1953 Austin Healey 100/4

This spectacular Austin Healey 100/4 is one of the earliest known surviving Healey’s and was completed at Longbridge on 23rd September 1953, making it the 25th right hand drive ‘home market’ 100/4 constructed

The 100/4 was originally finished in Healey Grey, an early non-metallic version of what would later become Healey Blue, fitted with a blue hood and blue leather trim as well as ‘Austin of England’ boot badge and correct early two part dashboard finished in dark blue

The car was dispatched and sold via the Donald Healey Motor Company as per the first batch of fifty home market cars and the original buff log-book retained on file shows Donald Healey Motor Co as the first registered owner on 30th September 1953 with the registration ‘NWD 980’, which it retains to the present day

The car would soon be registered to its first private owner, Mr Derek Ernest Rickman of New Milton, Hants on the 8th October, generously gifted to him by Harold Wakefield, then owner of Castrol Oils and his sponsor at the time, Derek Rickman was of course a highly skilled and celebrated motocross racer of the period alongside his brother Don, and the pair would later go onto manufacture the highly revered Rickman-Metisse motorcycles 

Within a letter retained on file from Derek Rickman, he fondly remembers the Healey as a gift from Wakefield ‘who had previously been part of the ERA racing team’. Both Derek and Don accepted a sponsorship deal by Castrol and Wakefield with Don receiving a new TR2 and Derek receiving the Healey which he states, ‘This was in October 1953 when I was just 20, not bad for a first car!’

Rickman continues ‘Whilst our first love was always Motocross we both got very involved with racing the cars at the weekends.. we raced at lots of circuits in the south of England including Goodwood, Brands Hatch and Ibsley’ and our image gallery shows Derek outside his father’s garage on the day he received the car and subsequently performing ‘at full tilt’ as he states ‘Don and I were very competitive and had lots of success with our cars.. mainly in sprints.. I can confirm that when I sold the car it escaped any serious injury!’ He also recalls the Healey later featured in their book ‘Derek and Don Rickman – The Metisse Story’ by David Gittins

One Notable success in period for the Healey was a class win in the over 2000cc category of the 1955 National Motor race at Ibsley in April of that year, with a Le Mans style start pitted against star studded drivers such as Roy Salvadori, Tommy Sopwith, Colin Chapman and Jack Brabham

The car would remain with Rickman until 13th April 1956 when it was sold to an American enthusiast Thomas J.G.Spang, the eldest son of Joe Spang, president of Gilette from 1938 to 1956 and was registered at their wonderful art deco premises in Isleworth, West London. By 1960 the car was sold to the third owner, American born Wing Commander Cornelius John Donovan who by that time was a civil aviation pilot and who used the Royal Air Force Club in Piccadilly for correspondence

The car would be sold again in 1969 to a gentleman in Edinburgh before returning to southern England in 1971 where it would remain until the current day. It is understood the car was placed in dry storage c1978 passing through a handful of owners until it was acquired by the Chris Bidgood of Oxfordshire at auction in 2014 as a complete and highly original car but in need of restoration

Over the next seven years Mr Bidgood would embark upon a major concours standard restoration to return this historic Healey back to its former glory and conduct extensive research to document its outstanding and unique history, indeed his exploits are well documented within the file and within an article showing the restoration in ‘Classics Monthly’ magazine December 2014

The Healey was sold following its completion in 2021 and benefitted from further post restoration shake down work to brakes and suspension before being acquired by the current owner in 2022, who immediately sent the car to respected Healey specialists Rawles Motorsport for further tuning and setup work at a cost in excess of GBP 6000 to prepare the car for his intended entry into the Mille Miglia. Following the Rawles preparation the Healey was sent to leading PPF specialists Creative FX in Bromley, Kent for bespoke full body paint protection film

The car was then granted a FIVA passport and accepted on the ‘Registro 1000 Miglia’ and gifted the ‘1000 Miglia registro badge’ which remains with the car and awaits the next custodian to apply for their participation in the 2025 Mille Miglia event for which this car is eligible

In addition to the 1000 Miglia this historic Healey is also eligible for some of the world’s greatest classic car events including Goodwood, Colorado Grand, Gran Premio Nuvolari to name but a few..

Rarely do historic Austin Healey’s in this condition with such exceptional provenance come to market at this price level and this example is one of the finest we have ever seen, complete with a substantial historical file, full weather equipment and prepared without regard to expense..