1953 Austin Healey raced in the New Zealand Grand Prix
The Austin Healey 100/4 BN1, chassis no 145426, one of three works cars that were sent to take part in the inaugural New Zealand Grand Prix on 9th January 1954. Only 14 cars were able to endure the 200-mile event, but all of the factory Austin-Healeys completed the 100 laps. Keith Roper drove this 100/4 to 13th place beating Peter Whitehead’s Ferrari 125 in the process.
Roper next took the wheel of the Healey at the C W F Hamilton Trophy Race at Mairehau on 20th February 1954 where he achieved third place. The 100/4’s final New Zealand event was the Havelock race meeting where the Healey recorded a record speed of 100mph in the flying quarter-mile event; the only other car to do so was a Jaguar XK120.
Car no.145426 was sold in October 1954 and after passing through various owners, was placed into storage in 1971 where it remained for the next 24 years. Restoration commenced in 2005, and the 100/4 returned to the UK in 2014.
Today the Carmine Red 100/4 looks in every detail the way it did when it left the factory in October 1953, with an original chassis, body and engine and 16-inch racing wheels. Sam Thomas Racing has recently prepared the Healey to compete in Historical Events and throughout 2016, it will be taking part in race meetings at the highest level including the Monaco Grand Prix; Nothing less would suffice for an Austin-Healey of an international Grand Prix pedigree.
The ex-Keith Roper, 1954 New Zealand Grand Prix
1953 Austin-Healey 100 Sports
Registration no. 1 AH 100 (New Zealand)
Chassis no. BN1/145426
Engine no. 1B/139363
Sold for. £68,700 (2014 – Bonhams)
Donald Healey’s stylish Austin-Healey 100 caused a sensation when it debuted at the 1952 London Motor Show. Intended as a low-cost, high-performance, limited production sports car and aimed at the US market, which took almost 100% of production initially, the Austin-Healey 100 sourced its major components from the Austin Atlantic saloon. In fact, the car first appeared at Earls Court badged as a ‘Healey Hundred’ and was re-badged ‘Austin-Healey’ while still on its stand after Austin boss Leonard Lord bought the rights to the design. It was just as well that he did, for Healey would take over 3,000 orders during the Show yet his company had never made more than 200 cars in a single year!
Lord had been happy to agree to supply Austin Atlantic components as the model had not been selling well in its intended market – the USA – and was scheduled for deletion. Low-revving and torquey, the Atlantic’s 2,660cc four-cylinder engine produced an unremarkable 90bhp but when installed in the lighter and more streamlined Healey the result was a genuine 100mph-plus car capable of reaching 60mph in under 11 seconds. A three-speed gearbox equipped with overdrive on the top two ratios was an unusual feature of the original BN1, which was superseded by the short-lived, conventional four-speed BN2 for 1956.
Following the Austin-Healey 100’s sensational debut in 1952, the works had entered two mildly modified cars in the 1953 Le Mans 24-Hour Race, which finishing in 12th and 14th places, a highly praiseworthy achievement for what were recognisably production sports cars. Accordingly, the name ‘Le Mans’ was chosen for a bolt-on tuning kit offered through Austin-Healey dealers, by means of which private owners could bring their cars up to a specification approaching that of the works entries. With or without the Le Mans kit, the Austin-Healey 100 was the ideal competition car for the privateer, who could drive it to the venue, compete to the best of his or her ability – perhaps picking up the occasional class or even outright win if they were talented enough – and then drive it home again.
This historic Austin-Healey 100 BN1 is that rare beast: a sports car that has competed in an international Grand Prix event alongside single-seaters, in this instance the 1954 New Zealand GP at Ardmore where the favourite to win was Ken Wharton’s works-entered supercharged BRM V16 Formula 1 car. The rest of the British entry comprised the Ferrari of Peter Whitehead, Tony Gaze’s HWM, Fred Tuck’s Cooper-Bristol and Horace Gould’s Cooper Bristol, while the Australian entry included the Redex Special of future triple Formula 1 World Champion Jack Brabham.
Held on 9th January 1954, the race was won by the 3.8-litre Maybach Special of Australian Stan Jones (father of future Formula 1 World Champion Alan Jones) after Wharton’s BRM had been delayed by a broken brake pipe, eventually finishing 2nd. Of the three Austin-Healey 100s entered, Ross Jensen’s finished 7th, David Crozier’s 12th and Keith Roper’s (the car offered here) 13th. A polished driver, having previously raced motorcycles, Roper also raced an MG TA and a Cooper-JAP in period.
All three Healeys had arrived in New Zealand in late 1953, this car’s BMIHT certificate revealing that it had been completed on 2nd October of that year and despatched to Magnus Motors Limited in Wellington, its entrant in the Grand Prix, The certificate shows that this car, which retains matching chassis and engine numbers, was originally finished in Carmine Red with black interior trim and equipped with a heater, Smiths speedometer and 16″ racing tyres, which would have involved fitting larger wheels (production Austin-Healey 100s had 15″ wheels). It was also supplied with an extra spare wheel and tyre. Keith Roper registered the Healey in Nelson on 4th December 1953.
Following its Grand Prix outing, the Healey was driven by Roper in the C W F Hamilton Trophy Race at Mairehau on 20th February 1954, finishing 3rd, and then at the Havelock meeting where it was one of only two cars to record a speed of 100mph in the flying quarter-mile event, the other being a Jaguar XK120. Sold in October 1954, the car subsequently passed through the hands of several owners up to 1971 when it was placed in storage. Copies of the New Zealand ownership records are on file. ‘14526’ remained in storage for the next 24 years before being restored by Cliff Everson of Kaukapakapa in 2005. The car was repatriated from New Zealand in 2014.
Accompanying documentation consists of copies of the aforementioned NZ ownership records and first registration certificate; copy extracts from the 1954 Grand Prix programme and season roundup; Keith Roper career statistics; BMIHT certificate; and current MoT.
As an Austin-Healey with in-period international race history at Grand Prix level – a most unusual accolade for a sports car – ‘14526’ will no doubt be a most welcome addition to the entry at the most prestigious historic motor sports events including the Goodwood Revival, Mille Miglia, Le Mans Classic, etc.