1955 Austin-Healey 100 BN1

You know how the saying goes? “Wish I had a dollar for every time I heard that.”

The scene was the 1952 London Motor Show with a number of new cars on display including the Morris Minor SII, Bentley Continental R-Type and the Standard-Triumph TR sports car. Arriving late on press day, after nearly missing out on the pre-show festivities, the Donald Healey Motor Company sneaked its new sports car, the Healey 100 into the hall. It was faced towards a pillar, away from view, as Donald Healey didn’t think the grille looked right. Along came the boss of the newly formed British Motor Corporation, Leonard Lord, who said something like, “By Jove, what a lovely looking sports car and look! It has an Austin engine and gearbox. What a surprise! Mr. Healey let’s go to dinner and discuss making a deal. We’ll build the ‘100’ in our factories, and sell it across the world through our sales organization.”