1955 Austin-Healey 100/4 BN1

• Comprehensive, documented nut-and-bolt restoration by marque specialist JME Healeys
• Minimal mileage since restoration completed in February 2020
• Original chassis, body, and engine plates retained throughout
• Finished in its correct original colour of Carmine Red, with a full leather retrim and tailored mohair hood and tonneau
• Supplied with Heritage Certificate, FIVA identity card, and a detailed history file of invoices.

VEHICLE DESCRIPTION

This 1955 Austin-Healey 100 BN1 is the product of a complete, no-expense-spared restoration and presents today in show-stopping condition. Built on 12 August 1955, the car — registration 505 XVJ — was originally dispatched from the Donald Healey Motor Company in Warwick before being sold and shipped to the United States, where it remained for the majority of its life. It was repatriated to the UK in 2014, at which point the then-owner stripped the car in preparation for a full restoration.

The car subsequently passed to a new owner, who commissioned marque specialist JME Healeys to carry out a complete nut-and-bolt restoration. The original chassis, inner structure, and outer body were all restored rather than replaced, and the engine was fully rebuilt to correct BN1 production specification. The only deliberate departure from original specification was the fitment of the later, much-improved BN2 four-speed gearbox in place of the original unit — a sensible and commonly accepted enhancement that improves usability without compromising the car’s essential character. Wherever possible, original components were retained and re-used in order to keep the car as close to true BN1 specification as practicable.

The car was finished in its original colour of Carmine Red, and received a full interior retrim in leather, along with a tailored mohair hood and tonneau cover. The restoration is fully documented, and the car has covered just 219 miles since being handed over to its owner on completion in February 2020 — in effect, a BN1 in as-restored condition throughout.

The car retains its original chassis, body, and engine plates, and is supplied with a current UK V5C registration document, a British Motor Industry Heritage Trust certificate, and a detailed folder of invoices and restoration records. It is also FIVA registered, with the identity card and sticker included in the history file — a useful asset for international touring and concours eligibility.

This is a recently restored example in superb condition, offered for sale on behalf of its current owner. It represents an exceptionally straightforward and rewarding car to own and drive, and the standard of restoration on display here would be both difficult to find on the open market and uneconomic to replicate at anything close to the asking price.

MODEL HISTORY  

The story of the Austin-Healey 100 begins with two men solving two separate problems. Austin’s managing director, Leonard Lord, needed a replacement for the unsuccessful A90 Atlantic and a route into the sports car market; Donald Healey, an independent constructor in Warwick, needed volume production capacity for a new sports car of his own design. The two converged at the 1952 London Motor Show, where Healey’s prototype caught Lord’s eye. A deal was struck on the spot, and production began the following year.

The result was the Austin-Healey 100 — the first of the so-called “Big Healeys,” named for its genuine ability to reach 100 mph, a significant achievement for an affordable sports car of the period. Built using Austin A90 Atlantic mechanicals, the body was constructed by Jensen before being finished, trimmed, and painted by Austin at its Longbridge factory. Production ran from 1953 to 1956, a relatively brief but hugely influential run. The original BN1 series accounted for 10,030 cars before being succeeded by the BN2 in 1955, which introduced a proper four-speed gearbox in place of the BN1’s three-speed-plus-overdrive arrangement. A high-performance 100M variant followed in 1955, with larger carburettors, a cold-air box, a high-lift camshaft, and higher-compression pistons; 640 were built by the factory. The 100 established Austin-Healey as a serious force in international sports car competition, with works entries at Le Mans and Sebring cementing the model’s reputation for speed and durability. Today, the 100 BN1 is recognised as one of the most charismatic and usable British sports cars of the 1950s — handsome, mechanically straightforward, and capable of genuine high-speed touring, qualities that have made it a perennial favourite on historic rallies and tours as much as in the show field.

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