Austin Healey 1955 Le Mans

The Austin Healey is an absolute classic British sports car. The Healey 100 was launched in the Earls Court Motor Show in October 1952 where Len Lord, in chairman of Austin, offered to take over its manufacture and marketing. The car was renamed the Austin Healey 100 and the base price was reduced from £850 to £750. This first Austin Healey car has become known as the 100-4 or the BN1 and 10,688 units were built. It was fitted with an Austin A90, 2660 cc, four cylinder engine, which gave 94 bhp. The three speed gearbox was also sourced from the A90, but had first gear blanked off and overdrive fitted on second and third to give extra power.

The BN2 was launched in October 1955 and in total 3,924 units were built. The BN2 had a simple box frame chassis and was basically the same as the BN1, but fitted with larger drum brakes and a completely new four speed gearbox with overdrive as standard. The BN designation can be broken down to describe the car, the B stood for the B class engine, which meant it had a capacity between 2000 and 3000 cc. The N was the letter issued for an open topped two seater. The engine was basically an unstressed truck unit so was excellent for reliability and high mileages. It is capable of going for around two hundred thousand miles before wear necessitates a complete overhaul.

By the time the BN2 was released, the Austin Healey 100S, a limited production run of 55 racing cars, was becoming well known for its ability at circuit rallying and racing. This led to the production of the Le Mans 100M variation of the BN2 and this Le Mans specification kit was only available with the BN2. The engine power was increased from 90 bhp to either 100 or 110 bhp, depending on the camshaft fitted. The Le Mans kits also had bigger carburetors and changes were made to the distributor, valve springs and a stiffened front anti roll bar was added; approximately 1100 of the Le Mans BN2s were originally made and an extra 100 were later modified.

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