Austin Healey
If you had to make a short list of your dream classic cars, the Austin-Healey would have to be at or near the top of the heap. These are truly beautiful automobiles that embody the times in which they were built, and they are fast, sexy, stylish, and just plain fun to work on, restore, own, and drive.
The Austin-Healey company was a British concern that was founded back in 1952 via a collaboration between automotive engineer Donald Healey and British Motor Corporation's Austin division executive Leonard Lord. They were heavily involved in auto racing in the United States, and in 1953 a number of land speed records were set by a specially modified Austin-Healey at the famed Bonneville Salt Flats.
The partnership lasted some twenty years until the two automotive pioneers went their separate ways. (Healey went on to became chairman of Jensen Motors.) But between 1952 and 1972, they left behind an automotive legacy that has spawned legions of avid collectors. Among the highly sought after Austin-Healey models are the Austin-Healey 100, the Austin-Healey Sprite, and the Austin-Healey 300. Some good news for Austin-Healey aficionados: there is a partnership agreement in place to revive the Austin-Healey brand at some as-yet-undetermined juncture in the near future.
