile Austin Healey 100 with its sidescreens, fold down windshield, and gutsy two-liter, four-cylinder engine. Indeed, I like many cars better now than when they were new. But then, that's the joy of being a classic car enthusiast.